Brandon Library Possibly Closing

By Patrick Mcardle
THE RUTLAND HERALD
Officials with Brandon Free Public Library said services could be reduced and the library could be closed next month because of concerns about a man who lives nearby and who has allegedly said he would sexually assault a staff member.

Shane Bartshe, 30, is facing open charges in Rutland criminal court on several cases including pending charges of attempted sexual assault, simple assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct for fighting.

The most recent event in those cases was a hearing to determine whether Bartshe is competent to stand trial but the July 13 hearing was postponed.

This week, the Brandon Select Board sent letters to the Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, or DAIL, the Rutland County State’s Attorney’s Office, local state representatives Stephanie Jerome and Charles “Butch” Shaw, and the Community Care Network/Rutland Mental Health to express their concern and frustration.

“We need the system of mental health services and public safety to work to protect the individual in crisis, our public servants and our wider community. The danger of serious physical harm is imminent. The impact of trauma on the community has already occurred and continues while this crisis is left unresolved. As the elected governing board of the town, we find the risk to our community intolerable,” the letter said. The letter was signed by Seth Hopkins, board chair, but said it was sent on behalf of a “unanimous select board.”

The board took action after Molly Kennedy, the library director, spoke at their Monday meeting. Kennedy said there had been a threat against a staff member June 30. Kennedy said she had spent the last month trying to get information on how Bartshe, who she did not name, could be “better supported in our community.”

“I have a staff member who can’t be at work any longer so the library is looking at having to curtail services and close its doors,” she said.

Kennedy told the board she was there to ask for help.

“I haven’t been able to do any library work in 25 days because I’ve been dealing with this issue. So I’m hoping that we can put some pressure on these agencies to appropriately support this person so that he can continue to live perhaps in our community safely, which is not happening currently,” she said.

By email, Dick Courcelle, chief executive officer of the Community Care Network/Rutland Mental Health, said federal law limits what employees there can disclose about a client.

While never mentioning Bartshe by name, Courcelle said the matter in Brandon is a “very complicated situation which has become the subject of a lot of misinformation — creating the potential for dangerous dynamics in the community.”

Courcelle said residents should understand a “designated agency,” such as Rutland Mental Health, has a limited role in providing developmental services.

“There appears to have been a blurring of the line in viewing our role as a developmental services provider and the role of the criminal justice system,” Courcelle stated in the email.

Courcelle added he couldn’t provide more specifics about a particular case.

“(But) I can share that the agency, with input and support from (DAIL), is fulfilling its obligations to the state, our staff members and our individual client — and, in working with the (Rutland County) State’s Attorney, doing so in a way that balances the safety of our community members,” he said.

On Friday afternoon, a response was sent to Hopkins and David Roberts, chairman of the library’s board of directors, by Monica White, commissioner of DAIL, which said “misinformation” about Bartshe continues to circulate, “perpetuating a misunderstanding of the role and legal powers of the various entities working together to best address this situation in the safest manner possible for all involved.”

“There is no court order of which we are aware that requires (Rutland Mental Health) or any other agency to provide (Bartshe, who the response does not name) with 24/7 supervision. Furthermore, … 24/7 supervision is not necessarily safer than a focused delivery of services and supports. As communicated previously, upon learning of the situation, (Rutland Mental Health) has restructured and enhanced service delivery for this client to coincide specifically with the open hours of the Brandon Library,” White stated in her response.

White said the in the response, which was sent on her behalf and Courcelle’s, that they “respectfully suggest that the continued escalation of this matter is having the opposite effect of its intent and is instead further complicating the current situation.”

Rep. Stephanie Jerome, D-Brandon, was also at the Select Board meeting and said she had spoken with Ian Sullivan, acting state’s attorney for Rutland County. Sullivan attended a meeting of the library’s board of directors last week, which Jerome said was “important.”

Jerome asked the board to include her when the letter was sent out because “it sometimes helps (if) the agencies know that the local representatives are fully aware of what’s happening.”

Chief David Kachajian, of the Brandon Police Department, was not able to attend the Select Board meeting on Monday but said on Thursday he had just come from the library as part of an effort to check in daily.

Kachajian said the Brandon Police Department does not have any pending cases or prospective charges involving Bartshe.

“We’re actively working with everybody to try to come to some kind of resolution to this but for right now we’re just trying to maintain a presence at the library to make sure that the staff feels safe. If anything does happen, we will take immediate enforcement action,” he said.

While there was an allegation that Bartshe had threatened a library staff member, Kachajian said the police investigation indicated the alleged threat has been made to someone who provides support to Bartshe and not directly to the library staff member. Kachajian said Bartshe may have made a statement but there was no evidence of intent to follow-through so there is no current criminal case.

Roberts told the Select Board they should know Bartshe is a big man who has been accused of fighting with police officers in Rutland.

“When we say this guy is threatening, he has threatened to rape someone at the library. This person is afraid for her life so we can’t allow her to come to work with him being unsupervised. He lives 450 feet from the library. He has to pass the library to go to the grocery store,” Roberts said. Roberts said the library was in an “impossible situation.” He said the library is already short-staffed. While looking for security, one out-of-town company offered to supply an unarmed security guard at a rate of almost $70 an hour. Roberts said.

Roberts said library board members and staff members were trying to find a way to make the situation safer but added that they were aware that Bartshe was also a victim who had not chosen to have mental health issues.

“It’s an untenable and unsustainable situation for the library and for the town, and it is a huge deal and it’s disrupted an entire community’s lives around the library for the last 26 days,” he said.

Bartshe has faced prior criminal charges including animal cruelty, disorderly conduct, unlawful mischief and trespassing. Many of those case were resolved by an order of non-hospitalization.

patrick.mcardle @rutlandherald.com