Vermont to me is the slow, remote state that it is. It is disconnected to the states nearby when it could be closer to them. There is little stimulation for young people here.

I don't think they share much common values.

I think gay parenting is a challenge that we will see in the future.

Higher education should be number 1. It is unaffordable for the high quality education that we deserve. We could be giving to ourselves but instead we are giving rich, spoiled kids from out of state a cheap education here. They bring more drugs, drinking and poor values to our state in the future.

Vermont, means home, clean air, friendly people, no billboards, local products, a vibrant and participatory community. It also means progressive views, and a strong sense of equality, and social justice for all.

We value Truth Justice and the american way!

There are many challenges, including supporting local farmers, building employment opportunities, and keeping the cost of living affordable, changing to renewable, sustainable energy sources, managing the ever growing correctional facilities problem, and building better socail, and educational services for our state, Easy right!

We should focus on what has made vermont great, maintaining sustainable environmental, business, and political practices to keep our state green, clean and progressive. oh yeah an get more economic opportunities to entice people to live here and contribute to the above mentioned ideas.

My community is evolving, with a revitalized down town, and additions of a community college and youth center, participation in the community is where all of these ideals begin. So I think they are all related to participation in structuring our communities to meet these goals

Home. The most beautiful place in the world.

Love of the land. Input in local community issues and activities. High quality education. Doing things their own way.

Keeping towns small. Keeping the state rural. Costs of education, roads, energy...

Manage the land. Keep corporate America out. Less sprawl. Focus on education and technology to connect rather than malls.

People need transportation, jobs, and affordable homes.

Home. The most beautiful place in the world.

Love of the land. Input in local community issues and activities. High quality education. Doing things their own way.

Keeping towns small. Keeping the state rural. Costs of education, roads, energy...

Manage the land. Keep corporate America out. Less sprawl. Focus on education and technology to connect rather than malls.

People need transportation, jobs, and affordable homes.

Pristine environment; community life; e-state; strong libraries

community life; healthy lifestyles; caring for one another; support literary

Keeping the state economically viable for young people and families

The state is small enough to be an incubator for testing ideas: make health care affordable and universal; keep the environment clean; strong art and cultural centers

We are facing difficult economic times which will be difficult to sustain our public services

Home. A rural state of exceptional beauty but limited economic opportunity.

Independence. Self-reliance. Friendliness and compassion. Moral integrity. Sense of justice.

Family dissolution is pandemic. (Most legal and social problems originate here.) We need to initiate educational focus on building strong families. Secure, intact families and homes can be emphasized K-12, and special programs for marriage preparation needed for couples considering matrimony: one man and one woman unions ONLY, for the sake of the next and succeeding generations.

Family formation and permanence.

We have a plethora of single-parent families, welfare cases, and mixed-up kids. There is little hope for better chances among youth, who have identity problems from mild to clinical disorders.

too much government interference in business and private lives, a legislature enmired in a perverse interest in private sexuality

too little -- there are two kinds of Vermonters: those who want to work and do things, and those who want to turn over the responsibility of thinking for themselves over to others

cutting government programs, consolidating school districts and other services like road repair to cut waste, better information and resource sharing

cut taxes and leave more income in the hands of individuals, restrict act 250 commissions so they do not needlessly hinder development

how do we better use our resources -- do we have too many salaried and entitled people and not enough whose income is determined by their own efforts?

Vermont is a gem. When you cross the borders into the state you know you are not in anywhere USA. However, Vermont is at a crossroad. Due to increased growth and development, Vermont's traditional values and land use patterns are changing. We are at risk of losing our unique identity and rural character.

An appreciation for the beauty of the state, the natural resources and working landscape, the smallness, and the community.

The Disneyfication of Vermont--a playground for the rich at the expense of local working Vermonters. Loss of working landscapes, habitat, open space to development. Increasing taxes due to increased property values as a result of out of state pressure on real estate. Lack of health insurance for many Vermonters.

Maintaining Vermonts quality of life,rural character, and working landscapes. Supporting local economies and small businesses. Providing health care for all Vermonters. Maintaining small communities and minimizing partisan politics.

Vermont is a deep breath. To me, it's one of the last sane places in the union. By that I mean that Vermont exists on a human scale, with human values: you not only know your neighbors, you care about them. You know the owners of the businesses you frequent. You know where your food comes from. And when you disagree, you do so respectfully, and then go out for a beer.

Independence. A live-and-let-live attitude. An emphasis on community, not conformity. Pride, in our towns, our way of life. A respect for our history, our agricultural legacy. A distrust of centralized/regional land-use planning that, I think, works counter to the other values I just stated (in that it opens to door to the exploitative actions of big-money corporations and developers).

Biggest challenge: suburbanization and its ills: loss of independence, decline in health/rise in health-care costs, corruption of traditional landscape/settlement patterns, rising taxes, loss of uniqueness. Vermonters say they don't want this, but too many let it happen. Therein lies an opportunity. The buy-local movement, the localvores, high gas prices: people are starting to wake up.

We need to maintain our town centers and surrounding agricultural fields and forestland. We need to make sure that OUR vision for our state, not some distant corporation's, is what shapes and guides development. We cannot go wrong by investing in our communities, in ourselves.

Waterbury, for all its recent successes, is at a crossroads. Stowe, Burlington, and Montpelier all exert pressure on us, leading to sprawl and rising home prices. We're creating jobs, but we're not providing the village-style, walkable, affordable housing we need to ensure that people can live AND work here. Our biggest advantage is the many dedicated people who love and work hard for this town.

Sanctity. Having traveled extensively throughout the US, I am amazed by how other communities have been redefined with or without their consent. Vermont still serves as a full sensory refuge for me, and I feel inspired to protect it.

I don't know if there is such a thing as a 'Vermonter'in such a homogeneous world. My favorite definitively Vermont value is woodchuck-ism - the desire to learn and perform any skill that will save you a buck, without a care for what the neighbors think.

I think there's a lot of temptation to study other states' gameplans without recognizing that our needs and strengths are more unique. I'd like to see us booming with cooperative businesses that sustain our communities over generations, and to stop complaining about the lack of big businesses that make their employees miserable - only to lay them off anyway.

Winter Gardens!!! Safe, renewable, and affordable energy. A more localized economy. Better food in schools. A 'just say no to widget factories' campaign. Better use of public spaces - public art, natural habitats, and other brain cell generators.

Grand Isle County is rural and without a major supermarket. We are a 'gas station grocery' community, and therefore the perfect place to strengthen a year round relationship between farmers and residents - this means that farmers should grow winter greens! Enough 'tourist produce'... think outside the tomato! Or maybe homeowners should be trained to garden in winter?