WVTK Local & State News September 24, 2010

A boating accident on Lake Champlain killed a Vermont man and left another Vermont man seriously injured. It happened after 3 PM yesterday, just north of Monitor Bay in Crown Point, NY. According to Essex County Emergency Services, the driver lost control of the boat. Emergency workers are not releasing the names of those involved at this time. The director says it appears both men were somehow run over by the boat.

The sluggish economy and a slow job market have forced many Addison County residents to increasingly rely on local food shelves and other social services to make ends meet. Demand remained strong this year even during the summer months which is usually when requests for assistance is low. It also appears as though state and federal fuel aid benefits will be less than last year as we head into the heating season.

The Middlebury Development Review Board has denied the Fenn family’s proposal for a 16-acre gravel pit. It was to be on a portion of a 70-acre parcel off Route 116 just north of its intersection with Quarry Road.

UD-3 school officials will explore a 2011-2012 spending plan that is 2 percent less than the current year’s budget. The panel and UD-3 administrators have been directed to develop a budget reflecting a 3.5-percent decrease compared to current spending for Middlebury Union Middle School and High School. That would’ve translated into a cut of just over $558,000.

The Vergennes-Panton Water District Board again this week declined to accept a Vergennes residents’ petition calling for a second vote on the board’s $5.1 million plan for a major upgrade to its lakefront water plant. On August 4, Vergennes and Panton residents voted, 104-49 to approve a bond that would overhaul the district’s 37-year-old plant on Lake Champlain.

The town of Monkton will be putting on its Monkton Creates community celebration from October 8th – 16th. Events ranging from a pie contest to artist receptions will be taking place at various locations around town throughout the week. While many of the events are free and open to the public, proceeds from the various potluck dinners, dances and silent auctions that do charge a fee will go toward funding the restoration of the East Monkton Church, the Boro Schoolhouse and the Russell Memorial Library.

It's been said the best way to help the economy is to shop locally. This idea has sparked a campaign known as $25 on the 25th in New York. The main goal of the campaign is to get people to spend at least $25 in a locally shop or restaurant this Saturday, Sept. 25. The campaign originally began with the New York Press Association in an effort to create some excitement in downtowns across the state.

Green Mountain College has added car rentals to its list of services. The college announced yesterday it has created a partnership with Zipcar, a Massachusetts-based company that rents cars by the hour or the day. The company has arrangements with more than 200 colleges and universities around the country, including Middlebury College and Vermont Law School.

The Crown Point town board has adopted a zero tolerance policy for illegal drug use. The board has voted to randomly test town employees who drive town vehicles and those who have "sensitive" jobs. Crown Point highway workers have been drug tested in the past as part of a state Department of Transportation protocol. The town board has decided to extend that policy to any town employee who drives a town vehicle and others.

Assessments are a hot topic for many, but few people in the town of Moriah seem willing to do anything about them. The town has three vacancies on its board of assessment review. The town has advertised the vacancies three weeks and no one has submitted an application to serve. If Moriah cannot fill the vacancies on its board of assessment review local appeals will be heard by the Essex County Real Property tax Office.

After standing guard throughout Ticonderoga most of the summer, the community's "soldiers" have a final duty. The 30 six-foot tall wooden soldiers will be auctioned Thursday, September 30th. They were part of a street art project sponsored by the Ticonderoga Montcalm Street Partnership. The event benefits the efforts to revitalize downtown Ti and will be held 5:30-8:30 PM at Adam's Rib restaurant.

No criminal charges will be filed against Williston police chief Roy Nelson. That's the decision of Chittenden County Prosecutor T.J. Donovan. Vermont State Police say he appeared intoxicated while at an incident earlier this month, and the chief, who was on duty at the time, admitted to State Police he had been drinking. However, an updated blood alcohol test puts his level below the legal limit.

A nationwide recall of Similac brand powder infant formula includes formula in Vermont. The problem is insect larvae and parts were found in the product. It's one of the products currently provided to 17-hundred Vermont families enrolled in the Nutritional Program for Women, Infants and Children. The Vermont Health Department says a replacement formula is expected to arrive today and the department is urging those with the Similac to keep it to exchange for the replacement formula.

The Vermont Health Department has given the state's nuclear plant a clean bill of health for 2009. The Department has found that no significant adverse health effects from radiological exposures resulted from the plant's operations last year. Even with the leak of radioactive tritium at the plant the state says Vermont Yankee stayed within compliance limits for radioactive releases.

A Vermont consumer group says it has a new program that will make solar installations more affordable for homeowners by offering incentives. Working in conjunction with solar power companies, Vermont Public Interest Research Group announced plans for "solar communities" in Williston, St. George, Waterbury, Duxbury and Moretown that will allow providers to offer discounts by installing solar panels at homeowners and businesses clustered close to one another.