WVTK Local & State News September 21, 2012

The New Haven Fire Department Will be Holding Their Annual Chicken Barbecue tomorrow 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!

Coming up tomorrow you have the opportunity to get Fido shined up and ready for autumn!  The Brandon Police Explorers Post will be hosting their second annual dog wash at Blue Seal Feeds on Union Street in Brandon.  This event will take place rain or shine.  Explorer Tristan Parmelee says that all proceeds will directly support the Brandon Post… “The department formed this program to provide experiences for us that will help us become responsible caring adults.”  “It also gives a chance to become involved in community service while gaining first hand experience of modern police operations, so we really appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you on Saturday!”  The Dog Wash will run from 10AM – 2PM at Blue Seal Feeds in Brandon tomorrow!  And if you want to learn more about Brandon’s Police Explorers Program you can contact Office Anne Bandy at the Brandon Police Department. 

The Middlebury Select Board held the first of two required public hearings on the proposed Town Plan at its meeting on Tuesday. The Board received feedback from citizens and board members on the plan and invited written comments on the plan to be submitted by today. The Board will review comments received and discuss its strategy and timeline for revising the Town Plan at its next meeting on Tuesday. At a minimum, one more public hearing on the proposed Town Plan must be held before the Board adopts it. Written comments should be submitted to the Select Board in care of Town Planner Fred Dunnington at fdunnington@townofmiddlebury.org.  For more information just visit the Town’s Website.

The Vermont Health Department will be checking in monthly with an elementary school dealing with a rat infestation.  A state health inspector visited Sudbury Country School on Wednesday. State sanitation chief Al Burns says the inspector found rat droppings in the school's boiler room and other evidence of an infestation.  He said the situation is under control and students are safe. The school has brought in an exterminator, put out bait boxes along the building's exterior and put all food in containers.  The exterminator will visit the school twice a week until the problem is completely solved.

USDA Farm Service Agency County Executive Craig Miner reminds local producers that the deadline to sign-up for the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program is September 30^th.  The MILC Program financially compensates dairy producers when domestic milk prices fall below a specified level. MILC payments are made monthly when the milk price falls below the established price per hundredweight. For more clarification on the MILC Program, please contact your local Farm Service Agency office. (68 Catamount Park /Middlebury / 802-388-6748)

Addison County Transit Resources was recently awarded two grants totaling $100,000 by the Hoehl Family Foundation of Burlington. The first grant, for $75,000, contributes towards the 20% local match requirements of a $2.85 million Federal Grant previously awarded to ACTR for the construction of the Community Transportation Center.  The second grant, for $25,000, is in recognition of the impact of ACTR’s Dial-A-Ride volunteer driver services.  Meanwhile ACTR plans to be operating out of the new Community Transportation Center by May 2013, after reaching its 20th anniversary of service to the community in the fall of 2012. To learn more about ACTR’s services, and/or contribute to the capital campaign for the Community Transportation Center, visit www.actr-vt.org or call 388-1946.

Tomorrow is the day for the annual Bristol Harvest Festival, co-hosted by the Addison County Chamber and Bristol Recreation Department. The festival will kick off with a 5K road-race at 7:30 AM.  Other activities are scheduled to begin at 10 AM when the village green will come alive with 60+ crafters, vendors, and bandstand entertainment.  You will be able to sample food from several of the local eateries all located under one tent and offering the foods for which they’re best known. There will also be a yard sale by the Bristol Police Department. The children’s area will offer all sorts of activities including pony rides, face painting, crafts and a bouncy house. This event wouldn’t be complete without an apple pie contest and live music on the bandstand. All events are free and family friendly.  For more information on the Bristol Harvest Festival visit the website at www.bristolharvestfest.com or contact Marguerite at the Addison County Chamber of Commerce at 388-7951.

Gardner Stone and his family are about to make their Hollywood debut. The owner of G. Stone Motors in Middlebury is appearing in eight episodes of the upcoming Game Show Network television series, titled “Family Trade”.  The new series will follow Stone around the area as he barters for business.  The television production crew that includes producers, technicians, and a makeup artist will be in Addison County during the coming week.  Gardner got the attention of GSN executives when they learned that he doesn't always take credit or cash when selling autos and trucks. The show will be broadcast nationally on GSN in early 2013.

While the final votes are still three months away, Essex County Manager Daniel Palmer took time to prepare members of the Board of Supervisors for budget time.  The manager said that the process would include the input from each of the department heads in the county before going to the full Board of Supervisors.  His process of preparing and drafting a budget would remain the same.  Currently the fund balance is around $10.3 million.

The Relay for Life of Crown Point will meet or surpass all its goals.  Event organizers had hoped to have 150 participants and raise $25,000 during their cancer benefit. To date they have more than 200 participants registered and more than $20,000 contributed.  The Relay for Life of Crown Point will be held October 6th and 7th at Crown Point Central School.  The event will feature teams walking on a track at the school from 7 PM Saturday the 6th to 7 AM Sunday the 7th. Walkers raise money — through pledges, find-raising events and other activities — to be donated to the American Cancer Society. People interested in taking part can call Anita Johnson at 597-9339 or Carrie Pertak at 216-4111. Information is also available on line at www.relayforlife.org and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RelayForLifeOfCrownPoint

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is drawing new competition in the single-serve coffee market.  Starbucks will start selling its new single-serve Verismo brewer online this week for $199. The Verismo uses a high-pressure system to make lattes and other espresso-based drinks, along with brewed coffee.  Starbucks' move comes roughly a year after it struck a deal with Waterbury based Green Mountain to make coffee pods for Keurig machines. Starbucks says it will continue to sell its pods for Keurig machines.  Green Mountain's patent on its Keurig K-cup technology expired this month, spawning copycat versions of coffee pods for Keurig machines.  In a statement, Green Mountain says it has built a strong customer base for the Keurig system, and notes it is on track to introduce its own high-pressure espresso system in time for the holiday season.

A lab manufacturing methamphetamine is discovered in a small field in the woods off of Old Center Road in St. Johnsbury.  Police say they've found chemicals and other materials, and federal authorities have made two arrests, Thaddeus Gordon and Shawn Greenwood also live in St. Johnsbury and were arrested in the apartment on Bagley Street.  Federal authorities have now taken over the investigation.

A sweep through Rutland by federal ATF agents nabbed ten people in a round up on gun and drug charges.  Federal authorities say this is just the first wave of arrests after an investigation, which has been ongoing for months, called Operation FED-Up.  State and local agencies are working with the Feds.

New York State regulators say they've fined an insurer $665,000 for failing to explain health plan coverage to members, including ways to challenge claims they believe were improperly denied. Oxford Health was cited for approximately 300,000 instances of not providing required statements about service plans and appeals.

It's not a bad day when your boss tells you to go outside and pick apples.  That's what many workers at Woodchuck Hard Cider participated in National Hunger Action Month by partnering with the Vermont Foodbank.  The program "Pick for your Neighbor" involves participants picking an extra bag of apples as a donation to the Vermont Foodbank.  Woodchuck employees spread out among the orchards, and picked a total Thursday of 104 bushels of apples for the Foodbank.

Vermont State Police have released the name of the trooper who shot and wounded a man accused of making threats over a school bus radio in Danville.  Sgt. Brian May, a patrol commander at the St. Johnsbury barracks, remains on administrative leave, which is customary.  Suspect William Mahoney remains in stable condition at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH following the Tuesday night shooting in the Danville school parking lot.  Police say Mahoney had taken a friend's car and crashed it and broken into a home before hiding on a school bus and making threats over the town radio.  Police say May shot Mahoney after he refused to comply with police orders and made movements toward a holster he was wearing and toward the trooper.

Forty years of Air Force presence in Plattsburgh came to an end Wednesday.  That’s when the final 732-acre parcel of the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base was ceremoniously transferred to Clinton County.   The commemoration took place in the meeting room where Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corp. has helped guide reuse of the property.

The New Yorkers for Better Libraries PAC has released its 2012 voter’s guide: “The Library Advocate’s Guide to the Voting Records of the New York State Legislature.”  The voter’s guide, published since 2010, grades New York state legislators on their voting records concerning library funding and legislative issues.  It gives library supporters throughout the state the opportunity to see how their elected officials are voting. Find the guide at www.newyorkersforbetterlibraries.org and www.nyla.org.

Can you believe it?  Summer is slipping away and fall is upon us!  That means it's time for Maple View Farm's annual fall open house!  Located in Brandon, Maple View Farm Alpacas and the Vermont Fiber Mill & Studio will be open to visitors from 11 AM – 4 PM this Saturday and Sunday.  Join them for a fun weekend on the farm!  Over 30 alpacas will greet you, including 7 babies (cria) born over the late spring and summer.   These wonderful animals will entertain you as they romp and play (the alpacas love these cooler days).  Ed and Debbie Bratton have been raising alpacas for 10 years at their 100-acre farm in Brandon. For more information, visit the website at www.mapleviewfarmalpacas.com or Facebook at Maple View Farm Alpacas or Vermont Fiber Mill & Studio. The farm is located at 185 Adams Rd, Brandon, VT. Contact mvfalpacas@earthlink.net or 802.247.5412 for more information.

In concert with this weekend’s autumnal equinox, colorful foliage will continue to unfold and invigorate Vermont’s scenic landscape. Early yet, colors are showing in the higher elevations of the Northeast Kingdom and in moist, low-lying areas with varying shades of orange, yellow and red.  Best Bets: In general, higher elevation areas in the northernmost regions will offer the most panoramic views of emerging color across the valleys, and many low-lying marsh areas will offer some of the most vivid and varied early season change. Route 108 through Smugglers’ Notch between Stowe and Cambridge is showing color, as is Routes 242 and 100 near Jay Peak; plus Routes 16 and 5A in the Lake Willoughby area. The Worcester Range and Mount Elmore along Route 12 north of Montpelier are tinged with early color, as are views from Route 14 in the Hardwick and Craftsbury region.  Stay Tuned: Rutland County Forester Chris Stone notes Route 103 is revealing 5-20% early stages. “Trees are just starting to lose some green and hints of yellow and orange are starting to show at higher elevations. Some scattered individual red maples are turning at higher elevation wetlands. While the color has yet to really show, there is a hint of fall on the hillsides.”  Sam Schenski, the Windham and Windsor County Forester also suggests Rte. 106 through Perkinsville; Tyson Rd. from Reading to Plymouth and East Hill Rd. in Andover – all of which, he notes are in early stages of foliage.  Visit www.vermontvacation.com/fall to plan Vermont Fall Foliage travel.

A chorus of choruses will perform Saturday at Grace Congregational Church in Rutland.  The church will host six regional choral groups starting at 4 PM Saturday for the “Sing for Peace” concert, organized by Counterpoint and its founder, Robert De Cormier. Admission to the event is free, but donations to Volunteers for Peace will be accepted.  Rip Jackson has been involved in the concert in Burlington in previous years. He said it was moved to Rutland to involve more southern and central Vermont choral groups and to expand the audience. 

A local historian will offer a trek back in time to the French and Indian War when the Schroon Lake-North Hudson Historical Society hosts a program on the famed “Battle on Snowshoes.”  Bob Bearor and his wife, Holly, will present “Stepping Back in Time” Sunday, September 30^th at 3PM at the Strand Theatre in Schroon Lake. Admission is $5 for adult and $3 for children. Bearor is a noted authority on the battle, which was fought in Ticonderoga in 1758. He wrote the book “Battle on Snowshoes,” which was made into a film. Adirondack folksinger Chris Shaw did the music, which is available on cassette and CD.

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

There's no doubt universal health care is coming to Vermont.  Lawmakers are working on plans and talking to insurance companies about what type of coverage will be offered in 2013.  What we don't know is if those plans will include dental coverage for adults.  If they do, it would cost taxpayers as much as $90-million dollars a year.  At minimum, $17 million which will cover two annual cleanings.  On Thursday, a state board was set to vote on that, but then backed off.  "This is a weighty decision that I think just takes some more time on our part," said Green Mountain Care board member Karen Hein.  "If we defer this, that the board keeps a totally open mind as we move forward because it is an essential service," said Green Mountain Care board member Con Hogan.  Vermont's Health Care Reform Director Robin Lunge has urged the state board not to include dental.  But many others disagree.  Over the past few weeks board members say they have heard from nearly 2,000 people, both for and against.  And now they need at least another week before they make a decision that could cost the state millions of dollars.  "I don't think we've had sufficient time to observe some of the details and the richness of those suggestions," said Hein.  Unlike medical, the federal government has said it won't cover dental insurance.  That means if state leaders add it, taxpayers have to pick up the bill. "They wanted to discourage state's from adding benefits," said Lunge.  If the board doesn't approve the dental plan, it doesn't mean it won't be offered.  There will be separate plans that people will be able to get that include that service.

The City of Burlington has a plan for a new access point to the waterfront that is getting a lot of support from Mayor Weinberger and others.  "A new consensus about the future of this part of Burlington," Mayor Weinberger said.  The Railyard Enterprise Project would connect Pine Street and Battery Street at the intersection of Kilburn Street It would cut right through the train tracks and bring a different type of traffic to the area.  "There's a lot to like in the new project and a lot of the people were hopeful the city and state would go in this direction," Mayor Weinberger said.  The plan is still in a conceptual stage and has to be approved by the city council. 80% of funding would come from a federal grant, ten percent would be from Burlington and 10% from the state of Vermont. The Vermont Agency of Transportation has helped negotiate the funding plan but it still has to be approved by the Vermont state legislature in January. The city also needs to nail down a deal with Vermont Railway, who owns the railyard.  "There's no way to have an agreement today we have to start the process," Mayor Weinberger said.  Battery Street currently dead-ends at the railyard. City officials hope connecting it with Pine Street would help expand the city southward.  "As it is now we're sort of out of the way," Maglianero Café manager Madelyn Feldman said.  The Maglianero Café is located right in the railyard. Feldman believes more passer-by’s will result from connecting Pine Street and Battery Street, which would bring more business.  "It would be very positive for us business wise and bring a lot of attention to the café," Feldman said.