Two things are scheduled to happen Jan. 4 that are on a collision course. There will be swearings-in going on in Washington at the same time as swearings-in are supposed to go on in Montpelier.

Gaye Symington, who would be at the front of the room to mark the inauguration of the governor and the state's other highest-ranking elected officials, has an invitation to attend the other event in Washington.

She's torn, she said today, but she's decided to go to Washington. (Rep.-elect Peter Welch offered Symington one of his two tickets to the festivities - the other will go to one of his children.)

Symington's decision has prompted Gov. Jim Douglas to look into (or have his staff look into) changing the state inaugurations to Jan. 5. We won't know until next week whether that will happen.

Douglas spokesman Jason Gibbs said going to D.C. instead of Montpelier for this state tradition is something the governor would never do, but he understands why Symington would want to.

Symington laid it out this way: The transition to Democratic control in the U.S. Capitol is
a historic change in direction she thinks Vermonters are celebrating and she wants to represent them there. She wants to represent Welch's former Statehouse colleagues during his moment in the sun.

As the only woman Democratic state House speaker in the country, Symington said she also wants to be there as Nancy Pelosi is the first woman to step into the country's third most powerful position.

Changing the Vermont ceremonies could be a logistical problem, given that it involves changing the schedules of everybody from school choir groups to former governors and the first lady, whose dental office had not scheduled any appointments for Jan. 4.

If the inaugural is changed to Jan. 5 and you develop a toothache, they'd probably be able to fit you in.

So tell us: Should the Vermont inaugurations of the governor, lt. gov., sec of state, treasurer, atty. general and brand-new auditor (including the governor's inaugural address) be pushed back a day or not? Is Symington out of line for going to D.C.? Is the governor making more hay of it by suggesting her absence calls for changing the schedule?

- Terri Hallenbeck