WVTK Local & State News October 26, 2010

The next public meeting regarding the possible consolidation of schools in the Addison Northwest Supervisory Union will be held tonight from 6:30 – 8:00 PM at the Addison Central School. The union is exploring a possible unification vote on Town Meeting Day 2011.

Addison selectmen are sponsoring a forum at Addison Central School to explore the possibility of converting the school into an independent private school. It would be known as a town academy that would serve Addison’s elementary-school-age pupils. The meeting will be Thursday evening at 6:30 at Addison Central School. Such town academies are permissible under Vermont Law. In order for a town academy to be created in Addison, residents would apparently have to vote to close Addison Central School, lease it to an independent school, send its students to that school, and leave Addison Northwest Supervisory Union.

The UD-3 school board is welcoming a new Middlebury member and is seeking to fill another vacancy created by the recent resignation of longtime Shoreham member Bill O’Neill. Quinn Mecham will serve the balance of the term of former UD-3 board member Connie Leach. The ID-4 school board, which represents Middlebury, appointed him to the position. That position will then be up for grabs on Town Meeting Day next March.

The Bristol Energy Committee presented the Mount Abraham Union High School board with a plan to install solar panels on the roof of the school building. But it will be awhile before Mount Abe opts for arrays. Chairman Lanny Smith feels it may not be cost effective at this point. It could take 48 years to see any pay back on the installation.

Vermont State Police are investigating an armed robbery in Wallingford. It happened shortly after 7 last night at the Smartshop Mobil Station. Police say a man held up the clerk at the register and demanded money. The man is described as 5'6"-5'8" with a slender build. Anyone with information should call police at (802) 773-9101.

Vermont State Police Detective Joshua P. Lemieux of west Rutland was arrested for drunken driving earlier this month. He pleaded innocent to the charge yesterday in Rutland criminal court through a waiver of appearance filed by his attorney. He was freed on the conditions he would not drive without a valid license and neither have nor drink alcohol. If convicted, he could face a maximum of two years in prison and a $750 fine.

Police are looking for a man who is stealing credit cards from gyms in Vermont and fraudulently charging thousands of dollars. They have photos and surveillance footage of the man they just don't know who he is. Since September police say he's stolen three credit cards out of gym locker rooms in Chittenden and Addison counties scamming Vermonters out of almost $11,000. Police describe the suspect as about 6 feet tall, 200 pounds, and in his early to mid 40s.

Although he appeared in court on four misdemeanors Monday, a homeless man living in Burlington was ordered held on one million dollars bail. Burlington police now say 45-year-old Jose Pazos, who was arrested for breaking into a storage shed at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl, is considered by police to be the prime suspect for the recent murder of Kathleen Smith.

The Smugglers' Notch road is back open. Vtrans closed the road over the weekend after cold winter weather made for dangerous conditions, but it was reopened yesterday after 2 PM. Officials say they will continue to monitor the roadway, which eventually will be closed for the winter.

A woman from Morrisville appeared in court yesterday to plead not guilty to charges she murdered her four-month-old grandson. Pamela Raymond is charged with second-degree murder in the baby's death. Prosecutors say she was caring for little Warren Bailey last month when she gave the infant some of her husband's prescription anti-depressants to keep the baby quiet.

One week before the election, and both the Democrat and Republican gubernatorial candidates told Vermonters they’d do something that has been promised before. Peter Shumlin and Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie said they’d bring cell phone service from one state border to the other, as well as high-speed Internet service in most of the rural areas of the state.

Vermont's attorney general and the Republican Governors Association are suing one another. In lawsuits filed yesterday, Attorney General William Sorrell is accusing the RGA of campaign finance law violations, while the RGA is calling Vermont's attorney general a partisan Democrat trying to muzzle its free speech. At issue is the RGA's sponsorship of ads that have aired in Vermont promoting GOP gubernatorial nominee Brian Dubie.

If you want to see how your car insurance company stacks up when it comes to consumer complaints, the New York state Insurance Department has the info on its website. The agency has released its 2010 annual ranking of automobile insurance companies showing how 167 insurers performed last year. It's based on the number of consumer complaints the department upheld, in relation to the volume of business. Click here to visit the site.

The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation says about 5,000 Deer Management Permits will be issued to hunters who were previously denied permits during the initial application period earlier this fall. Leftover permits will also be available in several Wildlife Management Units beginning Nov. 1.