WVTK Local & State News August 17, 2012

This week the Middlebury Select Board received the Town Plan from Planning Commission. Planning Commission Chair Nancy Malcolm officially presented the revised Town Plan to the Select Board.  The Select Board must hold at least two public hearings on the Plan, the first of which has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 18th.  Copies of the Town Plan are available at the Ilsley Public Library and the Sarah Partridge Library and the Plan is also posted on the Town's website.

This week the Painter Hills Water Main Project was awarded to the low bidder. The Select Board awarded the contract for the construction of the Painter Hills water main project to Champlain Construction, Inc. with a bid of $394,731.30.  Meanwhile The Board accepted Riverfront Project Manager David Raphael's recommendation for contracting with DeBisschop Excavating for the project, which includes the construction of pathways, re-grading and landscape restoration, tree and shrub plantings, and creating seating and gathering opportunities with a small amphitheater-like environment. Construction will begin after all necessary permits are obtained.   A late summer/early fall construction timeline is anticipated.

At this week’s Middlebury Select Board meeting the Finance & Fundraising Task Force of the Town Offices - Community Center Steering Committee reported on the first meeting of the Task Force held on August 9th, and noted the next meeting of the Task Force will be on Friday, August 24 at 9:00 AM in the Town Offices and will be dedicated to learning more about net-zero and net-zero ready construction, including construction costs, operation and maintenance costs, and potential energy savings vs. the current building and traditional energy efficient construction methods.

Refinancing has reduced the Annual Debt Service on the Middlebury Police Department Bond. The Vermont Municipal Bond Bank constantly reviews outstanding bond portfolios and seeks to re-issue bonds issued at higher interest rates than those currently available. This year, the Bank re-issued their 2004 series bonds, which included the Middlebury Police Department Bond, resulting in a savings of $82,926.15 over the remaining term of the twenty-year note.

This week Middlebury’s Town Manager Bill Finger reported that the Fire Facilities construction projects are going well, with completion of Fire Station #1 on Seymour Street anticipated in January and Fire Station #2 in East Middlebury in late September/early October. Bill also reported that ultra energy-efficient lighting has been installed in the Town Offices and on the exterior of the building and will be installed in the gym before the end of August. The energy efficiency improvements were grant funded. Bill noted that a public meeting on the Sand Hill Bridge project was held in East Middlebury on August 6th.  The State plans to construct the new bridge in a 40-day period in the spring of 2014.

Sermons by a Vergennes Catholic priest, the Rev. Yvon Royer, are now available as online homilies.  The series of sermons, titled ‘‘Rediscovering our Catholic Faith’’, can be heard by visiting the St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church website at www.stpetersvt.com.  Father Royer is pastor of St. Peter’s Church.

Vermont State Police responded to a reported theft on Wednesday from a vehicle on Raymond Hill Road in Orwell.  Doreen Bernier of Orwell said that she was missing a GPS unit that she had left in her unlocked vehicle.  She told the trooper that it had last been seen on a July car trip but that she suspected it had been taken recently.  Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Vermont State Police at 802-388-4919. Information can also be submitted anonymously online at www.vtips.info or text “CRIMES” (274637) to Keyword: VTIPS

A Green Mountain Power representative said that the former landfill off Gleason Road in Rutland was likely the best location in the city for a large-scale solar power project.  The Community and Economic Development Committee voted yesterday to recommend the Board of Aldermen authorize Mayor Christopher Louras to sign a deal selling GMP an option on the property. The terms of the deal were undisclosed. City attorney Andrew Costello said that until they were approved by the full board they were still “under negotiation.”

The Essex County Board of Supervisors will not be part of the future of the former Bookmobile.  Members of the Public Safety Committee voted 7-0 this week to relinquish all rights to the former mobile library for the Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System, giving Franklin and Clinton counties the right to move to create a mobile communications center without them.  The vote came after the original resolution to support the mobile command center was defeated, 4-3, with supervisors again calling on the library organization to use the sale of the Bookmobile to fund their programs.

New York State Sen. Betty Little received Fort Ticonderoga’s Outstanding Citizen Award at the fort’s annual midsummer gala August 4th.  Little was honored for her support to Fort Ticonderoga and overall advocacy for cultural affairs and tourism in the region and state. The Fort Ticonderoga Outstanding Citizen Award recipients are identified as having made a significant contribution to Fort Ticonderoga and its mission.

The New York State Department of Transportation has awarded a $31.3 million contract through the NY Works program for repairs to 13 bridges, including one in Port Henry. The contract includes deck replacements on the Route 9N bridge over Grove Brook in Port Henry. Work on that project will begin soon and be completed this fall.  Traffic will be controlled by a temporary signal during construction.

The Port Henry Village Board has scheduled a special meeting for 7 PM on Monday at the Village Hall on Main St.  The board will discuss matters pertaining to the campground. All board meetings are open to the public.

Brandon Police say a search off Ferson Road uncovered a small marijuana crop this week.  Acting on an anonymous tip, police said they searched a wooded area next to a cornfield near the border with Leicester and found three marijuana plants growing in a well-hidden garden. Each plant was more than 4 feet tall, police said.  The plants were seized and are scheduled to be destroyed. Police did not say whether any charges would be brought.

Neighborhood residents expressed concerns about a Dunkin’ Donuts proposed for the corner of Woodstock Avenue and Tremont Street.  The Community and Economic Development Committee meeting was not about the Dunkin’ Donuts proposal specifically, but about a proposed zoning change that would allow it to happen. Developer M.T. Associates has asked the city to change the zoning of 6 Tremont St. from residential to commercial. Some of the neighbors assembled said they were not necessarily opposed to the project, but that they had concerns about noise and light that they wanted addressed.

Shelburne Vineyard did well at the fourth annual International Cold Climate Wine Competition held recently in Minnesota.  It's 2010 Marquette Reserve, declared the best red wine in the show, won the "Best of Show" category.  That's not bad when you consider more than 325 wines from commercial wineries in 12 states and Canada competed.  A Minnesota winery captured "Best of Show" in white wines, and also won the Minnesota Governor's Cup trophy.

Hotel rooms in Burlington and the surrounding area are at a premium this weekend.  It's because of the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships, which are drawing thousands of athletes and their families to the city.  The combination of running, biking and swimming events kick off Saturday and Sunday mornings at 7:30 in Waterfront Park.  More than 37-hundred of the nation's top amateur triathletes will compete, including 34 defending national champions and nine reigning world champions.

Plans for a wind power project in a remote area of Vermont’s Essex County are on hold.  Seneca Mountain Wind had applied for permits to erect wind measurement towers.   Some neighboring landowners appealed, saying Seneca failed to notify them about the plans as required by law.  A Public Service Board hearing officer has sided with the landowners and placed the project on hold until Seneca makes proper notifications.

The start of the school year at one Vermont middle school has been delayed nearly a week to finalize renovations.  One of the delays at Bellows Falls Middle School was due to the installation of extra sprinklers to meet the fire code.  Other additions have been a new, handicap-accessible entryway, a wood pellet boiler, a solar hot water heater and technology upgrades.  The Brattleboro Reformer reports the school was scheduled to open on September 4th. The new opening date is the 10th.

Tradition will live on this Labor Day weekend in Port Henry.  The town of Moriah will hold its 121st annual Labor Day celebration. Activities are planned Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 1^st and 2nd, in the village of Port Henry. The Moriah Chamber of Commerce sponsors the festivities. The celebration will begin Saturday when the pH7 Committee will sponsor a hula-hoop twirling contest at the park by the information booth at 10 AM.  The band Loose Connections will perform at Port Henry beach 6 to 9 PM. The concert will be followed by a fireworks display at the beach.  Sunday’s activities get underway at 11 AM with amusement rides, games and vendors on Church Street. Penelope the Clown will attend. A chicken barbecue will be held at noon on Main Street at the intersection of St. Patrick’s Place.  There will be a mile road race just prior to the 1 PM. Labor Day parade.

As part of Bristol's 250th Anniversary celebration, the Bristol Gateway Players will present the classic drama "Our Town", Thornton Wilder's classic story of small town life in early 1900s New Hampshire. Performances will be held at 7 p.m. today through Saturday along with a Sunday matinee. The performances will be held at Holley Hall in downtown Bristol.

For one week each year, the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival turns the Elley-Long Music Center into a hub of music making that composers, performers, students and audience members can share.  Entering its fourth year, the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival will present concerts at Saint Michael’s College’s Elley-Long Music Center, as well as other venues around the region. The festival also offers myriad musical activities including master classes, listening clubs and more.

From Fox 44 and ABC 22 News – Your Voice in Vermont & New York:

A woman looking to unseat Vermont's incumbent Lieutenant Governor launched her campaign today. And when Governor Peter Shumlin introduced Cassandra Gekas, he called her the future Lieutenant Governor.  Shumlin was joined by a crowd full of people showing support.  During her speech, Gekas said she's an advocate for domestic violence victims, access to transportation, a woman's right to choose, working families and clean energy solutions.  "We're seeing the impacts of climate change, it's affecting our abilities to live and work in Vermont, our lake is choking of blue green algae, and we have a nuclear power plant that should have been shut down months ago," Gekas said.  The current Lieutenant Governor, Phil Scott said "He (Shumlin) and I have had a good working relationship over the last 2 years, and the governor has also said that publicly, so I don't interpret his endorsement as a slight on my performance.  I see it as more of a partisan move."

A woman charged with her husband in the killing of a Vermont teacher wants her trial moved out of Caledonia County. A lawyer for Patricia Prue says extensive media coverage of the case makes it highly unlikely for her to get a fair trial in her home county. Patricia and Allen Prue are charged with taking the life of Melissa Jenkins of St. Johnsbury in March.

Vermont State Police say it's going to be a few more weeks before autopsy results are available on a man who was shot with a stun gun.  The New Hampshire Chief Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy on Macadam Mason in June. That included tests that can take several weeks to complete.  A Vermont State Police spokeswoman told The Burlington Free Press the investigation is ongoing.