WVTK Local & State News July 1, 2010

More than 50 headstones were knocked over last week at Forestdale Cemetery. For most, homeowners' insurance will cover the cost to replace or repair gravestones. The Brandon Police Chief said they are conducting a full investigation of what he calls a senseless act of vandalism. He said they have yet to identify any suspects, but they are questioning people. He urges anyone with any information to contact the police department.

No matter what you do today, new laws will likely affect you. The 2010 Vermont Legislature passed 111 laws and some of them go into effect today. If you are driving watch out for what Vermont State Police call vulnerable people on the roads. Lieutenant John Flannigan said a law going into effect today will protect those vulnerable people. It toughens the rules for passing bikers, walkers or others on the road.

More than 15-hundred Vermonters will be losing their unemployment benefits soon. Due to federal law, 719 will lose their benefits at the end of next week because the state's unemployment rate dropped below 6.5-percent. Another 860 will not be able eligible to receive benefits beyond 26-weeks because Congress decided not to fund another extension.

Due to a printing error, about 10-thousand Vermont homeowners have been sent postcards telling them that they haven't filed all the required paperwork with the state. By September 1, all homeowners need to file a homestead declaration. Anyone confused about whether they've filed the required paperwork can call the Vermont Tax Department or check their website.

If you've received a penalty notice in the mail from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, it may be because of an error. About 9-thousand penalty bills went out for missing wage information for 2009. Of the notices that went out, only about 20-percent are correct. If you feel you received one in error, just call the New York State Department of Taxation.

A state audit has turned up dozens of errors in Vermont's sex offender registry, ranging from offenders mistakenly put on the registry to people either spending more or less time on the registry than they were supposed to. Out of a sample of 57 offenders, the audit found 29 had significant errors and 16 had critical ones.

Muffie Harvey of Brandon has been traveling on her horse Molly from Bennington Vermont, with a final destination of Church Street in Burlington on Friday. Muffie is raising money and awareness for breast cancer research for the American Cancer Society and The Pink Ribbon Foundation. Their trek began last Tuesday and they have been staying with host families along the way. People have been generous making donations along the way. If you are interested in donating to either the American Cancer Society or the Pink Ribbon Foundation, a Rutland-based agency that provides financial and logistical help to cancer victims, in Harvey's name, you can do so by sending a check made out to the organization to Muffie Harvey, P.O. Box 154, Forestdale, Vt. 05745.

The Vermont Symphony Orchestra will send up the first rockets red glare on tonight with fireworks set to cap off the orchestra’s July 1 outdoor concert at Middlebury College. This year’s program theme is “The Birds and the Bees”! Grounds at the college will open at 5:30 p.m. for picnicking. Tickets cost $25 for adults and $10 for children 12 to 18; children under the age of 12 will get in free.

This year, the independent, nonprofit Fresh Air Fund will place about 34 city kids from the five boroughs of New York City with families in Rutland County. The program attracted seven new host families and the goal is the get kids out of the big city and show them what Vermont has to offer.

The Black Watch Memorial Library will formally dedicate its expansion project. A ceremony has been scheduled Saturday, July 10, at 10 a.m. at the Ticonderoga library. The project more than doubled the space in the library. The addition includes a reading room, a meeting room, a children's room and allows for expanded programs and computer use.

A man with ties to Vermont who is also suspected of being a Russian spy has disappeared. Christopher Metsos, who is 54, was arrested Tuesday. He was released on bail that day, but never checked in with police, and now authorities say they cannot find him. Metsos attended Norwich University as a civilian student for one semester in 1994, and has a post office box in Northfield.

The Vermont State Department of Tourism and Marketing now has a new and very aggressive marketing campaign aimed at our neighbors to the north. Canadian visitors make up about ten-percent of Vermont's tourism industry, with tens of thousands of dollars now going into new television, newspaper and online ads. The TV commercial airing on Dish Network will reach hundreds of thousands of subscribers in Canada.

North Country Community College in Saranac Lake has unveiled a $65-Million renovation plan that would double the size of the campus. New York state would pay half the cost and Essex and Franklin counties, would each be responsible for about $16-Million. If both counties pass resolutions before September, than the project could go out to bid in the fall of 2011.

The state of Vermont has reached a settlement with a California Time-share Company accused of violating state law over the resale of timeshares. Timeshare Relief of Torrance will refund customers $91-thousand and pay the state $50-thousand.

A Northwest State Correctional Facility employee has been cited into court after police say he harassed someone on FaceBook. According to Police, 40-year-old John Hawkins of Swanton tried to befriend a person on FaceBook for 2 months. Investigators say he would not reveal his identity to the victim. Hawkins is scheduled to be in court in August.

The bike ferry connecting Colchester to South Hero is about to open for the season. This will be the ferry's longest season ever, starting this Saturday and running through Labor Day. This year they are asking for a $10 donation for a round trip. That is up from the $5 they used to charge. The ferry service will be running on weekends and holidays.