Friday, August 27, 2010

WVTK Local & State News August 27, 2010

Base course paving continues at the roundabout east side and bridge approach. Please be aware of increased truck traffic and possible lane changes. College Street paving also continues as well as the start of line painting for parking spaces. Please pay close attention to traffic controllers and do not use cell phones in construction areas.

A New York patrol boat will be on the Lake Champlain narrows for the next couple of weekends to make sure boaters don’t disrupt the construction of the new Lake Champlain Bridge. The 23-foot patrol boat and its two-person crew will assist the U.S. Coast Guard during what Coast Guard officials believe will be busy weekends for boat traffic.

Many Addison County towns recorded voter turnout of over 20% for Tuesday’s Primary Election. Addison County residents showed strong support for Democrat gubernatorial candidate Matt Dunne of Hartland and two local men, Rep. Chris Bray, of New Haven and Starksboro Republican Mark Snelling, both vying for lieutenant governor.

The contents of Monahan Filaments, formerly Specialty Filaments, on Case St., are being auctioned off today. The facility will be open to the public starting at 8AM to inspect tools once used by the company to make filaments for products such as toothbrushes and industrial brushes. Bidding starts at 10AM 

The building is still owned by Monahan and is up for sale or lease in whole or in part.

Construction under North and South streets in Bristol that has kept portions of the roads unpaved all summer is nearing its completion a month ahead of schedule. The project, which included replacing a section of the town’s storm water system and upgrades to the water main in the downtown area, began in April and was originally scheduled to conclude in November.

Champlain Oil Company’s proposal for a Ferrisburgh gas station that includes a convenience store and fast-food restaurant will return to Environmental Court on Sept. 7. The judge hearing the case will make a pre-session visit that day to the site that Champlain Oil hopes to buy and develop.

The Bristol tennis courts are finally getting a much-deserved facelift. The Bristol Recreation Club is replacing the two existing tennis courts, which were originally installed in the mid-’70s and have since been patched, re-surfaced, and re-patched. A fund-raising effort for the new courts began eight months ago.

An armed man tried to rob the Union Street Grocery store in Brandon last Saturday night. The Brandon Police Chief said the lone male allegedly entered the store at 8PM and demanded cash from the owner who sounded an alarm. A fight broke out between the two and continued outside the store in the parking lot.

The town of Moriah transfer station will be accepting brush at no charge on Aug. 28 and Sept. 25 during regular operating hours. Brush will only be accepted from town of Moriah residents. The brush must be three inches around and under.

A major utility trade publication has listed Central Vermont Public Service as one of the 25 most intelligent electric utilities. Intelligent Utility has named CVPS No. 16 on its annual list of the top 25 intelligent utilities. The magazine designation was based on an analysis of productivity, renewable energy reliance, smart grid efforts, demand response and energy efficiency, and information technology investments. This magazine defines an intelligent utility as a company that applies information to energy, maximizing its reliability, affordability and sustainability from generation to end-users.

After a final day of testimony where John Walters says he remembers very little about the night of November 19, 2008 when he was involved in a shootout with a Vermont State Police Sergeant, it will be up to the jury to decide which argument in the case is the right one. The jury will begin deliberations after the prosecution and defense present closing arguments this morning.

The numbers are in and it appears the latest Killington-sponsored event has turned $20,500 into more than $100,000 for area hotels and businesses. Killington’s Economic Development Director Seth Webb released a new report that shows for every dollar the town spent on the American Junior Golf Association tournament Aug. 2-5, it resulted in a $5.62 return.

The state of Vermont is getting $5.7 million in federal aid to help homeowners use smart meters and install new solar hot water technologies. Smart meters are digital electricity meters that use real-time communication to help utilities be more efficient dealing with outages and demand.

The task of certifying Tuesday's primary election is underway. The unofficial results from the Democratic Gubernatorial Primary gives Peter Shumlin the win but only by a slim margin of 192 votes over Doug Racine and 689 votes of Deb Markowitz. Once the results are made official, Racine will decide if he wants a recount.

A mistrial has been declared in the case of a school principal accused of not protecting his students. Prosecutors say Richford Elementary School Principal Roger Gagne failed to do his job by not reporting that a 5th grader may have been abused by her teacher. Gagne says he though the superintendent would report the abuse. Prosecutors have not said if they'll retry the case.

Teachers and administrators in Winooski say they will be picketing Monday Morning at 7 AM. Their protest is in response to the school board imposing a contract for the second year in a row. The imposition means no contracts and no raises for teachers for a second year. The school board decided to impose the contract after year long negotiations broke down.

The Clinton County Health Department wants the Shircliff Mobile Home Park on Military Turnpike in Schuyler Falls closed and empty by October 13. But attorneys for owner Thomas Frey are filing a lawsuit to stop that closure date. The major focus of concern from the county is the park's ongoing water and sewage issues.

A man will be arraigned today on attempted assault and robbery charges, after police say he tried to hold up Simon's Market on Park Street. Police say they received numerous tips after a surveillance photo was released back in July. Those tips led them to 20-year-old Joshua Barrett of South Burlington. Officers say a gun was used, but no money was actually taken.

Burlington Police say they seen a recent spike in the number of cars and homes that are being broken into. That increase has police reminding people to take steps to protect themselves. Besides locking doors and closing windows, police advise your to keep valuables out of plan site and use lighting inside and out so your home appears occupied.

A library aide in Plattsburgh is $200,000 richer. Christine Suruda was 1 of 10 second place winners that will split $2 million. She says she only plays when the jackpot gets big and always plays family birthdays. The librarian says she didn't even realize she had won until she saw the numbers in the Sunday morning paper.