When Barbara Bisson's neighbors in the small town of Pownal, Vermont, began getting ill, she had a good idea what the problem was: a nearby leather-tanning factory that emitted toxic fumes and polluted the local well water.

So Bisson got involved. With the help of a few friends, she began a campaign to close the factory. She persuaded state and national environmental officials to look into the illegal dumping, and she spent hours compiling cases of town residents who were becoming ill due to factory fumes.

When the factory closed and another buyer came looking, Bisson traveled out of state to check into his history, finding enough trouble to persuade townspeople to fight the sale and make sure the pollution would end.

In an open letter she challenged Pownal's selectman and spoke up for her neighbors: "How much do you really know about this possible sale of the tannery and about the rest of the situation and circumstances surrounding the present owners, the clean up, etc.? . . . There is no justification for laziness or for trivializing the issues, which are of vital concern to the people of Pownal."

Out-of-work tannery employees targeted Bisson with threats and obscene phone calls, but that didn't stop her from persevering to convince the EPA of the necessity of bringing formal charges against the polluters.

After the tannery issue was addressed, she shifted her focus to the reform of town government, and made herself even more of a target. She and some friends discovered that much of the town's business was being done behind closed doors, without public hearings. So she applied for a secretary job to play her part in recording the meetings. Despite being the only candidate for the job, she wasn't hired. Bisson then encouraged a State Attorney to examine the town's practices and to make sure that public records were open and available.

Bisson's activism continued; eventually, she was elected town lister (assessor), where she initiated an open-door policy and encouraged citizen involvement in local affairs.

Throughout all her efforts, and despite all the negative reactions to her being a "trouble-maker," Bisson says that she just wants to protect her neighbors and make sure things are done right in Pownal, to "see that cards are correct, the system is administered equitably, work is done out in the open, and people are treated with courtesy and respect." In Pownal, she says, "Never have selectmen taken a firm stand to protect the health and interests of the townspeople. Whenever they do get involved, it's only because residents have pushed them to do so."