Pocock Rocks!
Bristol’s annual Music Festival and Street Fair is coming up tomorrow
from 11 – 4. Rockin' music and entertainment will be filling the downtown as
beer and wine tents share tastings and bottles from various local breweries and
vineyards. Premium food and craft vendors pack the streets along with
demonstrations, children's activities (including a bouncy house), Bristol's own
Farmers' Market and, of course, their incredible restaurants and retailers!
Pocock Rocks is kicking off the 250th anniversary of Bristol celebration! Get set to join Bruce & Hobbes from
11 – 2 and have fun at Pocock Rocks 2012!
Get details right now by visiting: www.pocockrocks.com
“A Royal Affair” is the theme of the 10th annual
Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce fund raising dinner and auction that will
be held this evening at the Silver Bay YMCA’s Gullen Lounge. “A Royal Affair”
will begin with appetizers at 6PM followed by a buffet dinner at 7, a silent
auction, a limited live auction, music and dancing. Tickets are $42 a person. Reservations
are suggested since space is limited.
Assisting in this year’s event as the auctioneers for the evening will
be our very own Bruce and Hobbes from “The Wake Up Crew!” For more information visit www.ticonderogany.com.
Brandon Music presents a Salon Concert by the New
Music on the Point program of Point CounterPoint summer camp this evening at
7pm, featuring repertoire from this season's New Music On The Point festival. Tickets are $15 per person and proceeds
will benefit the Compass Music and Arts Foundation. Then on Sunday it’s the
Boston band, The Soul of a Man performing in the Music Café at 7PM. The Soul of
a Man is a band dedicated to performing high-energy blues, jazz, funk, gospel
and soul music. There is a one-time special ticket price of $10 for fathers.
General Admission tickets are $15 in advance, and $18 at the door. For details on either concert just
visit www.brandon-music.net.
As part of their community outreach effort,
students from Middlebury College's 2013 Solar Decathlon Team updated the
Middlebury Select Board this week on its efforts toward participating in the
2013 Solar Decathlon competition. The
U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon challenges collegiate teams to
design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective,
energy-efficient, and attractive. The winner of the competition is the team
that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with
optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.
This week the Middlebury Select Board accepted the
Public Works Committee's recommendations to reject all bids on the South Street
& Green Mountain Place Project, because the bids were well above the
anticipated cost of the project. $3.9M
was lowest bid vs. the $3.2M project estimate. They agreed to bid the Green Mountain Place portion of the
project for construction this year.
Other items accepted included adopting a 25-mile-per-hour speed limit to
be posted on South Street and asking the police chief to conduct a traffic
study to determine whether a 3-way stop is warranted at the intersection of
South Street and Porter Field Road.
The Middlebury Select Board appointed Connie Leach
as the Town's and Amy Gibans McGlashan as the College's representative on the
Middlebury Business Development Fund Advisory Board, as recommended. The
Advisory Board's next meeting will be on June 18th at 3:30PM and will the
agenda will include developing a strategy for fundraising from the business
community, recruiting the Business Development Director, and preparing for a
quarterly report to the Select Board on June 26th.
The Middlebury Select Board accepted the
recommendation this week from the River Task Force to go forward with the
adoption process for the Flood/Fluvial Erosion Hazard zoning regulations and
will hold a public hearing on the regulations this summer. The Task Force's
recommendation called for a review of the FEH regulations, if adopted, on a
regular basis.
The Middlebury Select Board approved the allocation
of $10,000 for a parking study allowing the DIDC to go forward with the
issuance of a Request for Proposals from qualified firms to conduct a study of
parking utilization in downtown Middlebury. The goals of the project are to
inventory and map downtown parking and implement recommendations to best meet
parking demand as perceived by visitors, businesses, employees and prospective
investors seeking to improve and develop downtown properties.
Two of Vermont's most popular food companies are
joining forces. Cabot and Dakin
Farm in Ferrisburgh will partner in the distribution of its products. Dakin
will now handle direct to consumer sales of Cabot cheese. The cheese giant
approached the specialty food company because Cabot wanted to improve its
package and shipping part of its business, an area where Dakin Farms excels. To keep up with demand, Dakin will
become an around-the-clock distribution center during the holidays and will add
30 part-time jobs to do so.
A prolonged standoff involving a man threatening to
harm himself on a School Street rooftop in Rutland last night ended with police
using a Taser to subdue him. Initially
police believed the man had access to a firearm. Eventually, police determined that there was no gun in the
house at 75 School St. and no charges will be brought against him. Police did not release the name of the
man who was taken to Rutland Regional Medical Center.
Inter-Lakes Health has hired a new financial
leader. Tristan Glanville has joined Inter-Lakes Health as chief financial
officer. Glanville replaces Vicky Delong as financial leader at Inter-Lakes
Health. Delong, who recently retired, served Inter-Lakes Health for more than 35
years, most recently as the organization’s financial controller. Inter-Lakes
Health is a family of health services located in Ticonderoga and is an
affiliate of Fletcher Allen Health Care. For more information, visit www.interlakeshealth.com.
Eyeing a big expansion bill down the road, Clinton
County legislators agreed to raise parking rates at Plattsburgh International
Airport to generate more income.
Starting September 1st, rates will go from $3 per day in the economy
lots to $5 and from $5 per day to $7 per day in the main lot. The increase is expected to bring in
about $786,000 more per year.
Vermont officials say the total cost of recovering
from Tropical Storm Irene is estimated at $773 million. Gov. Peter Shumlin says much progress
has been made, but much more needs to be done. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, more than 500 miles
of roadways and dozens of bridges were damaged or destroyed and thousands of
people were forced from their homes.
Now, the roads and bridges are open again. Most of the people forced
from their homes have found permanent places to live, but about 800 are still
without permanent, long-term living arrangements. Top state officials involved in the recovery effort held a
briefing yesterday. Administration
Secretary Jeb Spaulding says it's expected the state will have to pay about
$110 million as its share of the cleanup.
Vermont candidates who want to be on the November
ballot are filing their nominating petitions with the Secretary of State. Yesterday was the deadline. Among the candidates is
Republican Randy Brock who is challenging Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin.
Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan, a Democrat, is taking on
incumbent Attorney General Bill Sorrell, also a Democrat. In the race for state treasurer,
Republican Wendy Wilton is challenging Democratic incumbent Beth Pearce. And
Republican state Sen. Vincent Illuzzi has filed to run for state auditor, after
Tom Salmon announced he would not seek re-election.
Senator Bernie Sanders is urging his colleagues to
allow individual states to require the labeling of all genetically engineered
foods. Sanders' proposal is one of more than 80 amendments to the new Farm
Bill. The Vermont Legislature considered
a labeling bill this past session but Democratic leaders decided not to bring
it up because of concerns that the major chemical companies would sue the
state. Speaking on the Senate
floor, Sanders said his amendment makes it clear that states do have the
authority to address this issue if they choose to. The full Senate is expected
to vote on the Sanders amendment early next week.
New York lawmakers have passed legislation that
would require minors to get parental consent for body piercings other than
their ears. Sponsors say that
about a third of people with piercings get them before they turn 18, and
complications like allergic reactions, skin infections, scars and discomfort
are common. The bill goes to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for signing or veto.
The Schroon-North Hudson Historical Society museum
will open for the season with its annual strawberry festival. The museum, located on Route 9 in
Schroon Lake, will also feature several new exhibits in 2012. The opening day festivities will begin
at noon Sunday, June 24th. The Schroon-North Hudson Historical Society museum
will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday 12:30 to 4:30PM throughout the summer.
It will be open on Sunday during September. Admission to the museum is free, although donations are
accepted.
Two Vermont teachers are among the 97 honored with
the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching. Cathy Estes teaches math at
Thetford Academy, and has been teaching for 32 years. Elizabeth Mirra, who has been teaching for 12 years, holds
classes in chemistry, forensics and physical sciences at Windsor High
School. Both will travel to
Washington D-C in a few weeks, getting a chance to tour the White House and
meet the president. Each award
winner also receives ten-thousand dollars from the National Science Foundation.
From
Fox 44 and ABC 22 News – Your Voice in Vermont and New York:
Police are investigating a man caught bringing a
loaded gun through airport security.
It happened last week at Burlington International Airport. Police confiscated the gun and the man,
whose name has not been released, was allowed to board a later flight. The case is still under investigation. "It's a joint investigation with
the FBI. And, that's pretty much all I can share," Burlington Deputy Police
Chief Andi Higbee said. A TSA
spokesperson told us that the man claimed he forgot the gun was in his bag. In
fact, the organization says that is the most common excuse for weapons found in
luggage. The TSA reports that
nearly 1,300 guns are found during security screenings nationally every year.
And it emphasizes, the only way to legally take a gun on an airplane is to lock
it, unloaded, in a separate box inside checked luggage. In January, a similar incident happened
at Burlington Airport. A woman was caught with a stun gun in her bag at security.
This weekend thousands of people will head to Lake
Champlain with hopes to catch a prize-worthy fish. The 31st Annual LCI Father's Day Derby starts Saturday. Organizers say some 6,000 fishermen
from all across the country will compete.
There are cash prizes in a variety of categories. "There is a ton of enthusiasm for
Lake Champlain. A ton of enthusiasm for fishing. A ton of enthusiasm for the
derby. All in all, everybody is just psyched to get out there," says Eric
LaMontagne, LCI outreach director.
Organizers say the event pumps millions of dollars in the region and it
also raises money to help improve the quality of Lake Champlain. FOX 44 is a proud sponsor of this
weekend's LCI tournament.
The F35 fighter jet air force leaders say are the
future of their industry. It's
much faster and high tech than the F16, the aircraft used by the Vermont Air
National Guard. For weeks the air
force has listened to community members speak out against the planes. That's why on Thursday Lieutenant
General-elect Michael Dubie held a news conference. "It has now become apparent that some members of our
community have been making statements that are just not accurate," said
Dubie. The first being noise. "The F35 will be somewhat louder
than the F16," said Dubie. To
help combat that Dubie says they've got a plan in place. He says you'll only be able to hear the
aircraft for six minutes each day.
Beginning no earlier than 830 each morning and on the weekends, flights
will be scheduled in the afternoon.
It's an aircraft he says that the Green Mountain Boys need or else
things will look very different. "We
think that we will be dramatically smaller in size. That's less money, less
jobs, less resources," said Dubie.
Another question Dubie says some people have asked is why more fighter
jets and not something quieter, like a cargo plane. He says the runway at the airport isn't long enough and even
if it was he says the guard has no place to store those larger aircrafts. Dubie says it will be a sad day for
Vermont if these jets don't come and the guard goes away. "We raise our families there. Our
kids go to school in the schools around the airport. So we are you," said
Dubie. Air force leaders say a
decision on whether the F35's will come to Vermont will be made by the end of
the year. Leaders also announced
Thursday they're holding an open house on July 20th. The reason, to show off the base and answer any questions
community members have about the new aircrafts.
