"The View" is going to change between Vermont neighbors

THETFORD, Vt. -- The view from her horse farm didn't sit well with Ruth Dwyer, so the Vermont woman -- a former gubernatorial candidate -- erected a 60-foot high by 24-foot wide screen, to block her neighbor's home.

Red Sox fans in the region might think of it as a second "Green Monster," a la Fenway Park.

Now, after a yearlong dispute, the Lebanon Valley News reports that Dwyer has agreed to remove the structure by Nov. 1, as part of a settlement filed earlier this month. If she doesn't, each day the structure remains up will cost her a $200 fine from the town of Thetford.

Dwyer has said one of her horses was startled by a child on the neighbor's driveway, prompting her to plant trees to block the view. She said she installed the massive screen to do the job until the trees grow tall enough.

The town says the structure violates zoning rules and began assessing fines in March.

The agreement was achieved via court-ordered mediation.

"This situation is slowly starting to resolve itself," said Patrick Perry, Dwyer's neighbor, who was not involved in the agreement. "I hope that this thing can come down and we can go on with life like normal," he told the newspaper.

Perry contacted town officials after the wall -- built from utility poles and green fabric -- went up last fall. He recalled thinking, "Is this some sort of a joke or normal behavior in Thetford at Halloween? ... When you look at this beautiful farmhouse one day and the next day there's this giant thing, it's really jarring when that first happens."

According to the Valley News, Perry and his family moved to Thetford and became Dwyer's neighbors about two years ago. Until the wall went up, Perry said, he was unaware that Dwyer disliked her view of his home.

In November, Zoning Administrator Mary Ellen Parkman determined that since the wall exceeded 10 feet in height, it required a permit. The town in February rejected Dwyer's after-the-fact permit application and began assessing fees of $200 per day on March 12.

The fees, which total in the tens of thousands, will be waived "if the wall comes down," Parkman said in an email.

Dwyer twice ran unsuccessfully for governor.