WVTK Local & State News September 1, 2010

Construction of the East half of the roundabout continues. All parking from Park St. to the Otter Creek Bakery driveway has been removed permanently. Please be aware of traffic pattern changes in the downtown construction zones, pay close attention to traffic controllers and do not use your cell phone while travelling in these areas.

Prep work for paving on Route 30 between Middlebury and Whiting has begun. Be ready for some delays in one-way traffic zones. Be aware that the speed limit has been reduced to 40 MPH and fines are doubled for speeding in work zones.

Construction crews have been preparing a temporary span on Route 125 for use during the upcoming replacement of the Lemon Fair Bridge in Cornwall. Work on the new bridge is expected to start within a couple of weeks.

Apples here in Vermont appear to be ready for harvest 7 to 10 days early this year because of an unusual freeze in May followed by a hot summer. Some say this is good and bad for the Vermont crop and the profit that comes along with it. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates Vermont's apple crop this year to be 786,000 bushels, an 18 percent drop from 2009, according to the Vermont Tree Fruit Growers Association. Orchards located away from major bodies of water were hit hard by the mid-May freeze. Orchardists around the state seem to be optimistic.

The Hubbardton Battlefield Historical site is inviting people to walk in the steps of the Continental Army. Site interpreter Carl Fuller will lead a September 12th hike along some of the remnants of a military road that lead to the site from Mount Independence in Orwell during 1776-77. The event is one of many scheduled for September as part of Vermont Archeology Month. For more information just visit historicvermont.org/sites.

The Rutland Town School Board ratified a multiyear deal Tuesday night that includes a series of salary increases for educators. Very little discussion on the details of the contract took place during the meeting, but after the agreement was ratified, board chairwoman Lynette Gallipo said more information on the three-year deal was on its way this week.

Vermont auditors have completed their review of the Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Fund. The review does not say if the fund has enough money to clean up and dismantle the plant when it closes. Instead, it offers insight into how the fund is managed and run. Vermont Auditor of Accounts Tom Salmon says the panel also compared the Yankee fund to those from other states. The report now goes to the Legislature.

Vermont State Police fire investigators say a fire early yesterday morning at Rice Lumber on Shelburne Road is not considered suspicious. Even though they don't suspect arson, they say the true cause of the fire may never be known. The fire completely destroyed a storage building and a truck parked next to it. The damages are expected to be over $100,000.

The results from last month's primary election have been certified as being official. However, Democrats still don't have a nominee, because Doug Racine, who finished second behind Peter Shumlin is only behind by 197 votes. Combined with the Labor Day holiday, it's not going to be until next Wednesday until the official re-count is completed.

A Bellows Free Academy student is facing serious charges after authorities say he threatened to blow up and burn down the school in St. Albans. No bomb making material were found, and police say the 16-year-old boy was extremely upset at the time. Police were called to Bellows Free Academy last Friday on a report of an out-of-control student.

The City of Plattsburgh will host a major snowmobile race this winter. East Coast Snocross and Airborne Speedway will stage the snowmobile race at the Crete Memorial Civic Center on January 8 and 9. More than 300 top-flight racers from across the country are expected to take part in the 2-day event as part of the East Coast Snocross series.

3 former City of St. Albans firefighters might be getting their jobs back. An arbitrator ruled the city broke contract rules last September by letting the firefighters go. At issue was whether the city was right to allow volunteer firefighters from the Town of St. Albans to do the job of union city firefighters. The arbitrator says no.