WVTK Local & State News March 14, 2012

Here’s a reminder that the final installment of the Town of Middlebury property taxes is due tomorrow. Offices will remain open until 5:30PM tomorrow to accept payments.

The Addison County Chamber Of Commerce will hold its March mixer at Danforth Pewter on Seymour Street in Middlebury tomorrow from 5 – 7PM. Mingle with fellow business people in their workshop and store and share hors d’oeuvres, drinks, door prizes and a chance to win the Pot of Gold—now valued at $900! For more information or to RSVP to Sue Hoxie click HERE.

The Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce March “After Business Mixer” will be held tomorrow as well. The event will take place at Crown Point Telephone/Crown Point Network Technologies from 5:30 to 7PM. Sponsors providing door prizes will be The Burgoyne Grill, Glens Falls National Bank and the Wagon Wheel Restaurant. The Crown Point Telephone/Crown Point Network Technologies office is located on Route 9N in Crown Point. For more information just visit www.ticonderogany.com.

The Addison County Chamber Of Commerce wants to let you know that two of Vermont's U.S. legislators are in the area this week and are holding public meetings. You can join congressman Peter Welch for a lively question and answer session on Friday at Noon at The Lodge at Otter Creek in Middlebury. Light refreshments will be provided. Then Senator Bernie Sanders will be hosting a town meeting this coming weekend. The meeting takes place on Sunday at 11AM. Refreshments will be available starting at 10:30. The meeting with Senator Sanders will take place at Holley Hall on South Street on Bristol. RSVP is requested, but not required: 800-339-9834 or www.sanders.senate.gov.

The American Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days has arrived in Addison County! Daffodils will be available to purchase throughout the week of March 19th in several locations in Orwell, Middlebury and Vergennes. Locations include Buxton’s Store and Orwell Gas N Go in Orwell; Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op, Cole’s Flowers and Blossom Basket in Middlebury; also Shaw’s Supermarket in Vergennes. Dollars raised through the Daffodil Days campaign will help the American Cancer Society fund vital cancer research.

The town of Moriah has established a new website to serve residents and meet new state requirements. The site, www.townofmoriahny.net, lists elected officials and department heads with contact information, posts agendas for upcoming town board meetings, has town board meeting minutes, copies of local laws and permits requirements. It’s still under construction but the new site will soon add the town budget, monthly financial reports and the town assessment roll. It will also have links to county and state agencies.

Congressman Peter Welch hopes a National Guard veteran outreach program in Vermont can expand nationwide. Welch and New York Congressman Chris Gibson were in Rutland yesterday to hear from veterans about the reintegration program. It provides Guard members and their families with health care services, plus counseling for marriage, business, and finances, as well as substance abuse treatment. Welch will take what he heard Tuesday to Washington in hopes of expanding the program to Guard veterans across the country, as well as active duty armed forces members.

South Carolina-based public charter airline Direct Air, which flies out of Plattsburgh International Airport, has canceled all flights until at least May 15th. Myrtle Beach International airport director Mike LaPier said all operations by Direct Air were suspended Monday night due to a fueling issue. Passengers with reservations from now until May 15 were advised to contact their credit card company to arrange for a refund. Direct Air owed its fuel supplier quite a bit of money, which is what brought the issue to a head Monday.

Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos has announced the official results in Vermont's primary. A total of 103,364 Democratic and Republican voters or 23% of voters cast ballots on March 6th. Of those 98% voted for President Barack Obama in the Democratic primary. In the Republican primary 39% of total voters chose Mitt Romney. Ron Paul came in second in Vermont's Republican primary with 15,343 votes followed by Rick Santorum with 14,345 votes. Newt Gingrich got 8% of votes cast in the state.

The Vermont House has voted unanimously in favor of a bill that would make recycling mandatory across the state. It now goes to the Senate, and Governor Peter Shumlin has said he supports it. The bill would make recycling - and eventually even composting - mandatory, with the mandates being phased in over the next few years. First up would be "traditional" recyclables, like paper and plastics, then yard waste, and eventually organic material, such as food.

A two-and-a-half-year-old girl was found walking alone in her pajamas Tuesday morning near the intersection of King and Saint Paul Streets in Burlington. Police found the child's mom eventually, who said she'd been sleeping when the little girl wandered outside. Police say the mother has an unusual sleeping pattern, which the kids have apparently picked up. Police say the case is not closed by any means, and the parents could possibly face criminal charges.

A bill banning teenagers from using tanning beds at tanning parlors has the unanimous backing of the House Healthcare Committee. While the decision was unanimous, the director of professional regulation says it's going to be very difficult for the salons to make sure they're not treating someone younger than 18. If it passes, tanning salons have to put up signs saying it's illegal for minors to use the tanning beds, as well as warning them of the health risks and penalties for breaking the law. The bill could be on the House floor by Friday.

Vermont's best young spellers will go head to head in a statewide spelling bee. The event is taking place this afternoon at St. Michael's College in Colchester. The winner will represent Vermont in Washington in June in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

A top official with the Vermont Medical Society says the doctors' group opposes a bill to allow doctors help terminally ill patients end their own lives. Paul Harrington, the group's executive director, says a bill being considered by a Senate committee would inject an unneeded legalistic process into a discussion best left to a patient and doctor.

The Shumlin administration and the union representing Vermont state workers are in talks about a possible early-retirement program for workers at the now-closed Vermont State Hospital. The administration announced late last month that 78 people who had worked at the Waterbury hospital before it was closed by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene would be laid off as of mid-April.

Vermont labor officials say the state's unemployment rate fell slightly in January to 5%. The seasonally adjusted rate was a decrease of 2-tenths of a percent from December and 3.3% below the national rate for January of 8.3%.

It could be a sign of a slowing economy. New numbers show state tax collections are down for the third month in a row. The state took in just over $52 million in general fund revenues in February. That is $9.5 million less than expected, a 15 percent shortfall. Administration Secretary Jeb Spaulding says the drop is a concern, but the state won't really know where it stands until income tax season is over.

A Vermont family is suing Green Mountain Power, blaming the company for the drowning death of a loved one. Daniel Forsey passed away last August when the power company opened its hydroelectric dam at Little River State Park in Waterbury. Forsey and a friend were fishing downstream and didn't hear or see a flashing alarm. Forsey was swept away by the water. According to the Burlington Free Press, the family claims Green Mountain Power opened the dam without adequate warning.

Vermont has a new tool to warn residents about prison breaks. The Corrections Department says it's purchased a better community alert system after its previous warning software failed last month. Neighbors of the Northeast Regional Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury weren't notified about an escape until hours after the inmates were caught. Officials say the new system is able to send time-sensitive, targeted warnings to landlines and cell-phones. It also sends emails, text messages and posts alerts to Twitter and Facebook. The commissioner says he hopes the new system will allow corrections and the community to work together.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says more than 25,000 New Yorkers have landed jobs in the last four months through the innovative "Jobs Express" website. The state website compiles employment openings in the state jobs bank by region and type of work. Businesses can post openings for free. The state website allows job hunters to narrow their search by their qualifications, regions and types of jobs. Now, union apprenticeships will also be listed. Jobs Express is updated daily. The site also includes advice on seeking jobs and provides what Cuomo calls an electronic job-matching tool.

A Vermont woman has been honored for jumping into a river to save the life of a boy who was crying for help. Jennifer Whisher had been walking her dogs along the bank of the Winooski River last August when she heard the cries. She jumped in and brought the boy to safety. The Burlington Free Press reports Whisher was presented with a Life Saving Award at a police awards luncheon on Monday.

The Weybridge Elementary School Tag Sale will take place on Saturday, March 24th from 8AM – 1PM. You will find a large selection of clothes, toys, house-wares, sports equipment, books and more. The school is located at 210 Quaker Village Rd. in center Weybridge, across from Monument Farms Dairy. Donations can be dropped off at the school after Wednesday, March 21st.

There is a 6-foot, 3 1/2-inch tall rabbit roaming the halls of Ticonderoga High School. No one has seen him, but that’s the point. Sentinel Productions, the Ti High drama club, will present the play “Harvey”. Shows are at 7PM Saturday, March 24th and 2PM Sunday, March 25th in the school auditorium. Tickets are $2 for students, $4 for adults and $10 for a family. Refreshments will be sold. The 1944 play by Mary Chase won a Pulitzer Prize and the 1950 movie version, starring Jimmy Stewart, won Academy Awards.

Good news for baseball fans, The Vermont Lake Monsters appears to be staying in Burlington. The minor league baseball club is expected to sign a long-term lease Wednesday to stay at Centennial Field for the next two decades.

It's Cardinal Timothy Dolan week in New York State. Governor Andrew Cuomo made the proclamation to honor the Archbishop of New York's elevation to his new position. Cuomo says Dolan has quickly become a beloved leader in the state. To commemorate the week, the skyscraper formerly known as the Freedom Tower under construction at the World Trade Center will be awash in red lighting every night this week. One World Trade Center, as it is now known, will be the tallest building in the US when it is completed.