WVTK Local & State News March 23, 2012

The National Weather Service in Burlington has issued a fire weather watch. The watch is in effect from this morning through this evening for low humidity and gusty winds for northern central Vermont. A fire weather watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur. The affected area includes all of Vermont from Rutland and Windsor counties north to the Canadian border.

The next Addison County Legislative Breakfast is coming up on Monday at the American Legion in Bristol. It’s a great time to meet with your Addison County legislators. Breakfasts start at 7 and program begins at 7:30. Purchase of breakfast not required to attend but helps the hosts to defray the cost of hosting the event. For more information click HERE.

The Rutland County GOP will offer a breakfast talk on renewable energy Saturday. The panel discussion is scheduled for 8:30AM at South Station. Admission, which includes a full buffet, is $13. Subjects will include the state’s recently unveiled energy plan, the creation of alternative energy firms, the role of Smart Meters in energy policy, types of electricity generation and energy planning. For more information, or to RSVP, call Joan Cross at 683-4920.

Police say there were a series of three drive-by shootings in the town of Pittsford late Wednesday night, one on Elm Street, one in the Orchard Drive area and one on Plains Road. There were several bullet holes into cars as well as a bullet hole into one house through the garage. Police say all three incidents were similar in nature and used a similar caliber firearm. The victims told police they heard shots fired and bullets hitting their house and or car. Investigators have some leads currently but no suspects.

Authorities say a 43-year-old Vermont man lost his life in a crash on a northern New York road. New York state police say Jeffrey Demars of East Middlebury had just driven over the Lake Champlain Bridge when his car crossed into the opposite lane and collided with a pick-up truck around 8PM Wednesday in Crown Point. Troopers say Demars was thrown from the car and pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the pickup, a 37-year-old Crown Point man, was treated for minor injuries. Troopers say the cause of the accident is under investigation.

The Salisbury Free Public Library and head librarian, Jennifer Stefani recently applied for a $2,000 grant, via the Winnie Belle Learned Fund of the Vermont Public Library Foundation, to purchase 150 new picture books over the next year. Her grant application also included a request for the funds to purchase a new bookshelf to display the books. Last week, she received the good news from State Librarian Martha Reid that the Salisbury Library won the grant award for new the new books and the shelving. To celebrate the gift, the library will hold its first parent-child story time Saturday, April 7th 10:30AM! You can even stay up to date with the Library on their new, active Facebook page, “Salisbury Free Library”!

The City of Rutland is looking into a complete website redesign. Mayor Christopher Louras got permission from the Board of Aldermen to put out a request for proposals on redesigning the website. Among the many updates proposed the Mayor says the redesign should give the site a full interface with social media, so that any public officials can choose to connect his or her Facebook or Twitter accounts to it.

Days after teachers from a neighboring supervisory union successfully negotiated a contract, the teachers from the Rutland Southwest Supervisory Union protested over pay and increased health care costs. Approximately 50 teachers from Poultney, Wells, Middletown Springs and Tinmouth stood at the corner of Main Street and Route 30 in Poultney from 4 – 4:30 yesterday afternoon. The purpose of the half-hour-long informational picket was to let people know that area teachers have been in the schools for more than 85 weeks without a new contract.

Killington is looking to outside help for marketing itself. After a mild and nearly snowless ski season, town officials in Killington are considering alternative models around the country, and they're consulting a private company to boost economic development. Killington's Select Board says it has met with a representative from a strategic marketing group based in Lake Tahoe, which has experience working with communities to create destination marketing.

The Ticonderoga Central School District is asking the state education department for permission to establish an alternative high school program. The program, which would be held away from Ti High School, would be for students struggling to meet new state graduation requirements. Ticonderoga’s graduation rate was 86 percent in 2011. That’s up from 82 percent in 2010 and 79 percent in 2009. The alternative education program, which needs state approval, would allow struggling students to develop job skills by substituting internships and work-study for some academic classes. If approved by the state, the program will begin this fall and serve about 15 students.

The Vermont House has given its preliminary approval to the state budget for next year. The bill increases spending by roughly 6 percent and about half of the new spending is a response to damages caused by tropical storm Irene. Most Democrats voted for the bill and many Republicans voted against it. The legislation will come up for final consideration in the House today and it's expected that a number of amendments to trim spending will be offered at that time.

Debate is heating up among Vermont lawmakers about a payback due to utility ratepayers now that their electric company is being sold. That question is whether ratepayers who paid extra to get Central Vermont Public Service out of financial trouble a decade ago should get their money back in cash or by having the newly merged company step up energy efficiency measures. Green Mountain Power says the company is proposing to repay $21 million to ratepayers with efficiency investments that will return $40 million in value to those ratepayers over time while AARP says the money should be returned to CVPS ratepayers in cash.

Dozens of protesters were arrested in Brattleboro for trespassing on the property of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in a demonstration against the continued operation of the reactor. Seven also have been arrested for entering the headquarters of the plant's owner, Entergy Corporation, in New Orleans. Thursday marked the first day of the plant's operation after its initial 40-year operating license expired a day earlier.

Despite protests, it's likely the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant will continue to operate at least in the short term and possibly for another 20 years. Last fall, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted the plant a license extension. And a judge ruled that only the federal government could close a nuclear plant for safety concerns. The state is now appealing that ruling. Cheryl Hanna, a professor at the Vermont Law School, says the case may ultimately end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. Vermont Yankee is also seeking a permit from the state Public Service Board. Yankee opponents see that process as another avenue for shutting the plant down.

Governor Peter Shumlin says he supports the peaceful protesters who gathered at the headquarters of the Vermont Yankee plant to express their frustrations that the aging reactor remains open. More than 1,000 people marched to the plant's Brattleboro headquarters yesterday. Activists say 130 were arrested.

Homeowners are being asked to be on the lookout for burglars posing as UPS workers. They have been breaking into homes in Vermont and New Hampshire. Police tell the Caledonian Record that dozens of homeowners in both states have being called by someone pretending to be a UPS representative. The person says he has a delivery and then asks when someone will be home. The residence is later burglarized when the homeowners are away.

Ski season is almost over in Vermont after getting off to a slow start. Six Vermont ski areas are already closed for the season. Several more will follow this weekend. And even some of the big resorts plan to close on April 1. After a mild winter with few big storms, the record warm weather this week was too much for the man-made snow that resorts relied on all season. Stowe will definitely be open through this weekend. It has not set a closing date. Other resorts will close at the end of the day Sunday, including Okemo and Bolton.

The unseasonably warm weather means it's time to bring in the bird feeders. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says calls are coming in reporting bears out and about, and getting into the feeders as they come out of hibernation. The high-energy seed becomes a concentrated source of food for bears, and gets them in the habit of coming back for more. Wildlife experts say the feeders should come down now, and not go back up until December.

A search was under way in the North Country Thursday for two missing people. Police say 23-year-old Angela Roberts and 41-year-old Carl Burns are both from Tupper Lake. They do not live together. Both were reported missing Wednesday and investigators are worried for their safety. Police say they were last seen early Wednesday morning. Burns is described as 6'3", 225 pounds, with red hair and brown eyes. Roberts is described as 5'2", 130 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Police are also looking for a gun and a white Jeep that were stolen from another property in Tupper Lake. The Jeep has New York license plates BLU1497. Anyone who sees either of the missing people or the stolen vehicle is asked to call New York State Police in Ray Brook at 518-897-2000.

A team of New York Sate agency administrators is headed to meetings statewide to help small businesses grow. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is announcing the small business outreach initiative and has set several dates for meetings. The state officials will be from the areas of economic development, labor, taxation and worker's compensation. Agencies that license business such as liquor stores will also sent representatives. They will answer questions and help entrepreneurs navigate New York's regulatory system. Local chambers of commerce will also attend. Information is available at www.NYOpenforSmallBusiness.com.

Fort Ticonderoga recently received a grant from the South Lake Champlain Fund of the Vermont Community Foundation supporting the first conference on Lake George and Lake Champlain, which the fort will host on August 11th and 12th. The grant will help launch the new conference exploring the history, geography, culture, ecology and current issues related to the Lake George and Lake Champlain region. You can learn more about the conference by downloading a conference brochure from the Fort Ticonderoga website at www.fort-ticonderoga.org.

Roman Catholic churches in the Rutland Deanery will host a “Welcome Home Mass” this weekend in anticipation of a spring series of religious talks. Rutland area Catholics are being encouraged to invite family members and friends to Masses at participating parishes this Saturday and Sunday. The Masses come a month before the start of a “Want to Learn More About Your Catholic Faith?” series of talks the Rev. James Dodson will present Sundays at 4PM at Christ the King Church in Rutland.

With the unusually warm weather, lots of fishermen can't wait for trout season to begin. And for the first time in years, many will find their favorite ponds and streams swimming with fish, just in time for the start of the season next weekend. The mild weather has given the fish hatchery in Essex County, New York, a 2-week jump on stocking. 700 Brown Trout were released into the Schroon River yesterday. The hatchery plans to stock 50,000 Brown, Rainbow, and Brook trout this year in 70 ponds and streams throughout the county.