A reminder that the Middlebury Select Board's first
public meeting on the Town Plan will take place tomorrow at 7 PM at the Ilsley
Public Library. Copies of the Town Plan are available at the Ilsley Public
Library and the Sarah Partridge Library and the Plan is posted on the Town's website. Other meetings this week include the
Planning Commission Meeting this afternoon at 5:15 in the Town Offices Main
Conference Room. The Community
Center Finance & Fundraising Task Force will meet tomorrow morning at 9
followed by the Community Center Steering Committee at 11. Both meeting will take place in the
Small Conference Room at the Town Offices. Also the Ilsley Public Library Board of Trustees will hold
their monthly meeting at the Library in the Vermont Room at 6:30 tomorrow evening.
The Town of Middlebury will be hosting a reception
for retiring Town Manager Bill Finger! You are cordially invited to stop by Two
Brothers Tavern Lounge this Thursday between 3:30 and 6:00 PM to wish Bill well
as he starts this next adventure.
As of last week the Addison County Transit
Resources began making way for a new, multi-million dollar transportation
center located on Creek Road in Middlebury.
ACTR officials held a public
groundbreaking ceremony at the new depot construction site last Monday. Rutland-based VMS Construction is
building the facility. VMS
officials said the center would be open for buses and riders, as well as ACTR staff, starting in May 2013. In June, ACTR received a $100,000 grant
clearing the way to begin construction. The grant, by Jane’s Trust of Boston,
was part of the 20 percent local match requirements for a $2.85 million federal
taxpayer grant that was previously awarded for the center.
The state Agency of Agriculture is asking all horse
owners in Vermont to get their animals vaccinated for eastern equine
encephalitis after a horse in Whiting tested positive for the rare virus
Friday. The deadly EEE virus,
spread by mosquitoes, has killed one Brandon man and has sickened another man
from Sudbury. Although only
six human cases are reported each year nationwide, one of every three patients
who contract EEE do not survive. Friday’s
case is the first among horses in Vermont and there is a nearly 100 percent
mortality rate.
As the man with the state’s first human case of a
rare, mosquito-borne infection fights for his life in a hospital bed, his
family has tough questions for state agencies in charge of aerial spraying for
adult mosquitoes that carry the deadly virus called eastern equine
encephalitis. Scott Sgorbati of
Sudbury has been in the hospital for five weeks, fighting the EEE virus that
has no cure. Local residents have set up the Scott Sgorbati Family Aid Fund, a
bank account for contributions to help the family. Donations are accepted at
any National Bank of Middlebury branch.
A spaghetti dinner is scheduled for this Saturday from 6 to 8 PM at the
Brandon American Legion Post 55 with a suggested donation of $7 for adults and
$4 for kids. Meanwhile the state
hopes to better inform the public about aerial spraying and the reasons behind
it in the future.
Named after the Long Trail, Long Trail Brewing Co.
has put its financial support behind the Green Mountain Club’s efforts to
maintain the 500 miles of trails in the state, including 272 miles that make up
the Long Trail. The Bridgewater
brewery is one of 85 businesses that support the Green Mountain Club, which has
an annual budget of $2 million.
Rick Carpenter won the Republican nomination for
Moriah town justice in primary voting last Thursday. Carpenter received 200 votes to earn the GOP line in the
November general election. Larry
Wintle Jr. got 105 votes and Brandy Patnode-Michener 73. Carpenter is currently on the Moriah
town board. He will resign that post if elected justice. All three candidates will be on the
November general election ballot as independents. The new town justice will replace Jeff Farnsworth, who
resigned after he accepted employment outside the area. The Moriah vote was the
only primary election in the area this year.
According to Dr. Dean Cook of Ticonderoga, a member
of the Lake George Park Commission, a survey of Lake George is needed to
determine the actual threat posed by invasive species. He was discussing the
spiny water flea — one of five invasive species now confirmed in Lake George —
during a meeting of the L-G-P-C aquatic invasive species committee in Ti
recently. The spiny water flea was
found near Mossy Point in Ticonderoga in August. It has now been confirmed in
10 locations in Lake George. The state Department of Environmental Conservation
confirmed in August water fleas were found in Lake George by an angler in
Ticonderoga. It was almost certainly inadvertently brought in by boaters from
already-infested waters elsewhere.
The Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce September
“After Business Mixer” will be held this Wednesday at the Best Western Plus
Ticonderoga Inn & Suites from 5:30 to 7 PM. Sponsors providing door prizes include George Sperry Marine
Survey, The Martin Agency and the Wagon Wheel Restaurant. The chamber’s “After Business Mixers”
provide a networking forum for area business people in addition to showcasing
the site of the host as well as promoting the door prize sponsors. All area
chamber members, business people and their employees are invited to attend. For more information just visit www.ticonderogany.com.
The Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce will host
a Fall Chamber and Insurance Open House on Thursday, October 11th from 10:00 AM
until 3:00 PM. The Open House will take place at the Chamber office. The open house is open to all Chamber
members who want to learn more about their benefits and any businesses or
organizations interested in becoming a TACC member. Light refreshments will be
available. For more information visit www.ticonderogany.com
or the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.
The Killington town manager is taking back the duties he held before being promoted to run the town. Killington Town Manager Seth Webb was originally hired in 2010 to run the town’s new Economic Development and Tourism Department. He was succeeded by his protégé, Suzie Dundas, who resigned effective September 1st. So Webb is overseeing the department again, adding those duties to those of town manager. He will head up the EDT through at least November.
The Killington town manager is taking back the duties he held before being promoted to run the town. Killington Town Manager Seth Webb was originally hired in 2010 to run the town’s new Economic Development and Tourism Department. He was succeeded by his protégé, Suzie Dundas, who resigned effective September 1st. So Webb is overseeing the department again, adding those duties to those of town manager. He will head up the EDT through at least November.
Friday is a day emergency crews in the area of
Mount Mansfield are not likely to forget for a while. Five people were hurt in separate but similar
accidents. Those involved three
12-year-olds and two people in their 50's. One of the adults and one of the kids were both taken to the
hospital with ankle injuries.
Authorities say all were a case of slips and falls, and by the end of
the day 12 departments and 50 volunteers were called out to help on the various
rescues.
About 800 staff workers at the University of
Vermont are slated to vote this week on whether to join a union. Technicians, research and library
support staff and others will cast ballots on Tuesday and Wednesday on whether
they want to organize and, if so, whether they want to join a union affiliated
with the Vermont NEA teachers' union or a group based at UVM called United Staff.
The weather was great, and that just added to the
number of people out walking for good causes over the weekend. On Sunday, more than 250 walkers raised
128-thousand dollars in the Great Strides Walk in South Burlington for the
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. About
a mile away in Dorset Park, 300 walkers raised more than a hundred-thousand
dollars for the Vermont Chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. And on Saturday, walkers and runners
raised more than 10-thousand dollars in the sixth annual Laura's March, with
the money going to organizations working to end violence against women.
Law enforcement agencies across New York State are
participating in National Child Passenger Safety Week. New York State Police, local police
agencies and highway safety professionals are taking part in the weeklong
enforcement effort that began Sunday and runs through Saturday. Police officials say safety week is
aimed at drawing attention to the threats faced by child passengers in motor
vehicle crashes. Police will be checking vehicles carrying children to make
sure they are properly secured in vehicles.
This is considered Child Passenger Safety Week
across the country, and in Vermont free spot checks of child safety seat are
being offered in several locations. According to experts, 80-percent of all
child seats are installed incorrectly, plus there's a lot out there that, as
they age, become unsafe. A new
part of the inspection program is taking in old car seats to be recycled. For locations, check the website www.BeSeatSmart.org.
Vermont Gas is expanding natural gas service into
the town of Richmond. It's the latest community to be added to natural gas
service by the company, which provides Vermont's only natural gas service to
the northwestern part of the state. Others that have it are Hinesburg,
Underhill and Jericho.
Police in Brattleboro are investigating the death
of a 47-year-old woman that is being labeled as suspicious. Investigators say a
person discovered the woman's body Friday at a home. The circumstances around
the death are under investigation.
A trooper has escaped injury after crashing her
cruiser into a picnic table that somebody placed in the middle of a state
highway. Officials say Trooper Amber Haag glanced down at her GPS and when she
looked back up she realized that a picnic table and metal bike rack were
blocking both lanes. Police tell the Burlington Free Press that a group of kids
was seen running from the area shortly before the crash.
Veterans with physical impairments can get
reimbursed for the cost of having a service dog help them, but a new Veterans
Administration directive is delaying compensation for veterans with mental and
emotional concerns until further research is completed. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York
is releasing a letter to the Veterans Administration asking that it rescind its
directive. He says conducting more
research is appropriate, but he wants veterans with emotional problems to be
able to get dogs in the interim.
The Ticonderoga Office of Glens Falls National Bank
is collecting coat, hat, scarf and mitten donations through October 5th to
benefit area children in need of warm clothing this winter. The bank is working in conjunction with
Winter Warmth for Kids to gather and distribute warm items to needy families in
the Ticonderoga area. Donated
items of all sizes can be dropped off at the branch, located at 123 Montcalm
St., during regular business hours, 9 AM to 3 PM, Mondays through Wednesdays,
and 9 AM to 4:30 PM Thursdays and Fridays. The coat drive will culminate
October 5th with a Community Appreciation Day at the Ticonderoga Office
featuring fun family activities.
Images from Tropical Storm Irene scared off some
leaf peepers last year but businesses hope to recoup their losses with a strong
foliage season this fall after a sunny, dry summer. Tourists are booking trips at inns to see the foliage during
the five-week season, which starts in mid- to late September. The Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield is
nearly fully booked, a relief after some tourists canceled last fall. The
Woodstock Inn & Resort in Vermont had to cancel reservations for all of
September last year after rooms and other areas were flooded. After multimillion-dollar renovations,
the resort is already booked for Columbus Day weekend. Visitors could see some brown patches,
but experts predict the summer's dry spells won't hamper the fall colors and
could even heighten them in some spots.
The experts say unusual warmth earlier this year, a
cold snap and then stretches without rain in some parts of the state won't have
much effect on this fall's foliage color in New York. Sunlight and the length of days determine when trees start
showing off their yellows, oranges and reds, with cold snaps affecting the
chemistry that brings out the deep reds and purples. As always, some trees are already turning because of local
stresses like drought or pests. But
the Catskills and Adirondacks are on track for the usual late-September,
early-October show.
A Vermont composer's composition about Tropical
Storm Irene and the cleanup that followed will premiere during the Vermont
Symphony Orchestra's "Made in Vermont Musical Festival" tour. The orchestra each year invites a
Vermont composer to write a work for the tour. This year's choice was David Feurzeig,
who teaches composition and theory at the University of Vermont. David told the Rutland Herald that his
work, "High Water," was inspired by the August 2011 storm that tore
through Vermont and the communal resolve that followed the devastation. The tour, now in its 18th year, runs
from September 21st to October 1st, with the orchestra performing in eight
towns across the state. Besides David's
work, the orchestra will perform works by Dmitri Shostakovich, Franz Schubert
and Michael Haydn.
