Saturday, December 9, 2017

Killington prepares town budget



Roy Webster of Roy’s Taxi in Rutland drove his little girl, Raegan up to Killington to make snow angels during an unexpected snowstorm. His wife, Amanda, took some photos. VYTO STARINSKAS / STAFF FILE PHOTO
Roy Webster of Roy’s Taxi in Rutland drove his little girl, Raegan up to Killington to make snow angels during an unexpected snowstorm. His wife, Amanda, took some photos. VYTO STARINSKAS / STAFF FILE PHOTO
KILLINGTON — At its regular Tuesday meeting, the Killington Select Board seated its newest member, Steve Finneron, and heard from department heads who are drafting their annual budgets for voter consideration at Town Meeting on March 6, 2018. The budgets cover fiscal year 2019, which begins July 1.
Finneron ran against Jay Hickory and won 87-48 in the Dec. 5 townwide election, with 135 ballots cast.
Following the resignation of Kenneth Lee as of Oct. 1, Finneron had been appointed to fill the remainder of Lee’s term.
The evening’s presentations by department heads in support of their budget proposals were the second of three sessions, with the “consolidated” budget to be presented for final changes by the Select Board Tuesday, Dec. 19, prior to being placed on the Town Meeting warning.
Informal comments by department heads provided insight into the fiscal realities of the town.
Town Clerk and Treasurer Lucrecia Wonsor described the ongoing project to preserve and bind the town’s documents, grand lists and land records in archival hard copy as well as electronically.
Unlike many other states, town clerks in Vermont are the custodians of the complete set of original records from the town’s earliest years to the present. Wonsor said she uses a cloud-based index for land records that go back to 1980, which can be accessed by the public at no charge.
The new Town Clerks Portal is hosted and managed by Cott Systems, of Ohio, specifically for digitizing land records and historical documents. Images are not available online — a visit to the town office is still needed to view the documents. The portal is reasonably priced and customizable, she said.
Wonsor would like to add a new part-time, yearround assistant treasurer position to share the increasing workload in the town office.
While she welcomes payment of taxes and fees by credit card, this practice is increasing and “it creates another step” for the treasurer. In addition, she said a third person would provide “ checks and balances,” that the person who writes checks should not be the same person making deposits.
In general, the town office is “very busy,” she said. Second-home owners “are used to a certain level of service,” she added.
New state requirements are adding to the cost of operating the town. Lister Walter Findeisen referred to the new requirement to use the statewide property parcel mapping program, adding a first year cost of $3,900, with $2,400 annually thereafter.
Chet Hagenbarth, reporting on solid waste management, said transfer stations will gradually become more expensive to operate, and food waste “will be super expensive,” he said. He noted that while “there is no market for recyclables,” which used to be an income generator and revenues from the transfer station are flat, changes proposed to Act 48, the Universal Recycling Law, will allow the towns to begin charging a fee for mandated items.
Select Board chairwoman Patty McGrath asked whether such a fee would deter people from recycling. Hagenbarth said it would definitely discourage businesses or organizations from recycling largevolume materials such as cartons.
The Nov. 21, Select Board meeting heard budget presentations by the Green Mountain National Golf Course, the Killington Police Department, the library, Planning and Zoning, and the listers.
Golf course manager David Soucy reported that his objective is to keep the budget “flat” for the coming year, while increasing memberships and tournaments. Soucy, a Vermont state senator, said he has reduced his own salary by $11,000.
Police Chief Whit Montgomery will continue to “aggressively” seek grants for funding equipment and training and now charges for special police coverage such as at private events that require road closings.
Montgomery said the policing cost per resident in Killington is approximately $172 per year, or about 75 percent of the national average.
Sherburne Memorial librarian Jane Ramos listed the transition to VTel for high-speed internet and fee increases as boosting the budget by 1.3 percent.
Planner Richard Horner said he anticipated a basically unchanged budget, with a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment increase balanced by extra revenue from Bear Mountain permits.

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Special Town Meeting Results


The results of the Town of Killington's Special Town Meeting of December 5, 2017 are as follows:

ARTICLE 1. To elect a Selectboard member for a term of two years to complete the unfinished term of Selectman Kenneth Lee who resigned effective September 30, 2017.

STEPHEN FINNERON - 87

JAY K HICKORY -         48

     Total Votes Cast -   135



Stephen Finneron - Elected to complete the term ending March, 2020

Saturday, December 2, 2017

Killington ‘ambassador’ wins his case



A Connecticut man won a worker’s compensation claim against Killington Ski Resort following a two-day jury trial this week.
The Rutland civil court jury found that Thomas Kibbie, 56, was entitled to compensation for a number of treatments he had initially been denied by the Vermont Department of Labor.
A call to Killington Ski Resort seeking a comment was not returned Friday.
Kibbie was a mountain ambassador at Killington — a seasoned skier or snowboarder who helps guests find their way on the slopes and provides other services — in 2008. On Jan. 12 of that year, according to court records, he was making a final check of the trails for the day when he fell, crashing hard enough to break his helmet.
Kibbie’s lawyer, Thomas Bixby, said Kibbie has no memory of the crash.
“As far as we know, there were no witnesses,” Bixby said. “Thankfully, he was wearing a helmet.”
Despite that helmet, according to court records, Kibbie suffered a hemorrhage in his right temporal lobe, leaving him with a permanent brain injury. Bixby said Kibbie had a construction business he tended to when he was off the slopes, but that the injury has left him unable to work.
It also left him in need of serious medical care, according to court records. Documents from the case describe ongoing treatment — or a need thereof — for chronic neck pain, headaches, visual problems, trouble sleeping and depression.
Bixby said there was an initial settlement in which the resort agreed to pay for certain treatments on an ongoing basis, but Killington stopped payment in September 2010.
“For the last seven years, he’s been fighting for these benefits,” Bixby said.
A decision from the Department of Labor in February 2016 granted some of the benefits Kibbie sought, but denied others, including cervical injections and a device that treats pain through electrical impulses.
With the jury decision Wednesday, Bixby said all the treatments will be covered. Bixby said he did not know what cost that would amount to.
“They have all the bills because they have the treatment notes,” Bixby said of Killington. “They will go back to the providers. I don’t want to make up a number — it’s significant.”
gordon.dritschilo @rutlandherald.com

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

After First Year's Success, Killington Will Again Host Women's World Cup Nov. 25-26

Nov 17, 2017
An estimated 30,000 people packed Killington last November to see the worlds fastest women go head to head in slalom and giant slalom.
November weather can be notoriously fickle, but resort officials say snow conditions on the race slope are excellent and if the weather cooperates they expect even bigger crowds than last year. The International Ski Federation has given Killington the green light to host the upcoming Women’s World Cup races Nov. 25 and 26.
Many of the racers who competed last year, including Switzerland’s Lara Gut, told reporters how much they appreciated the big crowds.
“I mean usually when we’re in the USA there’s not so many people coming to watch the races," Gut says. "But here it’s amazing. So many people, and I was surprised. So, yeah, I feel people are happy to have us here, so that’s cool.”
Local businesses and the entire northeast ski industry were even more thrilled.

Patty and Murray McGrath own the Inn at Long Trail and McGrath's Irish Pub in Killington. Patty says their business jumped 30 percent last November because of the World Cup which she says helped jump start the entire season.
Credit Nina Keck / VPR
Patty McGrath, who owns the Inn at Long Trail in Killington, says coming after one of the worst seasons in memory, the timing of last year’s race was perfect.
“Because we had the World Cup and Killington pulled that off so brilliantly, people knew of that resort’s effort to make the best snow available to people no matter what Mother Nature threw at us,” she says adding, “the results were felt for months afterwards.”
McGrath, who also chairs the town’s selectboard, says local option tax receipts show just how much the event generated for the town.
For instance, she says fourth quarter revenues for last year, which included the World Cup, were $9 million more than the previous year’s and $6.5 million more than the town’s best-ever fourth quarter in 2014.
"And November's usually a very slow month," she says smiling, "so not bad for our small town."
And tax receipts show the uptick continued for hotels and restaurants through March.
Fred Coriell is co-owner of Peak Performance, a Killington ski shop. While he says hotels and restaurants saw bigger gains from the races than retail stores like his,  he believes everyone on the mountain and well beyond benefited.
"The ability of this event to be on CNN, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, creates an identity for the eastern United States and Killington that we would never be able to do through existing marketing efforts." — Fred Coriell, co-owner Peak Performance Ski Shop, Killington
Coriell says he had customers come in all year who told him that the reason they were in town is that they'd seen the Green Mountains on TV watching the World Cup. “They’d never been to Vermont, saw pictures of it on NBC and decided I need to visit this place; it looks pretty cool,” says Coriell adding, “It happens all the time.”
He says it’s why local residents voted to contribute $100,000 to help sponsor this year’s race.
“The ability of this event to be on CNN, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, creates an identity for the eastern United States and Killington that we would never be able to do through existing marketing efforts.”

Peak Performance Ski Shop, like many businesses in Killington, tout the resort's ties to the World Cup. The resort will host the women's World Cup races later this month.
Credit Nina Keck / VPR
Killington resort's marketing director Rob Megnin says the number of people exposed to all the stories and broadcasts nationally and internationally was unbelievable. “We had 100 million impressions that were driven from this event,” Megnin says shaking his head. “I’ve never seen anything like that in my entire career and I’ve been around for quite a while.”
An impression is marketing-speak for the point in which an ad or story is viewed once by an individual or displayed once on a web page.
Megnin admits that while that kind of exposure is awesome, it was expensive.
When all the snowmaking, extra staffing, buses, hotel costs and other logistics were added up, he says the resort spent about $2.4 million on the World Cup last year and made back only half that much.
"The side effect of Killington being able to have this early race is it shows people that, 'Hey there is skiing earlier in the season than you may think." — Jamie Storrs, Mount Snow
To help fund this year’s race, the state’s other ski resorts chipped in $50,000 through the Vermont Ski Areas Association. Megnin says other sponsors also stepped up to help defray costs which has helped Killington feel confident about agreeing to host not only this year's World Cup but next year's race as well.
Jamie Storrs, a spokesman for Mount Snow, calls the investments a no-brainer.
“The side effect of Killington being able to have this early race is it shows people that, we in the east, can make a lot of snow early and can get mountains open so I think it definitely helps to get more people up in this area, get more people skiing, get more people going out to dinner and spending money at an earlier time than before,” adds Storrs.

Killington Operations Director Jeff Temple stands in front of Superstar, the slope where women World Cup racers will compete Nov. 25-26. He's celebrating the fact that the International Ski Federation has formally approved snow conditions for the race.
Credit Nina Keck / VPR
Up on Killington, snowmaking has been going full throttle for weeks.
The resort's longtime Operation Director, Jeff Temple says he’s got 120 snow guns closely spaced on Superstar, the slope where the World Cup races will be held.
The warmer than usual October was nerve racking, he admits. But he says the recent cold snap and a lot of 12 to 14 hour days have helped him and his staff meet the World Cup course requirements of 18 to 19 inches of hard pack.
“We’re well above that this year and progressing well on the training trail. So yes, as far as the mountain goes, we’re well on our way to being ready for another successful race.”
Off the slope, he says they’ll have more buses and port-a-potties this year as well as additional food trucks and ski industry vendors.
Resort officials say the four thousand seats in the grandstand sold out within hours but anyone can come free of charge if they don’t mind standing.



    • Avatar


      The residents also voted to rescind the Sales and Use portion of the 1% options tax to help defray the costs of this event to the tune of about a million dollars.

Friday, November 17, 2017

World Cup Ticket Giveaway







In the spirit of the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Xfinity Killington Cup, the Town of Killington is delighted to welcome again this year, the athletes, trainers, coaches, press, and spectators to Killington.
Once again, the Town is giving back to the homeowners and renters of Killington, with a World Cup ticket giveaway for the following special venue tickets to this otherwise free event:
Two pair of VIP tickets for Saturday, November 25
Two pair of VIP tickets for Sunday, November 26

The VIP tickets include a lift ticket, commemorative item, food, preferred parking, and seating in the VIP area.

Five pairs of Grandstand tickets for Saturday, November 25
Five pairs of Grandstand tickets for Sunday, November 26

The Grandstand tickets include grandstand seating in row 6 and below.

To enter, you must be a homeowner or renter in the Town of Killington, or a Town of Killington employee, and 21 years of age or older.  Only one entry per venue and entrants can win only once.

All entries can be submitted at the Town Office 9am-4pm beginning Friday, November 17 through Tuesday, November 21.  Winners will be randomly selected in a drawing to be held at the Selectboard meeting Tuesday, November 21, at 7:30pm.  In the event an already drawn winner’s name is randomly selected a second time, another entry will be drawn.

Winners will be notified by email or phone on Wednesday, November 22,to come by the Town Office to collect their tickets between 9am-4pm that day.
 


NOT YOUR AVERAGE BEAR

ROBERT LAYMAN / STAFF PHOTO
ROBERT LAYMAN / STAFF PHOTO
Andrew Gieda, new owner of In Stone Design, covers a 10-foot white pine carved statue of a bear with timber oil Thursday outside his business in Killington. Gieda, also a beekeeper, plans to use the bear to market his honey. Windstorms have ripped his “open” flag off the fence twice and the bear will now hold it.
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Friday, November 10, 2017

Bear Mt. plan gets zoning change



Major renovations at Bear Mountain Lodge in Killington can progress under zoning changes approved by the Select Board. STAFF FILE PHOTO
Major renovations at Bear Mountain Lodge in Killington can progress under zoning changes approved 
by the Select Board. STAFF FILE PHOTO
KILLINGTON — The Select Board has approved a zoning change that will allow the proposed Bear Mountain Revitalization Plan to move closer to reality. Officials expect the change to result in a sweeping remodel of the Bear Mountain Base Lodge building and a cluster of new vacation home units adjacent to the lodge.
The zoning change reassigns 16 acres of the town’s Forest Reserve District on Bear Mountain to the abutting Ski Village District.
None of the 20 or so spectators at this week’s Select Board meeting, nor anyone on the board, voiced an objection. Barring an appeal, the change will become effective 21 days after approval.
The Forest Reserve District features limited roads and undeveloped, forested tracts. Recommended development includes single- family homes or duplexes on minimum 10- acre lots, or cluster housing and development for skiing.
The Ski Village District permits high- density, mixed uses. The new Ski Village-Falls Brook section will be subject to the same zoning bylaws as the rest of the Ski Village. Height regulations will also be amended to allow a maximum building height of 47 feet, or five stories, with a maximum roof- peak height of 68 feet.
The zoning change was requested to accommodate the higher residential density of his proposed Base Camp at Bear Mountain development, said Steve Malone of Ottauquechee Realty Advisors.
The company signed a purchase-and-sales agreement with Killington Ski Area for 25 acres adjacent to the base lodge, 16 of which are zoned as Forest Reserve.
Prior to reaching the Select Board, the proposed zoning change received approval from the Killington Planning Commission and encountered no opposition at a public hearing Sept. 13.
If all goes according to plan, groundbreaking will take place next summer for the next increment of luxury vacation housing at Bear Mountain, featuring skiin ski- out convenience to Outer Limits, Devils Fiddle and The Jug, as well as direct access to South Ridge via a new chairlift.
The Bear Mountain Revitalization Plan includes six multi- unit buildings and 18 duplexes containing approximately 130 units clustered on the hillside between the base lodge and the existing Sunrise Village.
Ottauquechee Realty Advisors estimates the total cost to develop the residential component at about $70 million with a retail value of $110 million, based on projected pricing for each finished unit.
“It’s a gross number,” Malone said. “It’s an estimate right now because we haven’t gotten into the marketplace.”
He added, “We always pre-sell before we build. We sell off the units that will enable us to pay off our construction debt. When the downturn came the last time, we didn’t have any unsold inventory.”
Ottauquechee Realty has two existing complexes in the Bear Mountain orbit — The Lodges and Topridge Townhomes, which include 24 and 62 units, respectively.
Overlooking all is the Sunrise Mountain Village of older townhomes, condos and a handful of single family homes, with Vista, the most recent addition, constructed in 2016. Including 172 condominiums, Sunrise by itself comprises 258 units altogether.
All three developments are under the umbrella of a master homeowne r s ’ association, said Richard Kolb, general manager. Current listings for Topridge are in the $600,000 to $1.5 million range, with the older Sunrise units listing in the mid-$100,000 to mid- $200,000 range.
Mike Solimano, president and general manager of Killington Mountain Resort, sees Bear Mountain as an all-around win.
He said in an email, “… the lack of a substantial amount of ski-on, ski-off housing has been a challenge for the resort and our guests. Guests want easy access to the slopes.”
He also sees the Bear Mountain expansion as a catalyst for the area’s economic growth.
“ The key to successful ski villages is having enough critical mass of guests around to create a great vibe that others want to be part of,” he said. “We clearly have critical mass of people in the winter.”
The project will be completed in two phases. Subject to permitting, next summer will see the construction of six multifamily condo buildings at an estimated cost of $45 million, as well as the remodeling of Bear Mountain Base Lodge.
Phase 2 is projected to begin in summer 2020 with the construction of 18 duplex residences, located at the base of Bear Mountain, for an estimated $25 million. Trail and lift changes are expected to add about $8 million.

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Man Dies After Killington Crash

Vermont Standard
11/1/2017

Staff Report
KILLINGTON – A man has died from injuries sustained in a three-vehicle crash in Killington in October.

In a statement released Monday, Vermont State Police said Michael Petralia, 79, of Sudbury, died from injuries sustained in the Oct. 22 accident. Also in the Monday statement, police said Petralia’s passenger, Aishia Fox, was in stable condition at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

The accident remains under investigation, and no further information was available this week from Vermont State Police investigators. The crash occurred on Route 4 at the intersection with East Mountain Road.
According to police, preliminary investigation determined that on Oct. 22, a westbound car driven by Nicole Auclair, 30, of Plymouth, collided with the rear end of a car driven by Jacob Lyngdal, 20, of Orange, Conn., causing Lyngdal’s vehicle to cross the centerline into the eastbound lane. Lyngdal’s car collided with a motorcycle driven by Petralia that was heading east, ejecting Petralia and Fox from the motorcycle, according to preliminary investigation.

DHART responded to the scene and airlifted Petralia and Fox to DHMC, police said.
In the initial press release, police said Lyngdal’s passenger, Quentin Lyngdal, 52, of Orange, Conn., sustained less serious injuries and was transported to Rutland Regional Medical Center, treated and released.
The Killington Fire Department, Regional Ambulance Service, Manchester Rescue Squad and Wallingford Rescue Squad all responded to the scene of the crash.
Police are asking anyone with information about the crash to call 802-773-9101.


Saturday, October 28, 2017

One of Killington’s mountain men dies



Royal Biathrow, Killington founder Preston Smith, and Henry Biathrow are reunited on the occasion of Henry’s retirement party at the new Skyeship Base Lodge in 1995. Roiyal was Smith’s first employee and helped him create the resort in 1957. Henry was recruited a year later. PHOTO BY MAC MCGILLIVRAY
Royal Biathrow, Killington founder Preston Smith, and Henry Biathrow are reunited on the occasion of Henry’s retirement party at the new Skyeship Base Lodge in 1995. Roiyal was Smith’s first employee and helped him create the resort in 1957. Henry was recruited a year later. PHOTO BY MAC MCGILLIVRAY
Royal E. Biathrow, who died Wednesday at 84, was Killington Ski Area’s first employee in 1957 and leaves a legacy of ski trails and ski tales as interesting as the man himself. Born and raised in Bridgewater, Biathrow became a logger during high school. He served in the army in the Korean War and married Norma Towne in 1954.
His wife’s father operated a gravel and construction business at the corner of West Hill Road and Route 4 in Killington, and Royal went to work for him, gaining the heavy equipment experience and the steepmountain bulldozer expertise that would come in handy for building ski trails.
A big man with a Vermont sense of humor and abundant Yankee ingenuity, Biathrow was one of the first locals to notice the potential in the Killington Ski Area.
In his characteristic storytelling fashion with the mischievous twinkle in his eye that told you he knew the double meanings of what he was telling you, Biathrow was as fond of sharing Killington stories as he was proud of having helped Killington founder Preston Leete Smith develop the ski area.
“I could always count on Pres to come up and get that old Lincoln stuck on Friday nights. I’d pull that old car out and take him back to the farmhouse. I could count on making $10 from him every weekend,” he said of his first memories of Smith in a 1988 interview.
Biathrow became Killington’s first employee in 1957, helping Smith build a “work road” to the mountain.
At a 50th-anniversary gala in December 2008, Biathrow regaled people with tales of the muddy road that existed from the old Bates farmhouse to the mountain.
Oneof the stories he shared concerned his idea to put slab wood on the road so as to “corduroy it” so they could get the bulldozer and trailer that carried supplies up to the mountain where they were cutting the lift lines and ski trails.
Noting Smith had a Volkswagen that got stuck when it slipped between the boards, he said Smith put it in gear, got out, and pushed. Soon Biathrow, who was driving the dozer, was amazed to see “a driverless bug” following him up the mountain.
Biathrow concluded his remarks at the gala on a more serious note, evincing the pride of the original pioneers: “At the end of the day, we built something that’s going to be there forever.”
In interviews about the history of Killington, Biathrow said, “It took a certain type of person to do that work, it was rough conditions. We always had three crews. One was hired, one was leaving, and one was coming.”
Men sometimes arrived improperly dressed for the mountain climate, or took one look at the rugged mountain and fled. The “steady crew” were mostly large men like Smith and Biathrow who could work all day, take time off for supper, and then work on into the evening.
With the difficulty of getting to the mountain each day, the men built rustic cabins on Snowdon and lived there during the week. They made their way down to the farmhouse on Friday nights, where beer and haircuts were in order. Smith played barber, Biathrow said, adding he “felt sorry for Sue Smith with all the mud they dragged in.”
Reached at his home in Florida, Preston Smith said Friday, “Royal was just a great guy— affable, fun and a hard worker. He could run chain saws, bulldozers, and trucks. He was smart, too. He knew how to put things together and solve problems. He had all the fundamentals for problem solving.” Getting creative
Illustrating Biathrow’s dedication and work ethic, Smith told of their working together on the top bull wheel of the original Killington chairlift and having trouble with the 2-foot long, 6-inch wide pin and its very fine threads.
“It was brutally cold,” he said, describing their barehand struggles to get the nut on that pin. “We were both strong as oxen, gritted our teeth, and got it done — who else would have done that all day?”
Royal also devised a method for anchoring the lift tower feet of the first Killington Gondola so that the helicopters delivering them could immediately take off and leave the men to secure the bolts to the concrete foundations without the danger of vibrations moving the tower on them.
A construction supervisor in summer, Biathrow carved trails, roads, and lift lines with a large TD-14 bulldozer. He helped build every lift up until Bear Mountain and worked on the installation of the first snowmaking system. In winter he operated lifts and supervised snow removal along with cooking, grooming, or helping out wherever needed.
Royal got his brother, Henry, and Henry’s wife, Jo, jobs working at Killington in 1958, Jo Biathrow recalled, commenting that, “Killington was Royal’s life.”
Henry noted Royal “did everything and loved what he did — he was right into it.” That included building the rolls that packed snow for the Case tractor, which Henry and Royal rigged up with wooden tracks for Killington’s first homemade grooming machine.
“Back when we started, we dug the foundation holes (for the lifts) by hand and built the wooden forms. We mixed our own cement, hauling the materials up the mountain and using a little cement mixer,” Henry said echoing Royal’s early pride in building 95 percent of everything by hand in the early days.
Royal retired from Killington in 1980, continued to work as a constable in Killington until moving to Rutland Town, worked for the county sheriff’s department and later as a currier for Casella Construction before becoming “fully retired.”
He leaves his wife Norma, son Howard and daughter Nancy Wiles, four grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and a legacy of ski trails that continue to be enjoyed by snow enthusiasts.
A memorial service is planned for a later date; arrangements are through Aldous Funeral Home.
Fittingly, and in accordance with his wishes, his ashes will be spread over the mountain he loved.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Killington crash victims identified


KILLINGTON, Vt. - State Police have identified one of the two people seriously injured in a three-vehicle crash that happened Sunday in Killington.

Police say 79-year-old Michael Petralia from Sudbury, is one of the people life flighted to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.
  
The name of his passenger, who was also taken to the hospital, hasn't been released.

Police say a car rear ended another vehicle, causing it to cross the center line and hit a motorcycle, driven by Petralia.
He was ejected from it, along with his passenger.
  
Five people in total were involved in the incident.