The Town of Moriah is sponsoring meetings to
provide information to local residents and small businesses about free and
low-cost energy services. The
meetings will be held tomorrow. The schedule is 1PM at the Moriah Senior
Center, Port Henry Train Station, 14 Park Place, Port Henry; and 4:40 to 6:30PM
at George’s Restaurant, with free pizza provided. Short presentations will be
given at 5 and 6PM. Speakers from New York’s EmPower NY and Home Performance
with Energy Star Programs will share information about free and low-cost energy
services available to residences at all income levels. George’s Restaurant will
discuss its experience with National Grid’s Small Business Program, which has
resulted in savings on its electricity bill. Questions about the energy
meetings should be addressed to Jennifer Monroe at 251-2525 or jlmonroe@capital.net.
After a 15-hour search, a 55-year-old father of two
drowned last Thursday here in Middlebury. Police say 55-year old Yadji Moussa
was a strong swimmer, but Otter Creek was stronger. With Thursday's record-breaking
heat wave, Moussa went for a dip with three people he knew, the trio told
police they saw him go under, and then never come up. The night sky put the
search on hold, but Friday morning, searchers picked up right where they
started. It took divers three hours to locate his body. Police say foul play is
not suspected and that the drowning appears to be accidental.
Vermont State Police say an SUV has crashed into a
barn, critically injuring a Killington woman. Police say the 19-year-old Katherine Hone is in Fletcher
Allen Hospital in Burlington with "significant incapacitating
injuries." Hone was driving a GMC Yukon SUV Saturday afternoon that
crossed the oncoming lane on Route 7 in New Haven and crashed into a barn. Police say conditions were dry and
clear, and it does not appear speed or alcohol were contributing factors in the
crash. Anyone who may have
witnessed the accident or what led up to it is asked to contact The Vermont
State Police New Haven Barracks.
Vermont State responded to a burglary complaint
last Friday at 104 Blaises Trailer Park. Further investigation revealed entry
was gained through the front door of the residence. An iPod, digital camera,
and cash were taken from the residence. Anyone with information is encouraged
to contact the Vermont State Police in New Haven at 802-388-4919.
The Town Of Middlebury Select Board will hold its
regular meeting tomorrow evening at 7 at the Russ Sholes Senior Center in the
lower level of the gym. Items on
tomorrow’s agenda include the award bid for Recycling and Paving of quarry road
along with a brief update on other Public Works Projects. The Board is also expected to award
bids for police dispatch console replacement and cruiser radio upgrades, which
are primarily grant funded. The
FY2013 Water and Wastewater Budgets will be previewed as well as a status
report on the FY2012 Budget and the setting of the FY2013 Tax Rate. For more details and a complete agenda
just visit the Town Of Middlebury’s Website.
A hiking trail to connect Vermont's Long Trail and
the Appalachian Trail to a 4,600-mile path to North Dakota could be coming to
Addison County. The 40-mile route
that the North Country National Scenic Trail would take from Crown Point to the
Long Trail hasn't been chosen, but it is sure to make use of at least a portion
of the 16-mile Trail Around Middlebury.
The Green Mountain Club and other Vermont organizations are working find
a route for the trail that will need to be approved by Congress. Closing the 40-mile gap is a priority
for the Michigan-based North Country Trail Association, the group responsible
for the trail from the western shore of Lake Champlain to North Dakota.
After four days of hearings, the District 1
Environmental Commission needs more information before ruling on an Act 250
land use permit for the proposed Killington ski village. The three-member commission is seeking
additional information from SP Land Co. and its plans to develop a village at
the base of the ski area with an estimated price tag of $133.4 million. SP Land
owns the property in and around the Snowshed and Ramshead base lodges.
The Essex County senior picnic may be revived. Newcomb Supervisor George Canon moved a
resolution through the Finance Committee meeting last week to restore up to
$5,000 in funding needed to hold the annual Office for the Aging senior picnic
this summer. The picnic, which has
been an annual event and has been held at several sites, was one of the victims
of funding cuts in the 2012 budget.
County Manager Dan Palmer said that the county needs to get started soon
so ground rules could be established for the negotiations to move forward.
The Willsboro Central School Board will discuss
personnel, business and finance, and policies at a meeting set for 6PM tomorrow
in the school’s conference room. The
public is invited.
Construction will begin on the new Keene Volunteer
Fire Department station in August.
The facility, irreparably damaged on August 28, 2011, by Tropical Storm
Irene, will be rebuilt on higher ground across from the Stewart’s Shop on Route
73, where Mountain Manor Lodge now stands. Private tax-deductible gifts will be necessary to raise
adequate funding for the project. The fundraising goal is $500,000. Already,
more than $100,000 has been contributed toward the new firehouse, which has
helped get the project started.
The New York State Agriculture Commissioner is
reminding farmers to only sell to licensed farm product dealers this growing
season. Article 20 of the New York State Agriculture and Markets Law, more
commonly known as the Agricultural Producers Security Law, requires dealers to
be licensed and contribute to a security fund in order to offer protection to
farmers in the event of a defaulted payment. For up-to-date information about
the law, a copy of the brochure or a list of licensed dealers, visit the
department’s website or call 1-800-554-4501.
Vermont State Police say a 77-year-old woman has
lost more than $18,000 in a phone scam.
Emily Kraft of Andover told police that a man called her, saying her
grandson was in jail in New Orleans following an accident that had injured
several people from Panama and caused property damage. Investigators say the caller told Kraft
she needed to wire $18,480 to Panama City, Panama, to have her grandson
released from jail and pay for attorney and court fees. Another young man also
got on the phone and identified himself as Kraft’s grandson, going so far as to
call her “Grandy,” the name all her grandchildren call her. Officials say the woman wired the
money, but later discovered her grandson hadn’t been in an accident or in jail.
Vermont National Guard helicopters will be more
visible over the next week. Members
of the Guard’s Air Ambulance Company, C/3-126, will train around the state,
using airfields in South Burlington, Colchester, Rutland, Bennington,
Middlebury and Franklin. Officials
say the Guard is training for Vermont emergencies and for future overseas
missions.
Vermont State Police say the state's had 36 highway
fatalities in 31 crashes so far this year, roughly double the number up to this
time last year. Hoping to reverse
that pattern, police are planning checkpoints across the state during the
Fourth of July holiday week, July 2-8.
Troopers will also be aggressively patrolling and enforcing motor
vehicle laws that deal with aggressive driving, speeding and seatbelt use in
high crash areas. The roadblocks will check for impaired drivers.
An eyewitness is disputing a police account of what
happened when a 39-year-old man died after being shot in the chest with a stun
gun. State police say Macadam Mason was yelling aggressively and moving toward
a trooper with a closed fist when he was shot with a stun gun Wednesday. The son
of Mason's girlfriend tells the Valley News that Mason didn't clench his fist
or charge at the officers.
The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife is
seeking more power to control activities deemed incompatible with hunting,
fishing, trapping and wildlife viewing. At its June meeting, the Vermont Fish
and Wildlife Board approved a rule would that apply to public activities on
more than 133,000 acres managed by the department. To take effect, the rule
must be approved by three separate votes.
A measure proposed by Sen. Charles Schumer to
promote New York's maple syrup industry is headed to the House of
Representatives. The Senate this
past week as part of the 2012 Farm Bill approved Schumer's legislation to
create grants to encourage private property owners to expand their tapping
operations or to make their land available for tapping. Cornell University researchers have
said producers tap less than 1% of available maple trees in New York. Schumer's
bill is designed to increase that percentage. Schumer says nearly three quarters of the tappable maple
trees in New York are on privately owned land. The House is expected to take up the Farm Bill next month.
A buyout of a company in Newport means 40 people
working there will keep their jobs.
M-S-A North America is in the ballistic helmet business, and has a plant
operating in Newport. However, the
company is going to stop making the helmets, and for a time it looked like that
was the end of the Newport operation.
However, Revision Military in Essex, which makes military eyewear has
just finalized the purchase of M-S-A North America's helmet plants, and will
continue the manufacturing of the helmets at the Newport plant.
Senator Bernie Sanders is hailing the openings of
new Veterans Affairs clinics in Vermont. He attended a ribbon cutting ceremony
at a new VA clinic in Newport last week and noted the recent opening of a
similar clinic in Brattleboro. He says about 8,600 veterans are now able to
receive care at five clinics, in Newport, Colchester, Rutland, Brattleboro and
Bennington.
Vermont's largest city will hold a major sculpture
exhibit this summer. Burlington City Arts says it will feature a retrospective
of the work of artist David Stromeyer. An opening reception will be held this
Friday.
From Fox 44 and ABC 22 News – Your Voice in Vermont
& New York:
The Coast Guard has found out the contents of the
suspicious package dropped off near their station earlier today. It was an 8mm
film, produced by the Coast Guard during the sixties, on boat safety. Petty Officer Kravchuk said that the
Vermont State Police bomb squad was the unit to eventually open the package but
that the fire department, police, parks and recreation and even the FBI became
involved in the situation. He said
that proper procedures were followed for the suspicious package at a federal
building such as the Coast Guard station.
The box the film was in was labeled to an old military structure that is
no longer in use, Kravchuk said. The
Coast Guard station was shut off from pedestrians after the man dropped it off
and Burlington police say it's because of a suspicious package. The identity of
the man is still unknown. The
security measures have now come down.
Some of Burlington's bicyclists were down by the building earlier as
police realized they needed to lock down the area. Mike Peirce and his son Joss were trying to take a bike ride
and parked near the Coast Guard station when police told them they needed to
stay away from the building. "We
were trying to go behind and skirt by the Coast Guard station to get on the
bike path when they had it blocked off," Peirce said. "The officer said there was a
potential problem with a package."
Police and Coast Guard personnel started setting up stations along the
Waterfront around 2 p.m. to start blocking pedestrians from coming near the
building. Soon after came barricades and police tape. Many pedestrians were wondering what was going on as they
approached the scene and were told by police that there was an emergency
situation and that they couldn't enter the area. "He wasn't letting anybody through so we went around
and we got on the bike path and went down to oak ledge," Peirce said. "Now we're back and hoping that we
can get our car." Cars were
stopped at the intersection of College St. and Lake St. while another barricade
was set up further down on Lake St. as well as on the Waterfront. Police
started letting some people through to get home or to their cars, but passersby
were told to turn around and to steer clear of the coast guard station.
Yesterday, hundreds of people from all over our
region gathered for the 10th annual strawberry festival in east Thetford Vermont. And organizers say the festival focuses
on teaching people about growing food organically. Sunday afternoon--dozens of people walked rows of
strawberries hoping to pick the ripest ones. "It just doesn’t appear when they come into the store,
that there is work involved. David
Devost knows picking strawberries is hard work and the festival is all about
locally grown food "I think
it's very important for young kids today to get up with that principal of where
our food comes from." this is the 10th year, people from the area have
gathered to celebrate the juicy red, organically grown fruit. And organizers
say the main goal is to promote local farming "so, its all about getting
people more aware of how good local food is and how important it is to local
economies" and they say the best way to do that--is through education "the
whole issue is changing peoples minds about the way they even think about food.
That is why its important that we have this education center here at the farm
and we feel its really important to start with the kids" throughout the
day, visitors enjoyed mostly free activities. Horse-drawn wagon rides to and from the strawberry patch
along with face painting, educational exhibits, and self-guided farm tours.
