Today is Republican Primary Day in New York. Polls
will be open from Noon to 9 PM. Only registered Republicans can vote. In Essex County you can cast your
ballot in Moriah at the Town Justice Hall, Moriah Firehouse, or the Mineville-Witherbee
Firehouse. In Jay you can vote at
the Ward Theater or the Town Office in AuSable Forks.
The New Haven Fire Department Will be Holding Their
Annual Chicken Barbecue on Saturday, September 22nd at the Fire Station on Main
Street - and While This Event Is Always Popular, This Year - In Addition To Raising Money For The
Fire Fighters - The Event Has Added Significance - As the Department Will
Announce a Historic First. For The First Time in their storied 45-year history
- the New Haven Fire Department will have an official "Fire Dog" -
and that dog will be none other, than our very own "Hobbes." Assistant Chief Dean Gilmore announced
yesterday the honor would be bestowed on the town's favorite canine at a
ceremony during the barbecue, and said the work Hobbes has done helping other
animals, and people, is the perfect example of what a "Fire Dog" should
be. The accolade is the latest
accomplishment for Hobbes, who has already made history, by being named a
Police K-9 in two Vermont communities - Middlebury and Vergennes. As for the barbeque - it gets started
at 5 pm, and will continue until the meals are sold out. The menu features Misty Knoll Chicken,
Potato Salad, Baked Beans, Rolls and Drinks. Tickets are $10 a person, and all proceeds benefit the Fire
Department. For more information,
people can call 802-373-4198!
Vermont is hosting public forums about the Health
Benefit Exchange. "The
Exchange will give Vermonters access to affordable, quality health coverage,"
Mark Larson, Commissioner of the DVHA, said in a press release. "These
forums are a statewide effort intended to help the public learn about the
Exchange and what it will mean for them." Each session will cover essential health benefits required
of all health plans, assistance that will be available and what the Exchange
website will look like. Upcoming
sessions includes one in Middlebury today at the Ilsley Public Library from 6 –
8:30 PM and one in Rutland on Monday the 24th at the Rutland Free
Library from 6 – 8:30 PM.
Coming up today the Middlebury Business Development
Fund Advisory Board will meet in the Main Conference Room at 1 PM where they
will finalize the Statement Of need and Fundraising Strategy. Get more info anytime by visiting the
Town of Middlebury’s Website.
This week the Middlebury Select Board authorized
the use of $150,000 from the Land Conservation Trust Fund for the purchase of
38.30 acres of land from the Co-Operative Insurance, which has conditionally
accepted the Town's offer to purchase the property. The land is adjacent to Chipman Park and would be deed
restricted for use for conservation, Public Park & recreation purposes
only.
The Middlebury Select Board heard a report from the
Business Development Fund Advisory Board Meeting that took place on September
4th. At its meeting on the 4th, the Advisory Board reviewed a draft statement
of need for fundraising and a revised job description for the Business
Development Director. The Advisory Board will meet again today to finalize the
statement of need so that it can begin the process of soliciting financial
support for this initiative from the business community.
Middlebury Town Planner and Energy Coordinator Fred
Dunnington reported on the September 8th meeting of the Energy Committee at
this week’s Select Board meeting. The committee reviewed the municipal building
lighting project to improve energy efficiency, which has been completed; the
conversion to LED street lights, which is in progress; and the net-zero and
net-zero ready concepts for the Town Center project, which is currently in the
preliminary planning stage. The committee also discussed sites for alternative
energy projects, the Exchange Street bike and pedestrian safety study, bike
racks and share the right of way pavement markings and signs. More information
about the efforts of the Middlebury Energy Committee is available on their
website, www.middleburyenergy.org.
The Town Offices/Community Center Steering
Committee Meeting held a meeting on Tuesday. The Committee heard the report of
the Gymnasium Task Force, which toured the gym building on September 4th as an
initial step toward developing a project list for the facility. Based on the
tour, Fred Dunnington and Nick Artim prepared a list of projects for the task
force's consideration. This list will be used to prioritize the projects and
obtain estimates for the work necessary to address deferred maintenance issues,
code-compliance, heating/ventilation/air conditioning and aesthetics. The Committee
also reviewed the agenda for the upcoming Finance & Fundraising Task Force
Meeting on September 18th at 9AM in the Town Offices.
The Middlebury Select Board got a Fire Facilities
Project Update this week. Work on Stations #1 and #2 is progressing nicely, on
schedule and within budget. For safety and maintenance reasons, the Board
approved a change order for multi-colored epoxy flooring in both stations.
Fish that live in Lake Champlain appear to be
recovering from contaminants that have plagued the lake and its inhabitants for
decades. A recently released
report that studied mercury and PCBs in several species from the lake
identified lower levels of contaminants in some samples and stable levels in
others. Eric Howe, staff scientist for the Lake Champlain Basin Program said, “It
definitely does look good,” based on what he labeled as promising results from
the independent study.
The Rutland Town Select Board is ready to take
matters regarding Flory’s Plaza into its own hands. The board has approved a ballot item for the November
election asking voters if they want to spend up to $250,000 in public money to
clean up the property, placing a lien on it to recover the funds. The vote will be non-binding and is
intended as a straw poll to gauge public support. The board has had some
conversations with the town attorney about the legal process of such a move,
and those conversations will continue if the voters back the effort.
A pair of local New York businesses has been
awarded grants through the Business Flood Recovery Grant Program. Receiving grants were John Boyea of
Port Henry and the Moriah Country Club.
Statewide, 584 eligible entities that sustained direct, flood-related
damage as a result of Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee will receive a total
of $7.9 million in assistance through the Business Flood Recovery Grant
Program. Empire State Development, the agency administering the Business Flood
Recovery Grant Program, will provide grants of up to $20,000 to the small
businesses, farms, multiple dwellings, and not-for-profits that qualified for
the program. A complete list of funded projects is available HERE.
The Schroon Lake Public Library will offer adult
watercolor painting classes this fall thanks to a grant. As part of Creative Aging in New York
State Libraries, a national leadership project funded by the U.S. Institute for
Museum and Library Services, three Clinton-Essex-Franklin libraries will
receive a total of $6,500 to support free arts learning programs for older
adults. The Rouses Point Dodge Memorial Library and Wells Memorial Library in
Upper Jay also received funding. The Schroon Lake program, “Beginning to Paint
Using Watercolors,” will be held on Thursdays 9:30 to 11:30 AM beginning next
week. The program will conclude November 1st.
Public safety officials have OK'd proposals for the
state's first two medical marijuana dispensaries, in Burlington and Waterbury.
A law passed last year authorizes up to four privately run dispensaries for
patients with chronic illness or intractable pain.
A lockdown at the public high school in Montpelier
turned out to be a false alarm. Superintendent Brian Rocca says a bomb threat
was called in around lunchtime yesterday. Police determined that the threat was
a hoax and the lockdown was ended before 1:00 Wednesday afternoon.
They've already served in enough wars, but now some vets living at the Vermont Veterans' Home are faced with the battle of their lives. 100 of the 150 vets may be moved out, with hundreds of workers possibly losing their jobs. It has to do with funding, and two infractions caught during a random survey are the reason, which could result in the loss of millions of dollars in federal funding. Plus, there are also issues with staff working mandatory overtime. The state has hired an independent third party to assess both the staffing and infraction problems.
They've already served in enough wars, but now some vets living at the Vermont Veterans' Home are faced with the battle of their lives. 100 of the 150 vets may be moved out, with hundreds of workers possibly losing their jobs. It has to do with funding, and two infractions caught during a random survey are the reason, which could result in the loss of millions of dollars in federal funding. Plus, there are also issues with staff working mandatory overtime. The state has hired an independent third party to assess both the staffing and infraction problems.
Historic documents stolen from the special
collections space at the University of Vermont are back where they belong. The pieces of written history tied to
the state include letters from Franklin Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and Karl
Marx, which were stolen by a con artist posing as a presidential
historian. Barry Landau was
recently sentenced to seven years in jail, and prosecutors say historical
societies in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Connecticut were also hit in
the multi-state theft.
Brandon Music on Country Club Road in Brandon will
present Countryman and the Buffalo Band this evening at 7:30pm. General
Admission is $12. The
NYC-based Countryman and the Buffalo Band plays contemporary soul jazz with an
exciting modern flare. Led by saxophonist Geoff Countryman and comprised entirely
by some of the city’s top young jazz musicians, the band combines their deep
understanding of jazz improvisation with forays into funk, soul and
electronica. Get details now HERE.
Fort Ticonderoga will host a Heritage, Harvest
& Horse Festival to celebrate the arrival of autumn. The event is slated for Saturday, September
29th. The festival will
get under way at 9:30 AM. The plants sale and harvest market in the King’s
Garden will be open 10 AM to 4 PM and the “Heroic Corn Maze” will be open 10 AM
to 5 PM. Also on tap that day will be guided tours of the fort and musket
demonstrations. For a complete
event schedule visit www.fortticonderoga.org
or call 585-2821.
From Fox 44 and ABC 22 News – Your Voice in Vermont
and New York:
Democrat Peter Shumlin and Republican Randy Brock
met in the first debate in the race for Vermont governor. It aired on Vermont Public Radio
Wednesday. The debate covered
various issues including energy, education, and health care. Brock attacked Shumlin's plan to
overhaul health care in Vermont. The
governor admits higher taxes could be part of it though for now he won't say
how to cover costs. "We will
be putting to the legislature in January all the options to finance the
plan," says Shumlin. Brock
says he has put forward a plan that would mean more competition in health care
and lower costs. But he doesn't
see health care as a "right."
"I think health care is a responsibility," says Brock. Shumlin says the state has moved
forward under his leadership, including more jobs. But Brock says a check of the cars at the Lowell wind
project showed the jobs might be going to the wrong people. "Isn't it correct that most of
those plates belong to people from other states than Vermont?" asked
Brock. "I obviously encourage
people who contract with Vermont to hire Vermonters," responded Shumlin. Under fire from Shumlin, Brock says he
wouldn't undo Vermont's marriage equality, though he voted against it. One thing they both agree on: F-35''s
should go to the Vermont Air National Guard. There are six more debates scheduled. The next is September 26th.
Some wind turbines owned by Green Mountain Power
and Vermont Electric Co-op are now online and producing energy. The turbines provide Vermonters with
low-cost energy and will generate enough electricity for 24,000 homes. Green mountain power wants to create
more carbon-free energy and have more diverse energy sources. "It is exciting it's something
that our customers have been asking for in all of our surveys. That they want
to see more wind power in our portfolio. So it's exciting we're getting to the
point that it's going to be part of the power our customers are using,"
Green Mountain Power's Dorothy Schnure said. Not all of the 21 turbines are up and running but they
should all be in use by the end of the year.
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin announced the state
will move forward to rebuild state facilities damaged by Tropical Storm Irene,
despite not knowing how much money the federal government will provide for
rebuilding. The cost is
estimated at $170 million to rebuild the state complex in Waterbury and several
mental health facilities around the state. State leaders hope FEMA chips in
some $90 million. Shumlin
says the state can't wait any longer for FEMA and must start construction soon.
He pointed to mental ill patients in adequate facilities and the town of
Waterbury, which is struggling with the state complex closed. "This is a tough decision. Is
there a risk? Absolutely," says Shumlin. "If we fall short, we will use the ingenuity that has
got us as far as we have come since Irene hit us to get us the rest the
way." That's not a good
enough back up plan according to Shumlin's opponent in the governor's race,
Republican Randy Brock. "I
haven't heard the worst case statement, as to precisely what we're going to do
and exactly how we're going to pay for it and what it's going to cost,"
says Brock.
