WVTK Local & State News April 12, 2010

Explosives broke up remaining chunks of the Champlain Bridge Friday. They blasted away underwater sections of a concrete pier to clear a channel. According to the New York Department Of Transportation they on schedule to have the entire bridge removed by the deadline of June 1st. Workers returned Saturday to break up another pier with more dynamite. Construction on a new span is scheduled to begin later in the Spring.

Vermont Fire officials say a Dump Truck fire in Middlebury was arson. A neighbor saw and reported the fire Saturday at Champlain Construction on Route 7. No one was hurt in the fire. The damage is estimated at about $12,000.

A Brandon man has died from injuries he sustained when the ATV he was riding went off a cliff last week. Police say 32-year-old Paul Pidgeon of Brandon was riding with a friend near the quarries along Route 7 when he drove off a 30-foot ledge. Police said alcohol, drugs and speed were not factors in the crash.

There may not be a consensus about what should be done with a 14-acre farm in the center of Pittsford but there was general agreement Saturday that the community should make the decision. 

 No headway was made toward determining future use of the Forest Farm on Route 7, but residents appeared to favor the purchase of the property, which a local non-profit volunteer group has an option to buy for $650,000 spread over a three years.

Attorney General William Sorrell says he's concerned that a pattern of cases involving alleged criminal conduct by police might be undermining Vermonters' trust in their police departments. That's why Sorrell is launching a criminal investigation in a case involving a Rutland police officer who allegedly used a pepper-ball riot-control gun to subdue an unruly prisoner, as he stood shackled in a holding cell New Year's Day. The officer, Michael Nesshoever, resigned last month.

Williston Police are on the lookout for a suspicious male. On Thursday, April 1st, police say a male in his late 40’s or early 50’s with a graying beard and straggly hair was watching children near the tennis courts in the Southridge Development. Just a few days later, a man matching the same description, jumped out of the bushes at 2 elementary school girls on the bike path behind Central School.

Governor David Paterson proposed starting a new program called the 'Silver Alert'. New York would become the 12th state to adopt the Silver Alert system. That means if a senior citizen or someone considered mentally disabled goes missing, it would immediately be broadcast like an Amber Alert to police departments, on highway billboards, and at airport and bus terminals.

The South Burlington Police Department is looking for a wheelchair that was stolen Saturday Night from the University Mall. The 6-wheeled red Jazzy wheelchair, which has a tan leather captain's chair and right-side control panel, was stolen after its owner was taken to Fletcher Allan Hospital. If you have any information, please call the South Burlington Police Department.

The Vermont Department of Health is urging the state's residents to take simple actions that can help prevent them from developing diabetes. Public health officials have seen the prevalence of obesity climb slowly but steadily among middle-aged Vermonters. People at the highest risk for diabetes are overweight or inactive.

The administration of Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss is not commenting on the resignation of veteran city employee Ben Pacy. Pacy oversaw city elections and has served as assistant Chief Administrative Officer under Jonathan Leopold. Pacy served most of his career in the Parks Department before getting a major promotion. His resignation is effective in June.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is trying to get the federal government to prohibit airlines from charging a fee for carry-on baggage. He is making a personal plea to the Treasury Department to rule that carry-on bags are a necessity for travel, which would make them exempt from a separate fee outside the ticket price.

Vermont ice cream entrepreneurs Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are backing legislation that would allow corporations to write a social mission into their legal charters. The two say if such a law had been enacted a decade ago, they might not have had to sell their Ben & Jerry's ice cream company to European conglomerate Unilever.

Spring skiing officially came to a close Sunday, despite many ski resorts already shutting down for the season. Stowe Mountain Resort made Sunday their final day of the season, which attracted a flurry of last-minute skiers, some decked out in costumes. Ski resorts say this is one of the shortest seasons in years. At Stowe, it only lasted 127 days, nearly a month less than the average.