WVTK Local & State News April 23, 2010

Addison Northwest Supervisory Union officials have scheduled two more informational meetings before the May 11 re-votes in Vergennes and Addison of whether union should change to a one-board governance system. Members of the board will be on hand to answer questions on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Vergennes Union High School library, and then on Wednesday, April 28, at 7 p.m. at Addison Central School.

New numbers show 65-percent of the residents of Addison County have returned their Census Forms, which is par with the state average. Residents who failed to take the estimated 10 minutes to fill out the form can probably expect a knock on their door from a Census worker in May or June. Officials say if you returned your form late, you could still get a visit from a census work, and you must answer the interview questions.

State financial regulators have upgraded their complaint against an Addison filmmaker to now include fraud. Mac Parker has collected $10 million over the past decade for a movie he's making called "The Birth of Innocence." The state has argued he violated law by selling unregistered securities to more than 600 people to finance the film. They now say he committed fraud by failing to disclose key information.

On Earth Day, students at Green Mountain College heard from one of the 12 people who have looked back at the Earth while standing on the moon. Apollo 12 lunar landing module pilot Alan Bean addressed a packed auditorium at the college yesterday. His talk had two messages: the importance of planet Earth and people's ability to achieve what seems impossible.

The Downtown Rutland Partnership has received approval from the city planning commission to apply for a state grant to fund a traffic study of three downtown streets. If the city receives the $15,000 municipal planning grant from the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, West, Wales and Evelyn streets will be the subject of the study's focus.

IBM in Essex Junction is hiring. Plant officials say they have nearly 100 job openings and the openings are full-time, long-term positions, with benefits. To fill the openings, IBM will be holding 2 job fairs on Monday. The first one will be from 10 to 2 at the Vermont Department of Labor Offices in Burlington. The other one will be from 4 to 8 at the IBM plant.

Two nurses at Horace Nye Nursing Home have had all charges against them dismissed. 49-year-old Anne Marcotte of Willsboro and 38-year-old Billie Jo O'Donnel of Witherbee were arrested in January and charged with abusing a quadriplegic patient. The judge dismissed the charges yesterday based on the evidence in the medical records. They are both getting their jobs back.

Tomorrow is medicine drop off day. If you have any old medications or prescriptions you can drop them off at Kinney Drugs on Shelburne Road in South Burlington or Cornelia Street in Plattsburgh. Just make sure keep everything in its original packaging, if it's a prescription, cross off your name and address on the label. No environmentally hazardous, or illegal drugs are allowed.

The next time you think about pulling into a handicap parking spot for just a minute, you might want to think twice. Governor Jim Douglas this week signed into law a bill doubling the fine from $100 to $200. The bill also calls for vehicles, illegally parked in a spaced mark for the disabled, to be towed at the owner’s expense.

A judge has put off a ruling on whether to throw out a confession for a former 5th-grade teacher accused of molesting students. Shaun Bryer, who taught in Morrisville and Colchester, faces 18 charges. Bryer's attorneys say he hadn't been read his Miranda rights when he made his initial statements to police.

The state of Vermont is cracking down on lead paint again. The Attorney General's Office has sent a letter to the owners of 65 apartments in Winooski. They now have 90 days to demonstrate their compliance with the state's lead law. The law was enacted to prevent the accidental lead poisoning of children.

Compared to the rest of the country, state labor officials say Vermont companies are relatively safe places to work -- with fewer job-site injuries and illnesses. Companies recognized as part of a state initiative all came in with better-than-average figures. Some of those companies include Ben & Jerry's, Energizer Battery, and G.E. Aviation.

Police say two men tried to lure an 8 year-old boy into their van in St. Albans. The men told the boy they lost their puppy. The boy refused to help and went to tell his mom what happened. The van then took off. The men are in their 30s. One has a goatee, and one has curly hair and was wearing a red hat. The van is light blue. Anyone with information should call police.

The Northeastern Clinton Central School Board recently has approved a budget for next year that includes a zero-percent change in tax levy. The proposed budget is 1-percent less than the current budget. In order to deal with cuts in state aid, Board officials say they made cuts in a number of different areas including seven positions.