Washington Street Extension to Painter Road will be
closed here in Middlebury next Tuesday and Wednesday. Tom Scanlon said the streets will be closed Tuesday from 8 AM
to 5 PM at Painter Hills Road and Wednesday from 8 AM to 5 PM at Grey Ledge
Road. This work is for
installation of water main across the road in both locations.
The Addison County Chamber Of Commerce invites you to join them on November 13th for a tutorial on Facebook for Business. Bryan Gundron of bMighty2, an innovative local website development company, will present a tutorial on Facebook for Business. Bryan believes that "Facebook is a great platform for marketing your small business, but building a great looking page is just the first step. Fan engagement is crucial for creating a successful Facebook presence, but it can be difficult sometimes to get your page's fans to participate in the online conversation." The tutorial will take place from 8 - 9:30 AM in the Community Room at the Ilsley Public Library and is FREE! Please RSVP to Sue or get more information by visiting the Chamber’s Website.
The Lake Champlain Bridge Commemorative Book has
earned top honors at the recent Independent Free Papers Association and
Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association award ceremonies held in New
Orleans. The book was published by New Market Press and Denton Publications and
details the history of the Lake Champlain Bridge from 1929 until its demolition
and the construction of the new bridge.
It won for best editorial and advertising content. This award is in
addition to other editorial and advertising awards earlier in the year.
After restoring power to 48,000 Vermont customers
in 48 hours, Green Mountain Power crews headed south from Brattleboro yesterday
to help restore power to communities in Connecticut. The convoy included 70
line-workers and support staff.
Rutland's winter farmers' market will kick off its
new season Saturday in a much larger location. Organizers are excited because
it means more vendors can take part.
And city officials are pleased because the market is moving into an old
warehouse that's been vacant for years. While the new space has room for 100
vendors, Local Farmer and Organizer Greg Cox says they'll start with 50 and
ramp up slowly. He says next
spring, the Vermont Food Bank will begin using about a third of the building
for a southwestern distribution depot and Cox says they also plan to build a
commercial kitchen for local food entrepreneurs.
When voters go to the polls in Rutland Town on
Tuesday, they will be asked if they want to spend up to $250,000 in public
money to clean up Flory’s Plaza, placing a lien on the property to recover the
money. The vote will be nonbinding
and is intended to gauge public support.
The long-vacant Center Rutland property has been called an eyesore and
inspired calls for the town to act if the owners will not.
The Essex County Office of Emergency Services has
dozens of generators headed for storm-wracked Flushing. The Essex County Emergency Services
Director said Flushing officials called with a request for help. The County Department of Public Works
Superintendent volunteered his department’s help to transport the generators to
Flushing. The trucks left yesterday.
Firefighters from various departments in the county have volunteered to
go to parts of the state, such as New York City and Long Island that were
slammed by Hurricane Sandy. The
storm only grazed the North Country Monday into Tuesday, but downstate areas
and the New Jersey coast were severely damaged by high winds and flooding.
The Adirondack Council noted in its 2012 State of
the Park report that the park was subjected to many outside influences over the
past 12 months, some of which devastated small communities and public natural
resources, while others brought unprecedented good news to park residents and visitors. State of the Park is a comprehensive,
non-partisan review of the actions of local, state and federal government
officials that helped or harmed the Adirondack Park over the past year. The
Adirondack Council issues the report and this illustrated, 18-page review is
the Council’s 27th annual State of the Park report. A copy of the report is available online at www.AdirondackCouncil.org.
Capital One Bank has agreed to settle claims by the
Vermont Attorney General’s Office that it failed to disclose important
information on “zero percent interest” solicitations sent to Vermont
businesses. The settlement
requires Capital One to change its solicitations and pay the State $150,000 in
investigative costs. Vermont
Attorney Gen. William H. Sorrell said, “No matter how big they are, companies
have an obligation to provide accurate information when they market their
services.”
Although Green Mountain College leaders say they
planned to take the lives their oxen by Wednesday, they're still alive. In an email from GMC's president to
students he says Bill and Lou, the school's oxen, haven't been slaughtered
because local companies are receiving threatening messages. One of the animals injured its leg and
the school decided to have both of them processed for meat to feed students. College leaders still want to go
through with the plan, but haven't set a new deadline for when that will be.
Democratic Congressman Peter Welch is cruising to
re-election to his fourth term in Washington, but he is still working to let
Vermonters know he remains committed to promoting their interests. At a recent
campaign stop in South Royalton, Welch talked to seniors about health care, the
federal budget and gridlock in Congress.
Officials in the Vermont town of Swanton have
chosen to enter into a lease for a tri-town hockey arena. The St. Albans
Messenger reports the Select Board also agreed to recommend that the towns
pursue a $5 million project for a facility upgrade. That would bring the
185-foot rink to 200-foot regulation size.
President Barack Obama and Republican presidential
nominee Mitt Romney are returning to New Hampshire for last-minute campaign
visits in the battleground state. Romney is making two stops in New Hampshire.
The first is on Saturday morning at the Portsmouth Airport. Romney also will
hold a rally in Manchester with Kid Rock on Monday night. Obama and former
President Bill Clinton are appearing in Concord on Sunday.
No sooner than the floodwaters had receded and high
winds from Superstorm Sandy faded, another threat is arising with the inevitable
appearance of the scammer and the conman.
Authorities warn of the likelihood of Sandy-related fraud reaching far
beyond the storm zone - from bogus charities seeking donations, to home repair
scams and sales of flood-damaged vehicles. State attorneys general, business and consumer groups and
the Justice Department are among those cautioning consumers to be wary as
requests for donations start arriving via email, text message, telephone and
Twitter. The bottom line: Maintain
a healthy skepticism when pitched by solicitors, contractors and groups you
don't know, and give your money to charities and businesses you have reason to
trust.
Denison University has chosen as its new president
the head of a nonprofit organization that provides education and exchange and
development programs in more than 60 countries. Adam Weinberg, president and CEO of Vermont-based World
Learning, will assume his duties at Denison on July 1. He succeeds university
President Dale T. Knobel, who is retiring.
Vermont transportation officials say a partial road
closure on a major highway in Stockbridge is going to be in place for longer
than expected. The Vermont Agency
of Transportation says it is extending the closure of the eastbound lane of
state Route 107 for about a third of a mile until November 20. Crews are working to remove ledge and
trees from the side of the road. Speeds
are reduced to 40 mph from their normal 50, and traffic signals have been put
in place at either end of the project.
A search for a new Vermont education secretary has
been narrowed to four finalists. About
30 candidates had applied for the post.
Officials say that the process is a month ahead of schedule. Four candidates have been picked by the
committee and interviewed. The
committee will recommend three names to Gov. Peter Shumlin and the panel hopes
to make a proposal to the full board on November 13. The committee was formed after a law was passed that gives
the governor the authority to make that appointment. It also elevates the
state's chief education official from a commissioner to a Cabinet-level
secretary.
A dairy processor that opened a plant in
Brattleboro in 2011 is growing again.
Commonwealth Dairy, which makes Green Mountain Creamery brand Greek
yogurt, says it plans to invest $12 million in expanding its plant and will add
34 jobs to the more than 100 people it already employs. Gov. Peter Shumlin is hailing
Thursday's announcement, saying the dairy also provides a boon to Vermont
farmers by buying milk from the state.
The new investment will add more than 23,000 square feet to the
facility, including a new processing line, new warehouse space, a new filling
machine, fermentation tanks, wastewater treatment improvements and new whey
processing and packaging equipment.
Mt. Abraham Union High School Project Graduation
Craft Fair and Silent Auction will be held Saturday, November 10th
from 10 AM - 3 PM at the high school.
Handmade crafters from Vermont and New York will display their wares. A bake sale will be included as well as
a raffle for a Hewlett-Packard ProBook 4430 notebook computer, maple syrup,
gifts and more. Call 453-2333 for details.
The Vermont National Guard remained in a holding
pattern last night as it awaited word on whether it will deploy troops to help
with the regional Hurricane Sandy recovery effort. The Guard appeared to be on the verge of deploying 200
troops to New York City yesterday to provide security assistance, only to
announce later that no request was forthcoming. The mixup stemmed from a request by the New York Guard for
information about what the Vermont Guard could supply with plans for a
deployment begun based on the inquiry.
Vermonters are rolling up their sleeves to help
others who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy. Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger was among those donating at
a blood drive yesterday, and he urged others to give blood and donations to the
Red Cross. Because of Sandy, 360
blood drives along the East Coast were canceled which means about 12-thousand
fewer donations. The Mayor is
encouraging all city officials to donate.
Green Mountain Coffee is partnering with Costco to
make Kirkland Signature K-cup coffee packs for its Keurig single cup brewing
system. The Vermont-based coffee
company has developed two exclusive blends that will be packaged in 100-count
boxes and will be available beginning in mid-November. The agreement allows Green Mountain to
reach a wider range of consumers through Costco's broad membership base.
The race for Congress in New York's 21st
Congressional District keeps getting closer. Incumbent democrat Bill Owens now
leads republican challenger Matt Doheny by only one point according to a poll
conducted by Siena Research Institute released Thursday. That margin is within
the polls sampling error +/- 3.9%.
Bill Owens received the support of 44% of likely voters while Matt
Doheny had 43%. It was a significant shift from the last poll by the Siena
Research Institute. On September 10th Bill Owens lead 49% to Doheny's 36%. Both candidates say they were expecting
a close race from the beginning.
With fuel in short supply around portions of New
York State, Governor Cuomo is warning gas stations about gouging
customers. Cuomo says he has
spoken to State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is already
investigating reports of suspicious gas price hikes. Cuomo says he will come down hard on gas stations found to
have taken advantage of New Yorkers in the situation.
The New York State Board of Elections has extended
the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot due to the damage from Hurricane
Sandy. Election officials have
moved the deadline to today, and voters can still go to their local board of
elections and cast an absentee ballot in person by Monday. State election officials continue to
tell residents to check for any changes in polling sites that may have been
impacted by the storm before going to the polls next Tuesday.
From Fox 44 and ABC 22 News Your Voice in Vermont
& New York:
The Vermont Strong spirit has been carried south to
help people impacted by Hurricane Sandy.
Dozens of Vermonters left the state to help rebuild and that's just part
of how Vermont is stepping up. Members
of the Vermont Guard are on standby in case they are needed in New York. While they wait for possible orders,
other Vermonters have already been shipped to hard hit areas. A crew from Green Mountain Power worked
to repair damage from Hurricane Sandy in Connecticut Thursday. "We sent 70 employees down. It's
about 44 line workers and then there were mechanics and support staff,"
says Dotty Schnure, GMP spokeswoman.
Schnure says after restoring power to 48,000 Vermonters in 48 hours, a
group of GMP workers left Vermont Thursday for areas devastated by Sandy. "The damage down there is very
bad. There are still 4.5 million people without power. It's amazing. It's
incredible. So we want to help out," says Schnure. For victims of Hurricane Sandy who want
to hit the road and get away, they can find a free escape in Stowe. All they have to do is pick up the
phone and call the Stoweflake Mountain Resort and Spa. "We're all touched by the
flood," says Chuck Baraw, Stoweflake CEO & President. Baraw says they're offering a cozy spot
by the fire and a room to people who live in the storm's federal declared
disaster areas. The deal is up to
a seven-night stay, during the next three weeks, for free. "We're obviously not going to
provide permanent shelter for them but a lot of the people who are probably
staying with relatives or friends, the opportunity to take a little
break," says Baraw. For more
information about the free stay, call the Stoweflake at (802) 253-7355 or (800)
253-2232.
During the August primary, it wasn't an uncommon
site to see Governor Howard Dean campaigning for Attorney General Bill Sorrell. But now, Jack McMullen says, the two
worked too well together. "I
think we have a serious problem right before the election," said McMullen. On Wednesday, McMullen submitted a
petition to a Burlington court. In
it, McMullen says Dean talked to Sorrell about how to run his campaign. Then he says Dean worked with a
political action committee to create ads, basically acting like an agent,
something he's not allowed to do. McMullen
believes it helped Sorrell win the August primary over TJ Donovan. "Had TJ Donovan been nominated
instead of Bill Sorrell, this election would be different." Sorrell however, says McMullen is
wasting people's time. "It's
a frivolous filing and it's unfortunate. It's more about publicity than
substance," said Sorrell. Sorrell
says Dean did help him campaign but never told him how to do so. "I never asked him to communicate
with any outside group on my behalf. I never asked him to do that. He was not
an agent of my campaign in any way shape or form," said Sorrell. A judge could decide the issue next
week, but not until November eighth.
Which McMullen says is not a date he was hoping for. "Well I'm disappointed. I'm
disappointed because that's two days after the election." If convicted, McMullen says Sorrell
faces a thousand dollar fine and 60 days in jail. There's also the possibility, McMullen says that Sorrell
could resign.
