The job - which she will begin on Aug. 31 - will require her to travel to a designated neighborhood looking for Asian Longhorn Beetles. If she finds them she said she will have to climb the tree, collect them, document whether the beetle(s) are male or female, and what species of tree she found them in.
Education will also be a significant part of the job, she said. The most common way that the insect is spread from region to region, Scovil said, is through the transportation of firewood. That is one fact, among others, that Scovil intends to inform
Though it was a hard decision to make, Scovil said she took the job because she wanted to try to help control the ever growing population of the insect. "The Asian Longhorn Beetle right now is an epidemic and it's going to threaten all of New England," she said.
The insect could potentially have serious adverse effects on the lumber and maple syrup industries in Vermont if they were to reach the state. Scovil said that the Asian Longhorn Beetle not only attacks hardwood, but depletes the sugar in Maple trees, which would affect maplesugarers.
Scovil - who has been the New England women's champion for tree climbing - said she learned of the position through a recruiter who contacted her. Given that the job is a
Scovil has worked for the Town of Manchester since 2005 when she was hired as the administrative assistant to former Town Manager Peter Webster. Shortly after the arrival of Town Manager John O'Keefe, Scovil changed departments, taking the position as assistant town clerk. Town Clerk Linda Spence said that she was "shocked," when Scovil informed her that she would be leaving.
According to State statute, the town clerk must have an assistant. Spence said that she received a couple of applications thus far, but that interviews have not yet begun. She hopes to have a new assistant town clerk in place by the end of September.
In the interim, Spence said that office hours will remain the same despite the staff shortage.
In an interview last Thursday, Scovil said that while she was looking forward to her new position she would miss working with members of the community on a daily basis. In an e-mail Scovil thanked Webster for giving her the opportunity to work for the Town when he originally hired her and Town Clerk Linda Spence for mentoring her in the "Town Clerk world."
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