The Addison County Chamber of Commerce and Snake
Mountain Cruisers will be hosting the 8th Annual Better L8 Than Never Car Show this
Sunday at the Bristol Recreation Field. The car show runs from 9 AM to 4 PM.
More than 200 vehicles are expected. Admission for spectators is free, however donations
are accepted for Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, and vehicle registration is only $15 per
vehicle. Visit www.bristolharvestfest.com
to download a vehicle registration form.
The 5th Annual Tour de Farms will take place this
Sunday in Shoreham. The Tour offers
cyclists of all abilities an opportunity to enjoy fantastic scenery, delicious
foods, great bicycling, and the camaraderie of kindred spirits who appreciate
all the bounty that Vermont has to offer.
For more information including the link to online registration just
visit www.vtbikeped.org.
“Story Matters” will kick off its fall storytelling
next week with the topic of autumn—seasons past and days ahead. David Weinstock will be the story
starter. He is a poet, web-maker,
wordsmith, and guide for the long-running poetry group that meets weekly at
Ilsley Public Library. “Story Matters”
will meet Tuesday the 25th at 7 PM at the Ilsley Public Library in
Middlebury. For more information
just visit the Ilsley's Website.
Town officials hope to block two wind measurement
towers on the Grandpa’s Knob ridgeline from receiving an extension of their
certificate of public good. In a
letter to the Vermont Public Service Board dated September 10th, town officials
asked the board to deny any extension to the certificate that was issued almost
five years ago to the Grandpa’s Knob Windpark, now owned by Reunion Power. The
certificate of public good was issued in December 2007 to the Grandpa’s Knob
Windpark, at the time owned by Noble Environmental Power. The state’s land use
permit allowed for the construction and operation of two wind measurement
towers in the towns of West Rutland and Hubbardton.
A rabid raccoon was found wandering in Jay’s hamlet
of Upper Jay this week. The
animal's discovery led officials to issue a public warning Thursday. Essex
County Public Health Department staff said there was no human contact with the
animal. The Public Health
Department said that other animals have been confirmed with rabies during the
past year in several areas of the county, including Wilmington, Jay,
Elizabethtown, Westport, Essex, Ticonderoga, Chesterfield and Willsboro. The department
said all residents should avoid contact with stray or wild animals and cats and
dogs that are unknown to them. If a contact occurs, notify the Essex County
Public Health Department at 873-3500.
Ticonderoga’s old town accounting system is no
longer. The state-of-the-art
bookkeeping software system just installed means the town will be able to print
detailed financial reports and monitor how its budget is followed throughout
the year. The town bonded for the software
system’s $45,000 cost according to Ticonderoga Town Supervisor Debra Malaney. The
system’s cost includes two years of software maintenance, and training for
employees.
The Downtown Ti Gallery needs help. The art gallery, which opened in July
under the auspices of the Ticonderoga Revitalization Alliance, is looking for
volunteers. Located at 119
Montcalm St., the gallery is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 10 AM to
4 PM. Interested volunteers can
contact Jill Cunningham at lakehouse77077@yahoo.com
or Richard Timberlake at rt@timberlakephotos.com.
There is no mechanism to inspect the apartments and
homes the Essex County Department of Social Services rents for its clients. County Social Services Commissioner
John O’Neill told the Essex County Board of Supervisors Human Services
Committee recently that such inspections are barred by state regulation. Officials have heard rumors that people
were moving to Essex County from other states and counties because it is easier
to get welfare benefits here.
However the county enters the information into a state software system,
and that program makes the determination.
North Country Congressman Bill Owens says that if a
deal is not made soon on a new Farm Bill, area farmers could suffer greatly. The Farm Bill is set to expire on
September 30th, and Congress shows little signs of coming to an agreement on a
new deal. In the meantime, Owens said, the Milk Income Loss Contract program,
which is part of the current Farm Bill, has already begun to see reductions. If
a new Farm Bill is not approved before September 30th, the MILC program will
phase out by the end of this year.
U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer has launched a plan to
allow upstate New York dairy farmers to increase their herds in order to fully
capitalize on the Greek-yogurt boom.
Greek yogurt is a nutritious, creamier type of product that has caught
on nationally. Schumer is pushing
for the revival of the federal Section 1603 grant program, which provided funds
for dairy farms to construct biodigesters, which convert organic waste into a
nutrient-rich fertilizer and biogas, a renewable source of electrical and heat
energy. In addition to manure, digesters can also turn whey, a byproduct of
yogurt production, into new renewable energy, providing yogurt producers with a
direct way to benefit from what they now simply send to disposal.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made it
official: It sees no need for stepped-up inspections at the Vermont Yankee
nuclear plant. That word comes in
a letter from William Dean, Northeast regional administrator for the NRC, to
Vermont Public Service Commissioner Elizabeth Miller. Miller has written to the NRC twice this year to raise
concerns about what she has termed human performance problems at the plant. An NRC spokesman said last month that
none of the recent problems at the plant had been rated as serious by the
federal agency, and expressed doubt that the agency would subject the plant to
additional scrutiny. Dean met with
Miller on August 28th and now has followed up with a letter saying Vermont
Yankee's performance does not warrant additional NRC oversight.
Residents in the village of Waterbury will vote
this November on whether to abolish their local police department. The village has merged its fire and
public works departments with those of the adjacent town of Waterbury, but the
town has declined so far in joining to support the local police department. Village Trustees voted Wednesday night
to put the question on the November ballot.
UVM students are being warned after a bear was
spotted on campus. A student
reported seeing the bear near a Dumpster on the south end of Coolidge Hall near
Davis Road around 1:30 AM on Wednesday.
The Burlington Free Press reports that the bear was last seen heading
south toward the UVM soccer fields. Campus police searched but did not find the
animal. Police issued safety tips
to students, telling them to remain a safe distance from any wild animal and to
call Police Services. Bear
sightings are rare in Burlington.
The results are in and Vermont State Police say a
summer crackdown got a few dangerous drivers off the road. The three-month
operation ended Labor Day. Troopers stopped 1,391 vehicles. They wrote 852
tickets and 90 percent of those were for speeding. And they made 14
arrests. The majority of the stops
were in Windsor and Windham counties. That's where police say they're having
the biggest problem with speeders.
Troopers say the detail did not have a significant impact on highway
fatalities as 58 people have died on Vermont roadways this year.
It could be later today before the results of gubernatorial primary recount are known. The recount is for who really won the race for Vermont's Progressive Party, as Progressive Party Chairwoman Martha Abbott was on the ballot, with Annette Smith running as a write-in candidate. Volunteers at county courthouses around the state began Thursday sorting through tens of thousands of ballots to find the 993 Progressive party ballots. Adding to the problem was determining the intent, because a voter writing in "Smith" would not be specific enough, but it instead has to be some form of "Annette Smith."
It could be later today before the results of gubernatorial primary recount are known. The recount is for who really won the race for Vermont's Progressive Party, as Progressive Party Chairwoman Martha Abbott was on the ballot, with Annette Smith running as a write-in candidate. Volunteers at county courthouses around the state began Thursday sorting through tens of thousands of ballots to find the 993 Progressive party ballots. Adding to the problem was determining the intent, because a voter writing in "Smith" would not be specific enough, but it instead has to be some form of "Annette Smith."
Vermonters who support the idea of seceding from
the United States are gathering at the Statehouse in Montpelier. The 2012 Vermont Independence Party
convention is scheduled for today and will include speakers critical of the
federal government, as well as discussions of how Vermont can go it alone
economically and in other realms. The
event is to feature local food and drink vendors, as well as performances by
Bread and Puppet Theater and local musicians. The convention runs until 4 p.m.
People may be saying "What the Hay?" when
they see the herd of cows along the Burlington waterfront this weekend. The "cows" are actually made
of hay, created by artists at the Killington Hay Festival. Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream is sponsoring
the Grand Point North Music Festival this weekend, and invited the artists to
display their "utterly" delightful creations at the event. 30 more exotic hay animals are being
displayed along the countryside in Killington between now and Columbus Day.
Brandon Music on Country Club Road in Brandon presents
classical pianist Annemieke Spoelstra on Saturday at 7:00pm in a new program
entitled "Musical Imagionairies," featuring music by Hovhaness,
Mussorgsky, Schubert, Liszt and others. The program is based on nature and
travels, and the experience of being inspired by beauty. One original
photograph will be silently auctioned for The M.O.S.A. Project, an orphanage in
Lesotho that provides scholarships to children affected by HIV/AIDS. Tickets for the performance are $15.
For information or reservations visit www.brandon-music.net.
The fourth annual Fair Haven Apple Pie Contest is
set for Saturday at the Grade School Apple Festival. Sponsored by the Fair Haven Historical Society, the contest
features adult and children bakers to benefit a scholarship program for high
school seniors. Judging will take
place at noon on Saturday at the Fair Haven Park. All pies must be brought to
the booth by 11 AM. Following the contest, they will go on sale by the slice or
pie.
From Fox 44 and ABC 22 News – Your Voice in Vermont
& New York:
Health care reform is a big deal right now across
the nation, and in Vermont. And one group says a trip to the dentist is just as
important. You're looking at the
"Vermont oral health care for all coalition." They want the green mountain care board
to include dental visits for adults in benefit plans. *Cost* is commonly the
big reason Vermonters don't get their teeth checked. "Everyday I see patients that have severe tooth-decay
including babies and children as well as their parents and
grandparents." A federal plan
already requires dental coverage for kids.
Lots of people check out so-called "street
view" maps online. Now Google is going even further with its maps. Jim Hilker, a photographer for Google,
will be in Burlington in October to photograph the inside of businesses and
then upload the pictures to Google's website. He can create a virtual, 360-degree tour of a business. He says people around the country
like the virtual tours of businesses, especially restaurants. "This is attracting people who are
ready to make a purchase. That are shopping online to say 'Wow, look at that
place. Let's go there. That looks really nice'," says Hilker. Businesses do have to pay for Hilker to
photograph their store, which then becomes part of the business' online listing.
