WVTK Local & State News November 11, 2010

The Charlotte to Essex ferry crossing will run as scheduled with the M.V. Adirondack from mid-November until the end of December. Beginning Jan. 1, the ferry M.V. Governor Aiken will run as long as ice conditions permit. Lake Champlain Ferries has taken delivery on a ferry built by Eastern Marine Shipbuilding Panama City, Fla. The new ferry will be put in service by Jan. 1 and used as a fill in for ferries that need engine rebuilds and U.S. Coast Guard mandated haul-outs.

Small City Market, a longtime commercial anchor in downtown Vergennes has reopened for business on South Water Street. The new store includes a cold beverage cave, a larger delicatessen with an impressive take-out menu plus a variety of fresh New York-style brick oven pizzas. Their open-air merchandiser provides customers with a daily selection of fresh fruits, vegetables, salads, and more.

Downtown Rutland's Paramount Theatre hopes to complete a repair project before any major winter storms. Contractors are replacing roofing membrane and rotten sheathing that recently caused water damage inside the theater. Federal and local grants of $46,000 are paying for the work. Theater officials anticipate the work to be completed within 3 weeks.

Rescue officials say three people are safe after being pulled from a Lake Champlain cave Tuesday night, where they were stranded after their raft broke up in stormy conditions. Firefighters from Charlotte rappelled down a 30-foot cliff to reach the three, along with three dogs. Emergency responders say the cave may have saved the lives of the three, by shielding them from 6-foot waves on Lake Champlain.

For the first time in 216 days, 45 members of the Vermont Air National Guard are back home. They arrived yesterday. The men and women of the 158th Security Forces Squadron provided security in Saudi Arabia. The 15-hundred members of the Vermont Army National Guard who have been serving in Afghanistan will return before Christmas.

A six-story building near downtown Winooski, which will be able to provide help and housing for struggling veterans is nearly finished. The Canal Street Veterans Housing is being built by the Committee on Temporary Shelter and is the first of its kind in Vermont. The goal is to provide services to homeless and struggling vets, helping them find jobs and permanent housing. It's due to be completed in mid-December.

The head of a Vermont National Guard-led brigade in Afghanistan says his unit is helping make "huge progress" in establishing civilian governments in the areas where it is operating. Since March, Col. Will Roy has commanded almost 1,500 Vermonters and soldiers from five other states and several countries in three provinces in eastern Afghanistan.

The Public Service Board said its hands are effectively tied over the future of Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. The Chairman also made it clear that there wouldn’t be any new developments for the foreseeable future on pending issues on the Vermont Yankee docket.

Unless Congress acts soon, heavy tractor-trailers won't be traveling Vermont's highways starting next month. Senator Patrick Leahy will try to get legislation passed to make a pilot program designed to allow trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds on Vermont's interstates permanent. Right now the federal government is looking at whether to make a temporary rule that is set to expire in December permanent.

Burlington police want to talk to two men in connection with a mugging on a city street over the weekend. Images of the two men were captured on a surveillance camera outside the Willard Street Market the night of the attack. Police are not calling the two men suspects, but say they do want to talk to them.

A special ceremony is planned for today. It's the day the Vermont memorial to the global war on terrorism will be unveiled at the Randolph Veterans Cemetery. Forty names of Vermonters who have died in the war since September 11th, 2001, are etched in the top of the memorial. The unveiling happens at 11AM.