Friday, October 26, 2012

WVTK Local & State News October 26, 2012


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.

The Middlebury Select Board completed its review of proposed responses to comments received at the Town Plan hearing on September 18th and since. A complete summary of the proposals agreed to by the Board are available on the Town's website on the Select Board Agenda & Meeting page. A second public hearing on the update of the Town Plan will be held on Tuesday, November 13th.

The Middlebury Business Development Fund Advisory Board is actively fundraising for the business contribution of the fund and asked the Select Board this week to authorize advertising for the Business Development Director position as it continued its fundraising efforts over the course of the next couple of weeks. The board granted the request to advertise the position, with the caveat that funding for the position should be in place before interviews for the position begin.

The week the Teen Center Co-Director Colby Benjamin reported that the Center raised $2,300 with its Ride, Roast & Rock event, and will hold DJ Skate nights two times per month through the winter at the Memorial Sports Center. The Middlebury Recreation Committee and Colby discussed ways to attract new teens to its afterschool programs.   Recreation Program Coordinator Dustin Hunt reported that the winter brochure is almost ready to go.  Meanwhile Planning for the Turkey Trot is in its final stages. This year, participants that bring two or more non-perishable canned goods will be eligible for a special drawing.

This week the Middlebury River Task Force reported that they reviewed and approved the Request for Proposals for the engineering analysis of the Middlebury River.  Based on the River Task Force's recommendation, the Select Board authorized the issuance of the RFP to engineering firms for the analysis, which will be funded by the Hazard Mitigation Planning Grant program. The Task Force also discussed ways of increasing public outreach, including holding a Select Board Meeting in East Middlebury with an update on river-related projects on the agenda.

In addition to funding the engineering analysis the Hazard Mitigation Planning Grant program funding will be used to develop an “all-hazards” mitigation plan. Hazards include drought, power failure, high winds, landslide, flooding, lightning, hazardous materials spill, downtown structure fire, wildfire, winter storm, earthquake, and school safety issues. As outlined in the grant application, the Select Board will appoint a Core Planning Mitigation Team to oversee the identification of and planning for the Town's response to these events.

The Middlebury Gym Task Force is working on prioritizing the list of deferred maintenance and improvement projects for gym. The next F & F meeting will be Tuesday, November 13 at 9 AM.  Meanwhile the Town Center Steering Committee discussed setting-up informational displays about the project at the upcoming election. The Committee will meet again on Tuesday, November 13th at 10:30 AM.

Vermont Gas Systems and the Town of Middlebury will hold a public informational meeting on Thursday November 8th at 7:00 PM at the VFW on Exchange Street in Middlebury.  Vermont Gas Systems will present the latest plans for construction of the planned natural gas pipeline to Middlebury in 2014 and 2015 including the proposed general areas of service, and routes of proposed future extensions to Rutland and Ticonderoga.  Vermont Gas will also have information on the procedure for permitting and right of way acquisition.

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.

Green Mountain Power will hold a Heat Pump Summit next week as the company begins to explore the possibility of a heat pump pilot program in the city of Rutland. Air-source heat pumps, also known as mini-split heat pumps, work much like a refrigerator to move heat from one area to another.  Even with low temperatures outside, heat pumps can capture the heat in the air to warm a home or business, and automatically reverse the process in the summer to cool interior spaces like a typical air conditioner. Manufacturers’ representatives, potential installers, lenders, local distributors and weatherization and efficiency experts will meet in the Franklin Conference Room at the Howe Center at One Scale Avenue in Rutland next Thursday November 1st from 8 AM to 1 PM.

The Port Henry Fire Department Auxiliary is gearing up for the holidays and its annual toy drive.  The auxiliary has collected gifts for needy families the past six years.  People wishing to receives gifts from the auxiliary program must apply in person either Wednesday, November 7th from 6 to 8 PM or Sunday November 11th from 1 to 3 PM. There are no specific income guidelines. The gift distribution will be at the Port Henry fire house on Sunday December 16th from 6 to 8 PM. Auxiliary members are asking the public to again support the toy drive by donating toys, money or gift certificates. Donations may also be mailed to the Port Henry Fire Department Auxiliary, PO Box 146, Port Henry 12974.

As Ticonderoga residents look forward to the community’s 250th anniversary, they’re selling local calendars to help finance a celebration.  The First 250 Year Committee is selling 2013 historical calendars. Proceeds from the sale will help pay for the group’s “signature event” during the 2014 celebration. The committee, co-sponsored by the Ticonderoga Historical Society and the Ti Heritage Museum, has produced the calendar that looks at a particular part of local history each month from November 2012 through December 2013. The calendars, priced at $10 each, are on sale at the Hancock House, the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce and at other locations. Calendars are also available from Ticonderoga Middle School students, who are selling them as a fund raising project to help support their annual whale watch trip. Students will get $2 for each calendar sold.

The Town of Jay has been awarded a $2,000 grant to continue rebuilding youth facilities at the Grove Park in the AuSable Forks hamlet.  Tropical Storm Irene and the flooding of the Ausable River in August 2011 wiped out the recreation park, which serves children in both the Town of Jay and Town of Black Brook.

A special meeting will be held at 4:30 PM on Wednesday, October 31st at the Willsboro Town Hall.  The Town Council will discuss the 2013 budget and any other business that might be brought up.  The meeting is open to the public.

Efforts to fight a dangerous synthetic drug called bath salts appear to be paying off in the Vermont city of Barre.  Officials say calls to the police department and poison control center and visits to the emergency room have died down after a surge in use of the drug early this summer.  They attribute that to the state issuing an emergency rule to expand the list of bath salts and other compounds that are now illegal to sell, make or possess in Vermont.


Omya North America is relocating a laboratory from Proctor to its company headquarters in Cincinnati.  According to the Rutland Herald, the lab has 24 employees, and it's too early now to know how many of those jobs will move to Ohio with the lab.  The relocation process begins next year.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has directed the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services to closely monitor the progress of Hurricane Sandy and prepare for its potential storm impacts.  Cuomo says although the storm track is still uncertain, Hurricane Sandy has the potential to affect many parts of the Empire State early next week with a variety of threats, including heavy rain, high winds, flooding, tornadoes, coastal surges and widespread power outages.  He's directed state agencies to begin preparations now for the potential impact and urges all New Yorkers to closely track the storm's path.

The state's fuel assistance program is about to distribute benefit payments directly to people who heat with wood. Director Richard Moffi said that instead of payments going directly to firewood dealers, they will go to recipients, who are now responsible for finding the best deal.

A town that lost its full-service post office when Irene hit last year now has a privately managed one. The Valley News reports the Village Post Office in West Hartford is staffed by a contractor and provides scaled-back services. It operates in the West Hartford Village Store.

New York State is getting almost $40 million from the Department of Energy.  It will help upgrade the state's electricity grid providing funding to the $75 million dollar smart grid plan.  The project is supposed to improve the efficiency of the state's electricity delivery system.  They hope to avoid future blackouts across the state during extreme heat or in the event of a severe storm.

The Town of Middlebury and the Middlebury Fire Department would like to invite the community to the ribbon cutting ceremony for Station #2 in East Middlebury. The ceremony will be held on Saturday at 10:00 AM at the building site located on the corner of King's Row and East Main Street.

On Saturday Vergennes will celebrate Pumpkins in the Park and More: Big Pumpkin Fun in the Little City.  This annual event has been expanded and is now a fun-filled day for the whole family. Spooky stories at the Bixby Memorial Library and Trick-or-Treating on Main Street will be a highlight for the little goblins. Also new this year is The Great Pumpkin Cook off and in the evening a kids Halloween safety presentation will be held at the Fire Station.  Get a full schedule of events HERE.

The Fifth Annual Middlebury Spooktacular is coming up!  It’s a Halloween event for kids of all ages! Hay bales, games, and costumes will decorate the town green on Sunday from 2 - 4 in the afternoon on the Middlebury Town Green. The green will be alive with music, dancing, costumes and games for all ages, including a Jumpy Castle! Prizes will be given to all who take part! Festivities will kick off at 2:00PM and will conclude with a children’s trick or treat parade along Main Street.

Brandon Music on Country Club Road in Brandon presents Heliand Consort’s popular Winds Take Flight program this Sunday afternoon at 3:00. The program includes a delightful potpourri of classical music for woodwinds. Tickets are $15 and are available by calling Brandon Music at (802) 465-4071 or by emailing info@brandon-music.net. For more information, please visit Brandon Music at www.brandon-music.net and Heliand Consort at www.heliandconsort.org.

There’s still a bit of late season foliage left to enjoy this season, especially here in the Champlain Valley. The Vermont Fall Foliage Report can be viewed here!

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

Tropical Storm Irene is still fresh in the minds of many. 14 months later, clean up isn't complete.  But this time around, people are already on high alert. We don't want you worried, just simply prepared, so I spoke with someone from the Emergency Management Department who had some great reminders.  Thursday, the wind was blowing, and the water was choppy... making it already feel like a storm is brewing.  "We're preparing for everything," Mark Bosma said.  Strong winds, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, downed trees and power outages are possible, so the Emergency Management Spokesperson Mark Bosma says get ready this weekend; have flash lights, food and water on hand.  "We encourage people to have some sort of an evacuation plan that takes you up on higher ground," Bosma added.  Several people have already started to prepare and are cleaning up their yards, so that all of their leaves don't end up in the storm drain.  "Something as simple as leaves clogging a culvert can lead to a lot of damage," Bosma said.  Hurricane Sandy already blasted through Cuba and made landfall in Jamaica, and although it's early to predict what the impact will be on the East Coast, Sandy's wrath could be here Tuesday.  "I'm giving it about a 70 percent chance that it will affect us in some way shape or form," FOX44/ABC22 Meteorologist Steve Glazier said.  When I asked our very own Skytracker meteorologist about Sandy, he said wind gusts exceeding one hundred miles per hour tore through towns, but said Sandy should weaken if she hits us.  "My primary scare and threat is the rain," Glazier said.  Governor Peter Shumlin is also keeping a close eye on the storm and may even declare a state of emergency as early as Friday.  "We're following it very very closely," Gov. Shumlin said.  Bosma says that makes it easier to activate the National Guard. "We may need some of their assets like high water trucks, we may need them to undertake some sandbagging operations, things like that."  WVTK’s best advice is to monitor FOX44 and ABC 22 closely, because our weather team will be tracking the storm, and we'll have updated information as it becomes available.  If this becomes a worst-case scenario, the Red Cross will get involved should people need shelter.

Eleven thousand Vermonters signed a petition, declaring their support for basing the F-35 fighter jets at the Burlington International Airport.  People opposed say the jets are too loud and home property values will suffer. But supporters say the new aircraft aren't louder than a siren.  They want to keep the Air National Guard strong and keep soldiers employed.  "For six minutes a day, four days a week, we get eleven hundred jobs," Frank Cioffi, President of Good Jobs in a Clean Environment said.  The Air Force is supposed to make a decision by the beginning of the year.  If passed, the F-35's would call South Burlington home in 2018.

Governor Peter Shumlin and State Senator Randy Brock have debated a number of times over the past few weeks.  But the most recent has one of the candidates scratching his head.  "I was totally puzzled by his question. I had no idea what he was getting at, what he trying to get at," said Shumlin.  Brock asked Shumlin why he isn't letting the public know about how much taxpayer money is being spent on settlement claims ranging from discrimination to wrongful termination.  "He refused [Wednesday] when I asked him, would he comply, and then he told me to go debate with his lawyer. I thought that was an unusual response for a governor," said Brock.  Looking for answers Brock submitted a public record's request to five state agencies, including Shumlin's office.  In regards to those settlements, Brock wants to see all checks, financial reports, emails and other documents related to the cases from last year.  The state has ten business days to respond.  That means Brock may not get an answer until November eighth, which happens to be two days after the election.  Brock doesn't think it should take that long.  "A list of that should certainly be at somebody's fingertips," said Brock.  Even though he's puzzled, Governor Shumlin says he has no problem providing the information.  "Nothing to hide in terms of all of the public records request that we get and we comply with them," said Shumlin.  We asked Senator Brock why he's just coming out with this now, so close to the election.  He says, someone recently came to him with information about a case and he wants to see if it's true.  We also requested to see how many cases and how much was spent on those settlements, but we were told it would take several days to gather all that information.