WVTK Local & State News March 5, 2012

Vergennes Police Chief George Merkel has announced a follow-up meeting on what folks can do to combat drugs and drug use in our communities and everyone is invited to attend! The next Vergennes Community Action Group meeting will be held at VUHS this Wednesday, the 7th of March at 7:00PM in the VUHS auditorium.

Plans are moving forward with the Lake Champlain Bridge Grand Celebration scheduled for the weekend of May 19th & 20th! Now is your chance to be part of this once in a lifetime event. Organizers are currently looking for artisans, crafters and food vendors and the deadline to apply for those spaces is March 16th. Space is limited. Applications received after that date may be allowed to participate if space allows but may not be included in the official commemorative program. The deadline for advertisers in that program is this Friday the 9th. 12,000 copies will be available for sale before and during the event. Proceeds directly benefit the celebration. Get details right now at www.champlainbridgecommunity.org.

The Addison County Legislative Governor’s Luncheon is coming up a week from today, March 12th at Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton. Lunch begins at Noon. The cost is $7.50 and will feature a menu of local products. No RSVP necessary. Get more information HERE.

Maple Landmark Woodcraft and Sen. Bernard Sanders have won their battle, finally persuading The Smithsonian Institution to carry some of its Vermont-made wooden toys. The Smithsonian agreed to carry Maple Landmark Woodcraft yo-yos with an American flag along with a memory game designed with American landmarks. For several years the company had been working to get its American-made products into the museum. Sanders said in a statement that the decision by the Smithsonian would help Maple Landmark, one of the few toy makers left in the United States.

A break in a 12 inch water main at the corner of Wales and Center streets in downtown Rutland has affected water pressure throughout the City, especially in the upper elevations to the west of the City. This would include the Campbell Road and Upper State Street Neighborhoods. The Department of Public Works has issued a boil water order until further notice for all customers on the Rutland City Water Supply. Repairs are being done at this time by the Rutland City Department of Public Works.

Firefighters and fire instructors spent Saturday debunking electric car myths at the Vermont Fire Academy in Pittsford. About 50 firefighters and instructors from across the state showed up to take what they learned back to their departments. This program hopes to reach all 1.2 million firefighters in the United States to better prepare them to deal with electric vehicles at the scene of an accident. Governor Shumlin's energy plan calls for 90 percent renewable energy in the state by mid-century. As Vermont focuses more on renewable energy, familiarizing responders with the different technologies is key.

Hannaford Supermarkets wants to hear the ideas of Hinesburg residents for the look of its proposed store at a community discussion event. This will be an architectural design brainstorming session. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 13th in the cafeteria of Hinesburg Community School from 7 to 8:30PM. The meeting will focus on the appearance of the building: the overall style of the storefront as well as details such as rooflines and materials.

The Board of Trustees of the Rowland Foundation has announced its 2012 fellowships. The foundation is a Vermont-based organization focused on high school transformation in the state. To date the foundation has awarded $2 million in grants to Vermont high schools. The foundation accepts proposals from visionary educators who wish to improve the culture and climate of the learning environment. Schools, which have received grants from the Rowland Foundation, include Fair Haven Union High School, Mt. Abraham Union High School, Otter Valley Union High School, Rutland High School, Vergennes Union High School, and Vermont Adult Learning.

Potential Downtown Rutland face-lifts could take shape in the coming weeks. The Downtown Rutland Partnership announced last week it would begin taking applications for facade improvement grants later this month. The program is funded with $30,000 that the partnership received from Green Mountain Power and Central Vermont Public Service Corp. It was one of a number of concessions the city negotiated in exchange of its endorsement of the merger of Vermont’s two largest utilities.

Town of Thurman Supervisor Evelyn Wood announced yesterday that she’s a candidate for the state Assembly post to be vacated this December by Teresa Sayward. Wood joins several other area politicians that have expressed interest in running to represent the 113th Assembly District. Warren County Board of Supervisors Chairman Dan Stec announced his candidacy Friday, soon after Sayward publicized her impending retirement. Talk has also circulated that former Glens Falls Mayor Bob Reagan and Essex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Randy Douglas are interested in the post.

Essex County plans to officially end its residency rule for employees today. In fact, local lawmakers recently decided that even a hint of residency preference in hiring would be bad. The Board of Supervisors decided to not only to scrap the proposed residency law but also to remove the residency requirement from the employee handbook. The County Board of Supervisors will take a final vote on ending residency mandates at 10 this morning in the Old County Courthouse.

Essex County Sheriff Richard Cutting would like to warn the citizens of Essex County to be extremely careful when dealing with telephone calls soliciting funds. The Essex County Sheriff's Office does not do random calls to solicit funds. If you receive any fundraising calls or mailings concerning sheriff's programs and you are in doubt, do not hesitate to call your local sheriff and inquire as to the legitimacy of the request.

For the first time in decades, Ticonderoga voters will have a new polling site in 2012. Local residents will cast their ballots at the Ticonderoga Middle School auditorium this year. Voting had been at the Ticonderoga firehouse for years. The fire commissioners expressed concern that voting could conflict with some of their events at the firehouse.

Governor Peter Shumlin says he's optimistic that federal tax credits for renewable energy scheduled to expire at the end of the year will be renewed. Shumlin says there's support for the tax credits from governors of both parties, which should help their chances in Congress. There's been fear that expiration of the tax credits would slow development of renewable energy projects and hurt wind and solar-power industries in Vermont and elsewhere.

State senators are set to review a bill that would authorize the Agency of Natural Resources to write rules on how materials, from batteries to paper, should be thrown out. The bill pushes the state toward a goal of recycling and composting more solid waste while putting less trash into the landfills. The bill also says waste haulers must offer recycling at no additional charge. The House gave the measure final approval on Friday.

Millions of dollars are headed Vermont's way to help maintain Lake Champlain. Sen. Patrick Leahy announced Friday that he has secured $3 million in the new federal budget. How exactly the funding will be spent is not yet known, but officials say the money will go toward a number of different projects. Leahy also announced another $450,000 in grant money now available through the Lake Champlain Basin Program. Thirty grants will be handed out. The deadline to apply is March 27th.

The legal arguments over the future of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant continue, with parties to file this week on how the state Public Service Board should handle its review of a new state permit for the plant. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking toward March 21st, when the company's permission to store more high-radioactive nuclear waste on its plant site in Vernon may expire.

Police say the 17th annual Mardi Gras parade in Burlington went off smoothly. Thousands of people turned out for Saturday's festivities, which many see as an opening to spring. Organizers say they sold out of beads, and hope to exceed their fundraising goal of $30,000. Event proceeds benefit HOPE Works, a Burlington-based anti-sexual violence non-profit.

The Middlebury Snow Bowl is in full operation currently with the ski area’s “backside” now open. New snow arrived on the mountain during the first days of March. However, due to reduced weekday visits by skiers during March, the Snow Bowl will reduce hours. Beginning this week, the Snow Bowl will operate Wednesday through Sunday through April 1st. Starting March 14, weekday hours of operation will be 10AM – 5PM with weekend hours 8:30AM – 4PM. According to Manager Peter Mackey, They are offering current season pass holders ‘bring a buddy day’, which allows any current season pass holder a one time free lift ticket any day until the end of the current season.

Five months after the remnants of Hurricane Irene hit Vermont, people from one end of the state to the other are recording their memories of what happened. In Waterbury, one of the hardest-hit communities, the soft-cover book "When the River Rose" is part community memoir and part recovery fundraising tool. In Bethel, a group of seventh-graders shared their stories in a separate memoir titled "Grab your Toothbrush and a Flashlight!" The book has sold well enough for the kids to make a donation to the town select board to help pay for ongoing recovery efforts.

A new airline has landed at Plattsburgh International Airport. PenAir will provide 12 roundtrip flights a week between Plattsburgh and Boston. Peninsula Airways replaces Colgan Airlines, which used to provide U.S. Airways service to Boston. Tickets will start at $80 and the planes will remain the same size. PenAir is expected to begin operations at the end of this month or early next month.