The Westport Town Council has one more special
meeting to work on the 2013 budget.
The meeting takes at 5 this afternoon with the regular board meeting to
follow. The meeting is open to the
public.
The Middlebury Select Board will hold its regular
meeting this evening at 7 in the Main Conference Room of the Town Offices. Items to be covered at this meeting
include the continued review of the Town Plan, including recommendations and
comments from the Planning Commission on the Select Board Proposals of October
9th. Reports will be
heard from various committees including the Middlebury Business Development
Fund Advisory Board, the Recreation Committee, the River Task Force and the Town
Center Steering Committee. There
will also be an update on the Middlebury Fire Department Project. For the complete agenda just visit the
Middlebury Select Board page on the Town’s Website.
Meetings this week in the Town of Middlebury
include the Finance & Fundraising Task Force this morning at 9 followed by
the Community Center Steering Committee at 10:30. The Select Board meets this evening at 7 and the Public
Works Committee will hold its meeting Friday morning at 7:30. All meetings will be held at the Town
Offices. For an up to date list of
meetings and agendas just visit the Town of Middlebury’s Website.
South Street will be closed to through traffic this
Saturday starting at 7 AM. The
closure will be at #3 South Street, which is the College President's home. Work
is to install a new water service and fire sprinkler line. All traffic must use Porter Field Road
from Main St / Route 30 to get to South Street. The street will be closed until the work is done, possibly
into the late afternoon.
Local business owners and hiring managers are
invited to participate in a 3-hour workshop, “Hiring Right the First Time,”
which will help them establish and sharpen their process for pre-screening, interviewing,
and selecting qualified employees. Offered jointly by the Vermont Small
Business Development Center and the Addison County Economic Development
Corporation, the workshop begins at 1 PM on Tuesday, the 30th, at the A-C-E-D-C
conference room on Route-7 South in Middlebury. Workshop space is limited to 20 attendees, and the
registration fee is $49 per person for the first attendee. Organizations
registering two attendees will be charged only $69. Small business owners and
hiring managers can register online or call 802-388-7953.
The Bixby Memorial Library received a donation last
week from the Vergennes Lions Club in memory of long-time Vergennes Lion and
Vergennes resident, Ronald D. Gardner, Sr. He had been active with the Lions,
serving twice as Vergennes Lions president and many times in a District 45
Vermont committee position. One of Gardner’s interests was the Vergennes library,
which is celebrating its centennial this year.
Vermont State Police are holding forums to get
public feedback as they do a review of their facilities. The state police and Vermont Building
and General Services have started a comprehensive review of facilities
statewide as part of a legislative mandate. Each study will look at the program
needs, deficiencies, potential land sites and estimated program costs. The goal is to come up with a long-term
plan to determine the best way for the state to support the Vermont State
Police in providing services to Vermonters. At the forums, police will take comments from the public and
answer questions. This week's
public forums will be held today at the Rutland Regional Medical Center and tomorrow
at the Bradford state police barracks. Both meetings start at 6 PM.
Bill and Lou should not expect a pardon from the
governor any time soon. Yesterday Gov.
Peter Shumlin weighed in on the issue that has put Green Mountain College in
Poultney on the map after controversy struck two weeks ago when it decided to
slaughter its two long-time working oxen.
The governor, who owns an operating dairy farm in Putney, said Monday he
supports the college’s decision and understands the decision many farmers have
to make after their cattle have reached the end of their working lives.
Essex has a new town clerk to replace the one who
abruptly resigned a week ago. Audrey
Hoskins will take office immediately as Town of Essex clerk, replacing
Catherine DeWolff, who resigned 10 months into her first term. Essex Town Supervisor Sharon Boisen
said Hoskins applied for the post, had served as town clerk before, and is well
respected by residents and town officials. The town clerk position will be on
the general election ballot in November 2013, when the two-year term would have
been up, so whoever is elected will serve a full term.
The Hague Wesleyan Church has changed its name to
the Lakeside Regional Church and is expanding its reach into Ticonderoga. Besides the name change, the congregation
is now leasing the former Northwoods Wellness building on Montcalm Street in
Ticonderoga. That location will serve as the church’s administrative offices
for now. The church is very active
in mission work. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Hague church members
made 18 trips to Mississippi in to assist in rebuilding homes. The trips
included more than 120 different people and involved several churches.
Gasoline prices in Vermont have fallen an average
of 7.1 cents a gallon in the past week, averaging $3.85 for a gallon of regular
gasoline, according to www.VermontGasPrices.com. The Vermont average price compares with
a national average that has fallen 9 cents a gallon in the last week to $3.67 a
gallon. The average price in
Vermont is 31.4 cents a gallon higher than a year ago; the national average
price is 20.1 cents a gallon higher.
The mayor in Burlington is calling for immediate
changes to reviewing events on city-owned parks property after about two dozen
young people were hospitalized or taken into custody for intoxication at a
rave-like event in a municipal auditorium. The Barstool Blackout Tour party attracted about 2,000
people to the Memorial Auditorium on Friday. The city's parks and recreation
department approved the permit for the event. Mayor Miro Weinberger tells the
Burlington Free Press it's unacceptable that an event that generated that level
of dangerous intoxication happened on city-owned property. He said a lower-level city parks
employee, without guidelines, approved the permit request in April. Jesse Bridges, who just took over as
head of the agency, said he will follow up on what happened.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate John MacGovern
knows his effort to unseat Vermont's independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is a
long shot, but he's pushing forward, hoping an unexpected confluence of events
could send him to Washington. The
61-year-old Windsor man has only a tiny fraction of the $6.8 million that
Sanders has available. He's had no official support from the national or state
Republican parties and little name recognition. He says he's running because someone had to challenge
Sanders and to help the country avoid what he sees as the "fiscal
cliff" caused by the federal debt that will burden future generations.
Some Vermont faith communities are adding their
voice to the discussion about immigrant farm workers in Vermont. The Vermont Ecumenical Council and
Bible Society, which is made up of 8 Christian denominations, released a
statement on Monday at the Statehouse calling for "just and fair
actions" regarding immigrants who work on many of the state's dairy farms. The group says it has a moral
imperative to treat one another with dignity and infinite respect. The group's president, Roy V. Hill,
says immigrant workers are vital to Vermont, its farmers and its economy. He
said they are valued members of God's whole family.
Vermont's Champlain College is going to use a $10
million gift from the founder of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to improve
business education at the Burlington school. The gift from Robert Stiller was announced Monday. Champlain is naming its business school
the Robert P. Stiller School of Business.
Champlain President David Finney said the Stiller School of Business will
become a national leader in teaching certain management practices and building
thinking skills. The gift is the
largest in the college's 134-year history. Among other things, the gift will
enable the business school to fund two faculty chairs and support capital
projects.
Local governments in fiscal crisis lobbying for a
sympathetic ear from Gov. Andrew Cuomo are getting a cold shoulder instead. To local governments seeking
relief from unfunded state mandates, Cuomo says he already did that. To local governments seeking a state
bailout, Cuomo said forget about it. The mayors and county executives of municipalities
statewide say they can't continue without some state help as tax bases shrink
and the cost of services rises. Local
officials say that without state help, their only recourse is to continue to
increase taxes. Cuomo says they
have to make tough cuts and choices or make the politically difficult argument
to residents that they need to raise taxes again. The recession strained local and state governments. Cuomo
had to face a $10 billion deficit.
Governor Andrew Cuomo says he anticipates hitting
events in battleground states for President Barack Obama and across New York
for congressional and state legislative candidates. Cuomo says he's still
waiting for directions from Obama's campaign, but he's ready to go anywhere.
Vermont Hard Cider is going under new
ownership. Ireland's C and C, the
owner of Magners Hard Cider, is buying the Vermont Company for nearly
400-million dollars. Vermont Hard
Cider produces Woodchuck, the largest domestic cider brand in the U-S. It still needs approvals, but this is
expected to be a done deal in February.
The Rutland Regional Medical Center will soon have
a new intensive care unit designed for mental health patients. It will hold six new beds for acute
care with longer-term needs. The
new unit will cost more than five million dollars in state money, which
Governor Peter Shumlin hopes most of will be funded by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency but so far FEMA officials haven't made any decision on funding.
Barns on a rolling green landscape say
"Vermont" to many, creating the iconic Vermont landscape but it's not
that easy to maintain. Farmers
falling on hard times and having trouble keeping up with fading paint are now
getting help with the state. The
Vermont Barn Painting Project is a partnership between the state, private
companies, corrections and Vermont Works for Women. The result is maintaining the overall landscape beauty,
while training workers to do minor fixes, prep work and the actual painting.
Governor Cuomo is expected to headline a fundraiser
tonight for the Super PAC dedicated to helping Cuomo's fellow Democrats win
back control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Cuomo and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi are the big
draws for the House Majority PAC event that organizers hope will bring in
one-million dollars in campaign contributions. Several House races in New York State remain competitive,
and Democrats in Washington are hoping Cuomo's presence or endorsements in
certain races can help them ultimately retake the chamber next month.
There’s still a bit of late season foliage left to
enjoy this season, especially here in the Champlain Valley. Vermont Fall Foliage Report.
The Middlebury Inn is hosting a food and beer
festival to celebrate “all things German” this week—Wednesday through
Friday. Join them for lunch and
dinner specials as well as featured local Oktoberfest and fall beers and
special German brews. On Friday
night, from 6 to 9 there will be a three-course family-style dinner featuring
Oktoberfest beers and bluegrass music from Chasing 440. Check Middlebury Inn’s Facebook page
for more details or call 388-4961 to make your reservation.
Jazz returns again this week to Brandon Music on
Country Club Road in Brandon. The
Leo Blanco Trio will perform in the Music Café’ Thursday evening at 7:30. He has
appeared at major festivals at Newport and Monterey, as well as in Holland,
Scotland, Switzerland, Japan, Brazil, Italy and Germany. General Admission is
$12. Brandon Music Café offers a concert and dinner package, which includes
dinner and a ticket to the show for $27 plus tax per person. For Information & Reservations
(802) 465-4071 / info@brandon-music.net
People around the world might soon be able to poke
their heads into Rutland stores without leaving home. A Google contractor will spend November in the
Rutland-Killington area adding local businesses to the “indoors” feature of
Google Maps’ street view. Google
Maps allows a user to search for maps and overlay them on satellite images.
Zoom in close enough and Google switches to “street view,” a panoramic,
street-level photograph of the area. While not all of Rutland is visible in
street view, downtown is.
From Fox 44 and ABC 22 News – Your Voice in Vermont
& New York:
Now it's a sprint to the November election after
the final of the three presidential debates Monday. President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney faced off
and the issues were mostly about foreign policy. At St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont, students
watched the last presidential debate.
They had big expectations for the president. "He's really really going to have to up his game,"
says Cory Warren, college freshman.
And Governor Romney. "I feel like he's going to bring what he feels
is Obama's slip up in Libya," says Lindsay Shumway, college freshman. The students registered instant feedback
during the debate. Before it even
started, most of the students say Obama would do a better job to handle an
international crisis and it was foreign policy that was the focus of the final
debate. "Let's admit it is
political theater," says Jeffrey Ayres, political science department
chair. Ayres says these debates
have been important in changing the race, especially President Obama's poor
performance in the first debate. "I'm
not sure there has been a televised debate going back to when they were first
done in 1960 that made such a difference," says Ayres. That debate propelled Romney forward in
the polls. For more proof, these
90-minute debates have been important, just talk to a first time presidential
voter here. "I was already
biased in one direction but these have certainly provided a further stance on
that," says Shannon Krehely, college freshman. Most of the students said they were going to vote for
President Obama.
There has been a rise in attacks in the Burlington
area over the past month. Just in the past week there have been three assaults
in which a weapon was used or shown.
During the day, North Street in Burlington is bustling with sounds of
cars, kids and a heavy police presence. But when night falls, that's when many
people choose to stay off the streets.
"It does make you think about walking at home at night alone,"
said Burlington resident, Mary Michalek.
There have been 14 assaults since September 1st in Burlington, a number
that alarms Burlington police. "It
is not normal, it is a substantial spike for sure," said Deputy Chief,
Andi Higbee, with the Burlington Police Department. And even neighbors like Mary Michalek have noticed,
"There seems to be an usual amount of violence and break-in's in the
area." This is the second
violent attack in just a week, the first one happened on Intervale Avenue and
the most recent on Elmwood. On
Intervale Avenue, one man was shot after being robbed. Then days later a
Burlington cab driver robbed at gunpoint, and the most recent attack happened
on Elmwood Avenue, two men struck a victim with a blunt object and tried to rob
him. While police can't nail down
a specific reason for these violent attacks they say most likely they are
connected, "From experience these types of crimes definitely are related
or there's a nexus of some sort of drug use," said Higbee. Mary has even changed habits to ensure
she isn't caught in a bad situation, "When its dark I will drive, I just think it's safer and
it's just not worth the risk."
Police are looking for the public's help to solve these recent crimes
and are offering a reward for information leading to an arrest.
