Author: Mr. E

LED Smart Lighting

With its recent installment of smart lighting, Ralston has become a much nicer and safer place. Its streets are now well lit at darker hours, promoting better social interaction. The smart lights are also capable of changing their color temperature to match that of sunrise/sunset cycles, improving citizen health. Though the technology behind smart lighting may seem expensive and a waste of funding, The smart lights actually help to save money through their usage of light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, which are more energy efficient when compared to standard light bulbs. LED bulbs also last significantly longer than a standard incandescent bulb, which reduces waste made by discarded bulbs. Though residents may worry about the expanded surveillance that comes with the improved lighting, this lighting system can be used to lessen criminal activity, which makes Ralston and its citizens much safer. The smart lighting is also used to collect data on air and noise quality, and pedestrian and vehicular traffic patterns, which is beneficial for urban planning purposes. Though a normal lighting system may be okay for most cities, Ralston knows that its people deserve the best.

Town Hall

The original way of Ralston to work was good but there was little that people could do to influence what would happen in their community, so adding the town hall and a biweekly meeting there has increased both the happiness and the willingness to participate in the local community/government. This includes writing to the elected officials or simply running for the office themselves. There have also been many small organizations that address specific needs or issues in the community like helping newcomers or just simply being there for those in need. 

Community Health Center — Ward 2

A health clinic on the island is saving Ralstonians and visitors time and money trying to travel to and from the University of Vermont Medical Center. The health center helps deal with smaller injuries such as a sprained ankle, or a cut on your arm that needs stitches. The health center, located in Ward 2, is semi-central to Ralston and easily accessible to the people of Ralston. It is also be away from the wetland so the construction to build the health clinic has not been too expensive. This is a good addition to a community where people live active lifestyles—golf, nature walks, and swimming being very popular. A minor injury is now not such a major expense.

Affordable Housing

The new developments of Ralston have provided new housing, community members, and funds throughout the community. Located in Ward 3 on a small portion of the Nature Preserve, the developers aimed to connect nature with progress in an environmentally friendly capacity. We are pleased to announce these new developments will be affordable for lower-income families in the event to integrate different economic standings into its ward. By implementing strict HOA policies, the new development prioritizes a cease of littering, greenhouse gases, and pollution all while boosting economic capacity. We would like to thank some of Ralston’s longest residents for their generosity in providing the land to house these developments and their tireless efforts in working with the developing team to keep the area environmentally friendly and preserved. Ralston is a town filled with character, a community forged in interpersonal relationships, and culture. It’s our great pleasure to announce a new beginning for Ralston, its current residents, and our future.

Ralston Food Bank

The Ralston Food Bank is a nonprofit organization that provides food for those in need. Since the organization is nonprofit, this means it is fully reliant on donations and fundraising. But, due to the kind hearted atmosphere of the people of Ralston, there is predicted to be many donations given to help those in need. This food Bank will help anyone who is struggling economically and cannot afford groceries. Although there will be a limit on the amount of groceries because of wanting to maintain stock for everyone, the Ralston Food Bank’s goal is to meet the basic needs of the community of Ralston. If the Ralston Food Bank can not fit the needs of a community member that comes to them, they will guide them to the correct resource that they need. This organization is not just for the people, but it is also supported by the people. This will move the community towards eliminating food insecurity whilst providing other resources for those in need.

Proposal for a Ralston City Amphitheater

The Pavillion, Charlottesville, Virginia

Every community needs contact zones, and it’s often a nice feeling when those zones are lively places where people can come together for entertainment, discussion, relaxation, and leisure.

Our beautiful city of Ralston already features some beautiful parks and lively downtown venues, but I believe the one-of-a-kind location deserves something that does it an even greater honor. A public, outdoor amphitheater would be a lovely addition to our community with a lot of value.

Ralston is already known as a popular sight for Vermont filmmakers, but an outdoor projection screen and film festival could easily compete with the venues of Burlington. Live music could bring people to Ralston for dining and entertainment on a regular basis. The outdoor feel would even attract more folksy, authentic Vermont performers than the indie-centric venues of Burlington. Public forms could also be held here, and would likely draw more attention due to the visible nature of an outdoor discussion. This could in turn contribute to residents of Ralston having their voices heard on a more frequent basis. For economic benefit, a closed off and ticketed area with provided seating could be installed. These seats would have the best views and be relatively comfortable, encouraging people to invest in tickets. However, sticking with the accessible nature of Ralston, standing room should be available behind this seating area so that people can still participate in the entertainment.

The scale of this amphitheater should be decided by a board of community members. A larger venue will attract more use, but create more noise in town that locals may have mixed feelings about. A small venue, however, would still be advantageous to the community. Because this installation affects the larger community, the community should have a say in its design.

Despite this potential interference, such venues have been very successful in other urban centers. The Ting Pavillion in Charlottesville, Virginia, is a great example of a large and popular amphitheater that gets a lot of use without taking away from the city’s charm. A similar design in Ralston could prove effective!

An amphitheater would suit Ralston well in Ward 2, near City Hall Park, or Ward 1, west of the golf coarse. Both of these locations are noticeable from the downtown area, and easy to access for visitors from Burlington.

Urban Legend: Don’t Go Into the Woods

This contribution, rather than a physical place or organization, is rather an urban legend told by the people of Ralston that connects to their history. It is unknown when this story emerged exactly however it is theorized to date back at least a few decades.

PHOTO SOURCE: http://gaugan.org/gaugan2/

The story essentially goes that if you wander too far into the woods between the main city area, and the few buildings along the eastern side of the island such as North point lighthouse, you will find a small rundown cabin. The story tells that this cabin was made as an isolated sickhouse, where the sick of the various early communities during the 1700’s went away from society to avoid spreading the disease. Most of these people would never see the outside world again and would die alone in the woods. Rumors say that the ghosts of those who died, including two of Angus Ralston’s children died there, and that they would infect and torment any who disturbed them.

This story is almost certainly false, as historical evidence suggests that no such place exists and the Ralston’s children died elsewhere. However, the story still persists. It was first documented in the mid 90’s as a bedtime story, though it is believed to be slightly older. It was told to children warning them not to go out into the woods alone outside the city and stay in the safety of Ralston. Earlier tellings of the tale were more innocent, however as more and more people heard it it began to adapt and become more disturbing. Young children, eager for a thrill and something different than the family friendly nature of Ralston would head out into the woods in search of this cabin. However when the concept really took off was in the early 2010 with the rise of online creepy pastas (short horror stories that grow and adapt online). Many who grew up with this story as kids were now online and communicating the legend to those outside the on the early internet. With the Online Disinhibition Effect people were a lot freer to speak their mind of the early internet, so people said things far weirder than in real life, with the legend warping even further. Residents would post supposed encounters they had with the ghosts of Ralston’s children, most of which were just blurry videos with weird lighting and no ghosts.

However when the story became a true phenomenon and blew up exponentially was after an abandoned shed was in fact found in the woods. This was later confirmed to have nothing to do with the legend at all and was just the homestead of an old farmer from the 1800’s who died with no children leaving little record behind. Regardless of that fact many flocked to the cabin, and early youtube and internet videos were filmed there. Even a few online creators obsessed with the trend of internet horror would travel from nearby communities to take a look at the supposedly haunted house. The city council was always unamused by this, however once people began to vandalize the house, spray painting demonic symbols on the walls, and putting fake blood on the abandoned sheets, the town strictly forbade anyone from going there and vandalizing it. This was barely enforced however and many continued. Despite the initial hype eventually people got tired and the internet craze subsided, and the house was left largely forgotten as people moved on.

This was until early 2020 when the Covid Pandemic hit. Many residents who were kids at the time of the craze surrounding the cursed sick house, remember it now that they were suffering under a plague of their own. Memes began to circulate online about how the ghosts of the Ralston pandemic were spreading the plague as revenge for the people who intruded on their home and land. These were not taken particularly seriously however it was still a brief rumor in the town brought about by the early pandemic.

This is where things remain to this day. The house still remains, now slightly graffitied in the woods largely forgotten. The tale is still told from time to time, a legend which had survived three generations, enchanting kids who would later reminisce and get another wave of kids entranced in the mystery. The idea provides something alluring and dangerous to the children of Ralston, something that is so different from the coddled kid friendly nature of the town that it draws them in. Though it is easy as an adult to dismiss the story as fake, through the eyes of a child it may seem all too real, and enchant them to go into those empty woods where they were always warned not to go.

Second Bridge to Ralston

I believe that the inclusion of a second bridge- one that connects Ralston to the other side of Lake Champlain, would be greatly beneficial to the community as a whole. I personally believe that in order for Ralston to become a successful community in the future, they need to reach a wider range of people and allow for more to leave and/or join the community in a variety of activities the city can open to all of Vermont. One of the main issues I saw when planning to address this problem was the fact that only being able to leave and enter the island through one bridge severely limits interaction with the community and the outside world. This is why a proposal for a new bridge would greatly benefit the town off Ralston.

In addition, Ralston’s second bridge connecting to another side of the land surrounding Lake Champlain will allow for ease of access to Ralston for different communities. The original bridge’s location, while giving entrance to one side of Champlain, completely limits access to the opposite side of the lake. And while a Lake’s island normally has ports to be able to access, not all people have the ability to access islands via boats, in addition to being a rather large island with a rather large community as well. If cars are the main means of transportation on the island, then it only makes sense for a way for cars to get on and off of the island. Overall, a second bridge would be a welcome addition to Ralston, and will be greatly beneficial for the development of the community for years to come.