Monday, June 4, 2012

WVTK Local & State News June 4, 2012


Saturday’s Festival Of Fido’s Fundraiser event at Basin Harbor Club was cancelled this year due to the weather.  However many local folks have been asking if they could still donate to the Addison County Humane Society to help offset the loss of revenue from this cancelled event and of course the answer is yes!  Just contact the Humane Society or visit them online at www.addisonhumane.org.  They are planning to have the Festival Of Fido’s event next year. Also, don't forget RUFF RIDE 2012, the motorcycle and bicycle ride and BBQ fundraiser will be held on Sunday June 24th. Our very own Bruce & Hobbes will be there as the official Emcee’s of the event!  For more information about this event, please the ACHS website and download a sponsorship form to help raise money for our furry friends!  Lastly, Woofstock 2012 their Annual Walk and Festival for the Animals will be held on Saturday October 6th.  More information on Woofstock will follow, as we get closer to the event!

The Planning Commission will hold two public hearings on the proposed 2012 Town Plan today and on Wednesday of this week.  Both hearings will begin at 7PM in the Ilsley Library Meeting Room.  The Town Plan affects all of the Town of Middlebury.  The full plan with maps can be viewed at the Planning & Zoning Office in the Town Offices as well as on the Town’s Website

The Town Of Middlebury Public Works Committee will hold a meeting this Friday at 7:30AM in the Middlebury Town Offices Conference Room.  Discussion of the South Street & Green Mountain Place Project will take place including a review of project bids.  They will also review the Public Works Standards for Water Main construction.  Get more information anytime on the Town’s Website

Closed by flooding four years ago, the Leicester Hollow-Chandler Ridge Loop Trail was officially reopened Saturday in a ceremony attended by the half-dozen groups that worked to repair it.  The popular hiking path follows Leicester Hollow Brook for almost 9 miles as it ascends to Silver Lake and is off limits to motorized vehicles in the summer. Most of the money for the $250,000 project came from federal Recovery Act funding — although $55,000 in state Forests, Parks and Recreation funds were contributed.  Many Youth Conservation Corps workers worked in three shifts over 22 weeks of construction last summer to move boulders and lay down the cobblestones that make up the new footpaths.

The Castleton Planning Commission will host an informational hearing on the proposed Ridgeline Development energy project this Thursday beginning at 7PM at the Jeffords Center auditorium at Castleton State College.  The Commission feels it is important for citizens to be heard on this general subject and at length, so that public opinion can be a guide in enhancing the Castleton Town Plan. Castleton’s current Town Plan gives no guidance on ridgeline development.  The specific topic of immediate concern is the Reunion commercial wind power project proposed for the Taconic Range ridgeline from Grandpa's Knob going north through territories of Castleton, West Rutland, Pittsford and Hubbardton.  Organizers are interested in citizen thoughts and opinions; all interested citizens from the effected communities or beyond are welcome and will be heard.

Ticonderoga officials hope to have test drills drilled this month, a key step in a $13.8 million water project for the community.  Engineers have identified possible groundwater sites in the town. Test wells will be drilled to determine whether the locations have the capacity to meet local demand.  In 2009 the state Department of Health ordered Ti to replace or cover the Gooseneck reservoir, which was created in 1931. The town developed a plan to replace the reservoir with tanks, but an inspection discovered problems with the Gooseneck dam and with transmission lines.

The town of Moriah is planning a town-wide clean up.  There is no official date for the clean up yet, but town officials are in the process of investigating the cost and ways to assist residents.  Moriah’s Town Supervisor said it will more than likely be a day or two, probably a weekend, where everything will be accepted at the transfer station at no cost and with no limits.  The town board has received many complaints about junk and neglected properties in the community.  As soon as a date for the cleanup has been set we’ll let you know.
 
Students from schools throughout Essex County got the chance to get out of the classroom and learn about their environment hands on.  The 28th Annual Essex County Environmental Field Days were held at the county fairgrounds in Westport on Tuesday, May 22nd and Thursday, May 24th. Schools rotated through a number of exhibits talking about the environment with topics ranging from Maple Production to the Climate and Weather.

Champlain Area Trails will receive one of the Conservation Partnership Program grants awarded to non-profit land trusts across the state.  The grant enables CATS to hire a communications director who will also assist with administration and fundraising.  The purpose of the grants is to increase the pace, improve the quality and ensure the permanence of voluntary conservation of private lands. The grant to CATS of $50,000 over two years is one of 53 grants totaling $1.4 million awarded state-wide and funded through New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund.  Learn more at www.champlainareatrails.com.

The Galley at Westport Marina invites everyone to the Essex County Business Council Business After Hours mixer to be held from 5:30 to 7 PM on Thursday June 14th.  Enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar while getting together with friends and networking with new business contacts.  Business After Hours is open to members of the Essex County Business Council, North Country Chamber of Commerce and partner chambers. The council is a division of the North Country Chamber. Those who are not yet a member of the E-C-B-C or any partner members may call for a guest pass.  Admission is $2. For more information, or to make reservations, call Arlene at 523-2445, Ext. 133.

Greg Smith was named as the next executive of the Vermont Lottery.  The Mendon man, who will take over the top job at the lottery on June 7th, was picked from a field of 38 candidates who applied from regions throughout the United States. Smith, who spent the last five years serving as director of strategic cost management, operations and finance manager at The Vermont Country Store, said he’s looking forward to a new job in a new field. Alan Yandow held the position for 14 years. 

Former lieutenant governor and gubernatorial candidate Brian Dubie is retiring from the United States Air Force after 35 years of service.  The Vermont National Guard is holding a retirement ceremony for Dubie on Saturday at the Green Mountain Armory at Camp Johnson in Colchester.  Over his 35 years, Dubie has served in Iraq, Panama, Macedonia and Canada. The Guard says he facilitated military support at Ground Zero in New York City after the September 11th attacks and supported Air Force relief efforts on the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina.

The Intervale farmers are back in business after sustaining $750,000 in losses of crops and equipment due to Tropical Storm Irene flooding.  Intervale farms produce more than 1 million pounds of food worth $1.2 million in sales for the greater Burlington area in most years, according to the release. After Irene, fundraising efforts raised more than $150,000 for the farmers, and testing has determined that the flooding did not contaminate the farmland. That and the relatively mild winter have set the Intervale up for a great season.

A Vermont town will no longer say a prayer before it's town meetings.  The Superior Court ruled in favor of a Franklin woman who objected to the prayer, saying it violates the separation of church and state.  Marilyn Hackett voiced her opposition to the prayer for ten years, and although she's one of few who wanted the prayer blocked, she says the majority can't vote away the civil rights of the minority. Hackett says her religious preference is irrelevant, she's just passionate about the law, so is pleased the principles of the country held up in court.

The nation's largest bus company is cutting service to two Vermont towns. Greyhound says its buses will stop rolling into stations in Brattleboro and Bellows Falls later this month. Two towns in Massachusetts and one in New Hampshire are also having service eliminated.  Greyhound spokesman Timothy Stokes told the Eagle Times, the locations were removed from the route after an evaluation determined a ridership decline in the region. Greyhound will continue to offer service to Burlington, Montpelier and White River Junction. Greyhound says it's also ending service to Keene, NH, and Northampton and Greenfield, MA.

Brandon Music presents a series of chamber music performances by the “New Music on the Point” program of Point CounterPoint summer camp. This evening at 7, soloists Jennifer Beattie and pianist Donna Loewy will present a Salon Concert at Brandon Music in the Music Café.  Then tomorrow night at 7 the JACK Quartet will present a Salon Concert at Brandon Music.  Tickets are $15 per person and proceeds will benefit the Compass Music and Arts Foundation.  For ticket information and to learn more about CMAC just visit www.brandon-music.net

The Vermont band Gypsy Reel will perform at the Castleton Concert on the Green Tuesday, June 12th at 7PM. They play a mix of Celtic and folk music.  The concert is free and open to the public. It will perform rain or shine. The rain site is the Casella Theater in the Fine Arts Center at Castleton State College.  For further information, please contact: 802-273-2911.

Thousands of college students have left Burlington for the summer, which means the American Red Cross is in dire need of donors.  The local Red Cross chapter in Burlington says there is always a need for blood regardless of what time of year it is, but when the college kids head home for the summer, that leaves the chapter in a bind.  All of the blood donated stays local, and when school is in session, they have many donors that are willing to give.  They hold blood drives six days a week, and right now there is a lack of people to donate.  "We're known as a college town, and most of those students leave and go home to their different states and we lose almost 1000 pints over the summer".  Their next big blood drive will be on June 12th in Derby Line.


Police in Essex are now saying a suspect killed in an alleged home invasion Friday was apparently from Connecticut.   A 9-1-1 call went in to police Friday morning, and when officers arrived they found the homeowner, Shawn Garrett, restraining a man in his front lawn whom Garrett says broke into his home and threatened him with a knife.  During the struggle between the two men, Garrett reportedly stabbed 30-year-old Ryan Motron-Lane of Storrs, Connecticut.  He was identified through fingerprints.  Police expect to release additional information about the incident later today.

A group of lost hikers from Vermont was brought down safely from a New Hampshire mountain trail over the weekend.  Conservation officers went up near the summit of Little Haystack Mountain to rescue two adults and four children, ages two to eight.  The group had made a cell phone call to Grafton County dispatch and still ended up going the wrong way on the Falling Waters Trail.  The officers connected with them early Saturday morning, and says the adults, Josie Rogers and Christopher Kangas of St. Johnsbury had no navigation tools, inappropriate clothing and were using a single cell phone to light the trail.

A free fishing day has been set for this coming Saturday. Residents of Vermont and visitors who don't have fishing licenses will be allowed to drop a line into the state's rivers and streams for a day without a license. As part of the day's activities, there will be a fishing festival at the Ed Weed Fish Culture Station in Grand Isle.