A near-record heat wave gripped Vermont this week to
usher in the beginning of summer. Temperatures
reached the mid 90s in Addison and Rutland counties. Combined with the heat
index, indicating high humidity, made the skin temperature feel like 99 degrees
during the peak of the heat wave. Local
residents sought immediate relief from the heat by either plunging into area
ponds, swimming holes (like Dog Team Falls), and backyard pools, or by running
through cooling fountains of water created by lawn sprinklers. Cooler, more seasonal daytime
temperatures, in the low to mid 80s, are expected to return today with a more
comfortable weekend ahead.
The National Weather Service says two more high
temperature records have been set in Vermont. The high of 97 in Burlington Thursday eclipsed the previous
high of 95, set in 1953. The top
of Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak, hit a high of 77, beating the
previous high of 76, set in 1988.
The Addison County Humane Society is hosting their
Fifth Annual RUFF RIDE, a bicycle and motorcycle ride to benefit the animals this
Sunday. The bicycle rides will start at 10 am at Ski Haus of Vermont in
Middlebury. The motorcycle ride will start at 8:30 am at Cycle Wise in New
Haven. All rides will begin with
registration and continental breakfast and will finish at the Middlebury Green
for a BBQ, music, prizes, and lots of fun. The entrance fee for the ride is $25.00 per person and
includes the BBQ, free t-shirt and lots of fun! Our very own Bruce & Hobbes will be there to emcee the
festivities! Funds raised from the
RUFF Ride will be used to meet the rising costs of caring for the animals. For
more information, please visit www.addisonhumane.org
or call Jackie at 802-388-1443.
The Vermont State Police in New Haven are
investigating the theft of a battery charger from a workshop owned by former
Vermont State Sen. Tom Bahre of Castleton on Lake Street in Addison. The theft occurred sometime within the
last two to three weeks. Anyone
with information is encouraged to contact the State Police at 802-388-4919.
Information can also be submitted anonymously online at www.vtips.info or text
"CRIMES" (274637) to keyword:VTIPS. Bahre said residents and a business owner in the Lake Street
area have reported other thefts during the past month.
Over the past two weeks Vermont State Police in New
Haven have been investigating a Fraud complaint reported by Robin Jackson of
Salisbury. While Jason Weedman was staying at the residence he allegedly
acquired Jackson's debit/checking account number as well as her debit/checking
routing number without her consent. After doing so Weedman allegedly made
multiple online charges, started a cell phone account through Verizon, and also
purchased a cell phone. Weedman made approximately $749 in charges to Jackson's
account. He will be required to appear in Addison District Court on July 30th.
Members of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
Flotilla 15/13 will offer a federal safe boating class Saturday, June 30th from
8AM – 5PM in the Fellowship Hall of the United Methodist Church of Ticonderoga. The class will familiarize the boater
with safe boating practices, navigation principles, electronics, paddle craft
and personal watercraft operation and safety. The class offered by the U-S-C-G
Auxiliary meets and exceeds all federal requirements for small boat operation,
as well as P-W-C operation for children under the age of 17. The class costs
$35 a person or $45 for a couple sharing the same book. Snacks and lunch will
be provided. To register call Eugene H. Frost, commander of United States Coast
Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 15-13, at 585-9034 or Staff Officer David Iuliano at
585-7030.
Essex County supervisors denied two requests from
property owners to waive interest and penalties on late property-tax payments. At this week’s Ways and Means Committee
meeting, which included the full board, County Treasurer Michael Diskin said
the county was not at fault in the two cases, that it was the property owners’
responsibility to make the payments on time.
New York State has been named one of the Top 10
states for growth, productivity and livability in a new U.S. Chamber of
Commerce study. The report
found that New York’s economy performed well across all measures, placing in
the top 25 in six of seven categories. The state moved up 11 spots in this
year’s performance rankings due to rapid Gross State Product expansion and per
capita personal income growth.
Expect to hear National Guard choppers over the
next week in many Vermont communities. The Guard's Air Ambulance Company will
be using airfields across the state for an annual training exercise. Saturday,
the unit will also do live hoist training along Burlington's waterfront.
The state has restored funding for an
anti-harassment program. Funding for the Outright Vermont program had been cut
in 2000. The group fights discrimination against gay people, focusing on an
education program at state schools.
Sen. Bernie Sanders' plan to give individual states
the authority to require the labeling of genetically engineered foods has been
defeated in the U.S. Senate by a three to one margin. Sanders' proposal was one of more than 70 amendments to the
2012 Farm Bill. The Vermont
Legislature considered a GE food labeling bill this session but Democratic
leaders decided not to pursue the plan because of fears that the legislation
would result in a lengthy and expensive legal fight with a number of major
chemical companies. Despite the defeat of his amendment, Sanders said he's
encouraged that 26 senators supported the concept of allowing states to label
these foods.
Vermont's congressional delegation is hailing U.S.
Senate passage of a 5-year farm bill that includes a major revamping of dairy
price support programs. New
provisions would allow farmers to purchase insurance that pays out when milk
prices drop too low. Each farmer can decide whether to buy the insurance and
how much of it to buy. The new
farm bill also contains provisions designed to break a vicious cycle in which
milk prices drop, farmers produce more to pay their bills, flooding the market,
which causes prices to drop further.
The new dairy program approved by the Senate would pay farmers less per
unit if they increase production at a time when prices are rapidly falling. The farm bill now moves to the House.
About 400 customers of FairPoint Communications in
the Vermont community of East Dover now have access to high-speed Internet. FairPoint says it worked with town
officials to expand high-speed access to the rural, east side of the
southeastern Vermont mountain town.
The company says it now provides high-speed broadband internet access to
nearly 90% of its Vermont customers.
Brandon Music on Country Club Road in Brandon will
present the Harvey Sorgen & Esa Pietila Duo this Sunday at 7PM. Harvey is a celebrated drummer and
percussionist, whose many accomplishments have earned him the status of the
“first-call” musician General
Admission tickets are $15 in advance, and $18 at the door. Brandon Music offers
an Early Bird dinner special, which includes a ticket for the jazz performance,
for $25 per person. Reservations are required for dinner. Get details now at www.brandon-music.net/sundayjazz.
With all the negative news about the future of
dairy farming and other traditional agriculture mainstays in Vermont, news
about the Rockville Market Farm in Starksboro is very positive. The farm is a
full-service operation that has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. It boasts seasonal vegetables,
pig-producing fresh pork, and eggs. The operation is known in New England for
its farm innovations and business acumen.
Rockville products are available at the Burlington Farmers Market as
well as through several area retail outlets. You are invited to visit the farm for the July 13 fresh farm
dinner. Attendees are asked to bring a lawn chair. Admission is $10 for adults
and $5 for youth.
The Town of Hinesburg and the Hinesburg Historical
Society invite you to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the
Town Charter with a ceremony this Sunday at 2PM at the town hall. The Hinesburg
Postmaster will make available a commemorative postmark, which will be used for
a limited time to cancel all Hinesburg mail. The Hinesburg Historical Society
will have available for purchase a set of eight postcards of vintage Hinesburg. And “Happy 250th Birthday Hinesburg” is
this year's Fourth of July Celebration theme!
The first Friday Night Live of the summer returns
to Center Street in Rutland today from 6 to 10 PM. The event, hosted by
Downtown Rutland Partnership, will take place every Friday through August 10th.
It will take place regardless of weather.
This outdoor festival will offer activities for all ages. Beginning at 6:15 there will be a
street performance by The Secret Circus. The Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum will offer
hands-on museum exhibits for kids from 6 to 8 PM at 5 Center Street. Live entertainment will be provided by
two Vermont bands: Bow Thayer & Holy Plow will perform at 7, prior to a
performance by Satin & Steel at 8:35 this evening.
From Fox 44 and ABC 22 News – Your Voice in Vermont
& New York:
Along a secluded Thetford, Vermont road tragedy
struck. On Wednesday afternoon
police got a call that Macadam Mason, 39, was threatening to kill himself and
others. When they arrived they say
he wasn't willing to cooperate. "He
was certainly agitated, failed to comply with the troopers commands," said
Colonel Thomas L'Esperance. State
police say after a family member arrived Mason when from in the home down into
the woods and after a couple hours he then returned and family members say it
was in the garden where state police confronted him before they used a Taser. State police say Mason stopped
breathing and died shortly thereafter.
Although they're waiting until the autopsy to say what killed him,
they're already taking a look at how they use stun guns. "Will there be changes? I don't
know. We need to really take a good thorough look at the events that took place
last night before we can make that decision," said L'Esperance. Mason's family however isn't happy
because they say a Taser shouldn't have been used because he has epilepsy. "They tasered a disabled
man," said a member of Mason's family. That's something state police aren't allowed to do, and are
investigating to see if Trooper David Shaffer was aware of his conditions. But they say it appears Trooper Shaffer
followed protocol. "When he
noticed that Mr. Mason was unarmed that he had no weapon the trooper lowered
his weapon and transitioned to the Taser," said L'Esperance. The Orange County district attorney and
attorney general will investigate to see if Trooper Shaffer used appropriate force.
This story has made headlines for five years now. It's all over a pile of tires. In fact,
it could be close to a million. The
owner of the salvage yard was back in court Thursday because the state wants
the tires and the lead contaminated soil removed. But Gilbert Rhoades says he
doesn't have the money to remove them and that means we will have to step up, Vermont
taxpayers. Prosecutors painted a different picture and argue Rhoades could
contribute to the tire removal. "We feel there's a need for more
disclosure to have a complete picture." Prosecutors say the tire pile is several hundred feet long
and 30 feet high... So it could cost up to one million dollars for the clean
up. The agency of natural resources will use 75-thousand dollars worth of taxpayer
money to start the project.
While you chill in the AC, the animals at Parc
Safari zoo are forced to deal with the record heat. And Parc Safari staff have
some pretty creative ways to help them.
One of the newest members to the zoo, the African Porcupine, burrows in
the dirt to stay cool. "The
dirt is a little bit moist so, I mean, for them that's the perfect way,"
Zoologist Nathalie Santerre said. In
the heat, even the camels need a bath. Daffodil the camel takes a couple baths
a day to keep her cool when she gives rides to visitors. Then, there are the predators. "They have good, I mean cool
water. And then we'll just supplement them with frozen goods," Santerre
said. Zoo staff feed them frozen
bones and popsicles. And Santerre
says most of the animals are able to adapt to the heat quickly. But treats and
affection certainly help.
