Tuesday, July 13, 2010

WVTK Local & State News July 13, 2010

Middlebury voters are headed to the polls today to cast ballots on a $3 million, 20-year bond to fund a mounting backlog of needed repairs to the town’s water system infrastructure. The backlog of projects came about due to focus on water-related upgrades near the new Cross Street Bridge project which meant that other projects had to be delayed.

The Lincoln Community School is facing some tough budget decisions. They are weighing needed repairs and the costs associated with them. The Lincoln Community School board will sketch out three options for the ailing school building at a hearing tonight.

The owner of Alden Place in Vergennes is vowing to fight a state order shutting down the facility last month after finding numerous violations. A few weeks ago the Vermont Department of Disability, Aging and Independent Living, decided to shut down the facility and revoke the owners license after receiving complaints from workers at the home. Owner Virgie Booska and her attorney are appealing the state's decision to close, and she remains steadfast in her innocence.

Language classes at Middlebury College were postponed this past week during the recent heat wave. Last Thursday afternoon students took to cooler spaces and activities like swimming instead of being in classrooms with no air conditioning.

No charges will be filed following the death of a trainer at the Vermont Police Academy. The trainer, David McMullen, was the target of an investigation involving inappropriate images. During the investigation, he committed suicide. The attorney general announced yesterday with McMullen dead, and no one else involved, there are no grounds for a criminal prosecution.

We have an update to the missing person's story in Winooski. The elderly woman, reported missing on Saturday, has been found. Police say they've spoken with 87-year-old Mary Nader and she's doing just fine.

Police will be releasing details today about 2 people of interest in connection with an arson fire in Barre that destroyed the old Key Bank building. More than 100 fire fighters battled the blaze on Memorial Day. Vermont State Police Lieutenant Jim Cruise confirmed that the 2 people are now in custody in Essex County, New York and will face more than just arson charges.

A major drunk driving loophole has been closed in New York. Governor David Patterson signed into law what's called "Jack Shea's Law". In the Shea case, the court ruled that blood tests showing the driver was drunk could not be used because the blood sample was not drawn by a doctor. The new law, effective immediately, allows trained medical staff to now take samples.

Plans are moving forward to reduce the population of double-crested cormorants on Lake Champlain, birds thought to eat too many sport fish and destroy the wooded islands where they nest. Federal and state wildlife officials from Vermont and New York met recently and agreed to set a target population for the nonnative sea birds on the lake that would not diminish the fish population. The details of the plan have not been worked out.

Senators Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy are touting a proposal they say could help stabilize milk prices paid to dairy farmers. At a forum in South Burlington yesterday, Sanders said the proposal, which caps how much farmers produce, would mark a fundamental change in how dairy products are priced.

Governor David Patterson was in Lake Placid for the first time since taking office. He was on hand yesterday as both bobsled tracks were added to the National Register of Historic Places. The first bobsled track was built for the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid and was the first official bobsled track in the U.S. The second was constructed for the 1980 Games.

Primary election ballots sent to cities and towns around Chittenden County had to be destroyed and replaced due to a printer's error. Secretary of State Deb Markowitz says the problem was the Democratic ballot was printed on a larger piece of paper than the Republican or Progressive ballots. The ballots were replaced in time to meet yesterday's early voting deadline.

Vermont State Police are hoping to give out thousands of dollars for information that helps them solve cold cases. There are about two dozen unsolved homicides in the state. And a dozen missing person cases where foul play is suspected. In an effort to encourage individuals who may have information to any of these cases, the State Police announced Monday they are offering a reward of up to five-thousand dollars for information leading to an arrest and conviction in a case. For more information: 802-241-5355 www.dps.state.vt.us/vtsp/major_cases.html

Efforts to eradicate teen smoking have plateaued in Vermont. After a long, steady decline, Vermont's youth smoking rate has remained unchanged at 16-percent since 2005, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC is pushing states to invest more in prevention and cessation efforts.

Vermont’s gas prices have fallen a bit. The average cost for a gallon of regular gas is $2.72, nearly $.05 less than a week ago. Vermont's average matches the U.S. average, though the country has seen a smaller drop over the past week. The highest gas is $2.99 in Morrisville while the lowest is $2.64 in South Burlington. Gas prices in Vermont and across the country have been steadily declining over the past month.

The engineering and mathematics building at the University of Vermont is back open after being evacuated yesterday morning. The Burlington Fire Department responded to a call of an unidentified odor at Votey Hall around 7:45 AM. Haz-Mat crews found nothing. No injuries were reported. The building was back open for afternoon classes.

A Vermont-made movie has earned big national praise. The country's largest teachers' union, The National Education Association, praised, "Shout it Out" earlier this month for the way it brings attention to the seriousness of school bullying and cyber bullying. The Vermont-made film puts to music the sometimes tough realities of teenage life.

A brief and quick moving storm did some serious damage throughout Clinton County. High winds around 5:20 yesterday afternoon blew a parked DC-10 thru a fence at the Plattsburgh International Airport. Lighting struck a transformer in Peru, knocking out power for a short time. A number of trees also blew over, some taking power lines with them in Cliff Haven and Keeseville.