Monday, August 16, 2010

WVTK Local & State News August 16, 2010

Commuters who use the temporary ferry crossing between Addison and Crown Point are being warned of delays on Thursday and Friday afternoons. Officials at Lake Champlain Transportation say they've noticed a sharp increase in traffic in the past couple weeks. They expect to see the heavy traffic flow though foliage season in October.

More than 20 towns and cities across Vermont will share $1.8-Million in tax credits to help downtown revitalization projects. Some of the towns and cities included Middlebury, St. Albans, Winooski, and Montpelier. In Barre the money will go to help rebuild one of the buildings in the center of the downtown that fell victim to arson.

A Bridport man is recovering today after being shot by a stray bullet over the weekend. Police say 35-year-old Tracy Stone was target shooting in the woods about a half a mile away when a bullet he shot hit 76-year-old Peter Damone as he was talking on the phone while grilling dinner. Damone is listed in stable condition at Fletcher Allen Medical Center.

According to the school’s new interim coach football is on at Rutland’s Mount St. Joseph Academy. 

Despite rumors about the private Catholic school ending the program, practice starts this morning. MSJ football’s future was thrown into question last week when Chip Forte resigned as head coach of the Division III team, two days before practice was to begin.

Several people are homeless after flames ripped through a Westport apartment building. Flames broke out at the Marks Road building, which housed four apartments, around 4pm yesterday. No one was seriously injured in the fire but at least two pets could not be saved. Several departments responded to the scene. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The Ticonderoga Revitalization Alliance has formed with an eye toward improving the local economy. The group has the support of the Ticonderoga town board. So far, 50 Alliance members have pledged $25,000 to the cause, as well as help in a handful of early alliance backed projects. The alliance's assistant executive director says the group will unite the community and spur economic growth. For information Email ticonderogarevitalization@yahoo.com.

The Vermont Chamber's Aerospace and Aviation Association is holding an open house Thursday at the Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport. The event, which is sponsored by GE Aviation, will focus on the company's role in the production of the GEnx engine. It will also celebrate improvements at the North Clarendon airport. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch and Boeing Co. executive Rick Stephens are among the featured speakers.

Vermont's five Democratic candidates for governor will get another chance to debate before the Aug. 24 primary election. A forum will be held Thursday in St. Albans. At the event - sponsored by a new union representing early educators - the candidates will take questions about early education issues and from the public. The forum, which is open to the public, will held at the St. Paul's United Methodist Church at 6:30 p.m.

Starting in September, workers at Nova Bus in Plattsburgh will be switching to a 3-day workweek. Officials with the company blame the lagging economy for a drop in work orders. About 80-percent of the staff will be affected by the change in work schedules. The company hopes to return to a full production schedule as soon as possible.

Today we observe Battle of Bennington Day. State and City Offices are closed today in observance of the pivotal Battle that took place in 1777 during the Revolutionary War. Most Banks, the American Red Cross Donor Center, Post Offices, Federal Offices, and Federal Courts are open today.

A new law in New York will help clean up the state's waterways including Lake Champlain. The state's making it illegal to sell dishwashing detergent that contains phosphorus. Stores have 60 days to sell off their inventories. Starting in 2012, a similar ban will apply to lawn fertilizers. 16 other states including Vermont have similar bans.

A construction zone flagger was struck and killed by a passing vehicle Friday afternoon. 33-year-old Zachariah Brown from Derby was directing traffic while work crews were repaving the road. He was struck by a pickup truck driven by a 76-year-old man from Newport Center. Police say it appears the driver was distracted, and was neither speeding nor drunk.

While they've been held in Europe for years, a special auction held on Saturday in Randolph Center was a first for this country. The "landscape auction" was a way for people to help protect Vermont's landscape. Some of the items auctioned off were maintaining a habitat for ruffed grouse, stock Atlantic salmon in the White River, as well as maintaining a covered bridge.

The Crown Point Bird Banding Association marked a milestone during the spring migration by capturing and releasing its 100th species of bird, an American Kestrel. It was the first small falcon ever banded on the Crown Point peninsula. Established in 1976, the bird migration monitoring station at Crown Point State Historic Site has banded a total of 15,976 birds.

Ticonderoga Girl Scouts have been busy. In early January scouts began knocking on doors taking orders for the annual cookie sale. While they were out taking orders as part of their community service project they were also asking for everyone to purchase an extra box which would be shipped to the troops overseas. 23 cases or 276 boxes were shipped to troops overseas. The Scouts thank all those in the community who helped make the community service project a huge success and to The American Legion Post 224 who helped with the distribution of these cookies to our troops overseas.