Due to unforeseen
circumstances Citizens Bank has canceled its ‘Your Place Banking Event’
scheduled for this evening at 6.
Citizens would still like to offer each business owner the opportunity
to discuss the list of classes available as benefits for themselves and their
employees individually. If you’re
interested, please feel free to contact Katy Holler by phone (802-388-6791
x222) or email (Catherine.L.Holler@Citizensbank.com).
Many Holiday Events
Kick-off This Weekend in Addison County!
There are more holiday events this weekend, and throughout the month,
than you can shake a peppermint stick at!
The Vergennes Holiday Stroll takes place on Saturday, Very Merry
Middlebury kicks-off, and Bristol Cool Yule will have a month full of events. There
are other events around the county so make sure you check the Chamber'scommunity events calendar!
The Homeward Bound Animal
Welfare Center (a division of the Addison County Humane Society) is pleased to
announce that they will be celebrating the holidays this year by holding an
adoption event designed to help cats who have been at the shelter for over a
year find their forever homes. From December 1st thru December 12th, any cat
that has been at the shelter for 12 months or longer will have a reduced
adoption fee of $12.00. There are
over 125 cats at the shelter that need a forever home. For more information
about the “Forever Home of the Holiday” 12-12-12 Adoption Event, please visit
their website at www.homewardboundanimals.org or stop by the shelter at 236 Boardman Street in
Middlebury.
Vermont State Police are
seeking information about a break-in at a home on Stevens Road in Pittsford. Owners who discovered a window had been
forced open called police to the home at 1097 Stevens Road on Monday. A number
of items were stolen from the home, although police did not identify any of
them. Anyone with information
about the incident is asked to call VSP in Rutland at 802-773-9101.
The first draft of the
Rutland city school budget calls for a spending increase of $2.5 million, or
5.7 percent, this coming fiscal year.
The increase is mainly attributed to salary increases. The $47,744,683
budget for fiscal year 2014 includes two years of settled teacher contract wage
increases and a 12 percent health insurance hike. It also includes cutting four
staffers at Northeast and Northwest schools for next school year.
Randy Preston, the
Wilmington supervisor, successfully asked for an amendment increasing the
resolution seeking a 1-point increase (3 to 4 percent) in the Essex County
Occupancy Tax to 2 (3 to 5 percent).
Both Clinton and Franklin County are pursuing a 5 percent tax. Preston said that, instead of putting
the added revenue into the general fund, it should be put into a specific
dedicated fund, which he said would be broken down to help fund the fish
hatchery, the tourism product development fund, the winter shoulder marketing
program and tourism-related county travel. Fifteen of the supervisors voted
along with Preston to amend the resolution and then pass it onto the full board
meeting coming up on Tuesday, December 4th.
Firefighters from three
departments battled a blaze at a storage barn at 509 Chilson Road in Ti Monday
evening. The fire began shortly
before 7 PM and was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. Crews
from Ticonderoga, Chilson and Crown Point worked to put out the fire, but the
20-by-20-foot structure was destroyed. Firefighters from Putnam in Washington
County backed up the Ticonderoga station, and the Essex County Fire
Investigation unit was there to determine the origin of the blaze.
Flames engulfed a
multi-family home across from Gilmore Home Center on Route 4A in Castleton last
night. The owner of the home was
injured while escaping from the fire and treated at the scene for minor burns.
A family dog was also rescued and treated at the scene. The house was not a total loss, but
declared uninhabitable after flames caused significant damage to the structure. Fair Haven, Poultney and Castleton
responded to the scene. The fire was contained and knocked down quickly. Route 4A was blocked to one lane during
the fire.
The largest landline Telecommunications
Company in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont says it has won a $16 million
contract to provide telecommunications services for more than 400 health care
facilities in the region. FairPoint Communications says the 4-year contract
supports the needs of the New England Telehealth Consortium.
A Vermont police
department says a New Mexico man in custody in New York on charges of
conspiracy to commit murder posed no threat to anyone in the St. Albans area.
St. Albans police say the alleged intended victims of 23-year-old Tanner Ruane
have been identified and the Vermont State Police are working with their
counterparts in New Mexico on the case.
The Democratic members of
the Vermont Senate have voted for John Campbell to continue as Senate president
pro tempore in the upcoming session of the Legislature. Sen. Ann Cummings, of Washington
County, challenged Campbell, of Windsor County, for the job Campbell has held
for the last two years. The full
Senate will vote on the leadership position in January. Cummings said she was seeking the job
held by Campbell because of what she called the "dysfunction" of the
last two years. Campbell,
meanwhile, told the Burlington Free Press he believes he has the votes to win
re-election, but he says he's heard the complaints about how the chamber has
been run and he's promising to make changes.
An autopsy released
Tuesday afternoon in a press release from New York State Police found the
ambulance driver that was killed in Altona, NY suffered a heart attack. Police say just after midnight,
the ambulance went off State Route 190 into a ditch then striking a utility
pole early Tuesday morning. The
driver, 45-year-old Eric Monty, of Mooers was pronounced dead at the scene. 3 others, EMT Susan Roberts, Tech Peter
Coulombe, and patient Gary Lamarche were taken to the hospital. Police say Roberts and Lamarche are in
stable condition. Coulombe, who suffered a head injury, is listed in critical
condition at Fletcher Allen. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Governor Andrew Cuomo
wants huge electrical transformers hauled to upper floors of commercial
buildings and the ability to shutter subways as part of a $9 billion plan to
protect New York City from the next Superstorm. Cuomo says government must take
preventive measures now to avoid future loss of life and billions more in
damage.
An agency spokeswoman says
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will file for a
90-day extension when the deadline for finalizing new gas-drilling regulations
arrives on Thursday. DEC spokeswoman Emily DeSantis says the agency needs time
for the Health Commissioner and three national experts to review health effects
of shale gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing.
The Canadian Pacific
Holiday Train’s food-shelf contributions are needed more than ever this year. Ticonderoga Town Supervisor Debra
Malaney said the $1,000 community donations that the train brings are what
power many of their programs that supply food for the poor. The Canadian Pacific Railway train
makes a trip across the United States and Canada every Christmas season,
collecting donations for local food pantries while providing live entertainment
at every stop, including, this Friday, Ticonderoga, Port Henry, Plattsburgh and
Rouses Point. The show schedule is Ticonderoga at 4 PM; Port Henry at 5:45 PM;
Plattsburgh at 8:15 PM; and then Rouses Point at 10 PM. Since it began in 1999,
the Holiday Train program has raised $2.4 million and generated about 2.6
million pounds of food donations for local food pantries.
West Rutland kicks off the
holiday season at 6:45 PM Saturday with annual visit of Santa and a tree
lighting ceremony at West Rutland Town Hall. For a donation of $1, one of the 2,000 light bulbs on the
tree will be lit in memory of a loved one. Proceeds will benefit the Town Hall
Restoration Fund. After the tree
is lit, Santa will head to the upstairs auditorium to welcome visitors and
listen to children’s holiday wishes.
Hot chocolate, cider and cookies will be provided while carolers sing
holiday tunes.
Despite a large debt
burden, Vermont is one of the best-run states in the nation. "24-7-Wall Street" just
released its annual and extensive survey of all fifty states, looking at the
financial health, standard of living and government services. Vermont ranked as 8th best run in the
union, while North Dakota was number one, and California dead last. The survey determined Vermont had the
5th lowest unemployment at five-point-six percent, and allocated 40-percent of
its budgeted spending to education, which was second only to Iowa, with nearly
92-percent of Vermont's adults having a high school diploma.
Six people charged with
trespassing at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant are found guilty. That was the verdict Tuesday in what
turned out to be a one-day trial in Vermont Superior Court in Brattleboro. The jury convicted six women, all
seniors, and each was then ordered by the judge to pay a fine of
350-dollars. Authorities say the
six women; members of the Shut It Down Affinity group padlocked the gate at
Vermont Yankee and chained themselves to it last year.
When lawmakers return in
January to the Statehouse, some tough choices will be waiting for them. Governor Peter Shumlin says he's going
to ask them to make the cuts needed to state programs in order to shore up a
fifty-million-dollar budget shortfall.
The governor's administration is putting together a new budget now, and
wants all state agencies and departments to submit a level-funded spending plan.
The Vermont Department of
Health is getting an infusion of federal dollars in a grant for preventing substance
abuse. The three-year grant is
worth three-and-a-half million dollars, and will be divided among six regional
offices. The grant is specifically
intended for those programs, which deal with prescription drug abuse and
underage drinking. State officials
say Vermont leads the nation in kids consuming alcohol.
Governor Andrew Cuomo says
state officials will apply for an extension to review possible regulations for
hydrofracking. In Rochester
Tuesday, Cuomo said the Department of Environmental Conservation has been directed
to apply for a new 90-day extension to complete the regulatory review of the
controversial drilling process.
The previous deadline had been tomorrow, but Cuomo had previously said
the state wouldn't be able to make the deadline due to issues connected with
Hurricane Sandy.
It will soon look more
like Christmas in Vermont's capital city.
Gov. Peter Shumlin will travel to a Christmas tree farm today to cut
down two trees - one for his office and another for the lobby of the Pavilion
building. The trees will come from
Paine's Christmas Trees in Morrisville.
Brandon Music on Country
Club Road in Brandon will present vocalist Violette this Thursday at 7:30pm. Growing
up on a small island off the French Atlantic coast, Violette fully embraced the
beauty and unspoiled nature of her surroundings, dividing her days between
sports, books and music. Her originals, although rooted in jazz, reflect the
young artist’s eclectic range of musical influences from Pop to Rock and
R&B. General Admission is
$15. Brandon Music Café offers a
concert and dinner package, which includes dinner and a ticket to the show for
$30 plus tax per person. For
Information & Reservations (802) 465-4071 / info@brandon-music.net
There's more than a month
before the gavel is struck in Montpelier for the 2013 legislative session and
Governor Peter Shumlin is already working lawmakers. On Tuesday he laid out four things that he wants see passed. They include: giving licenses to
migrant workers, physician assisted suicide, letting child care's unionize and
decriminalizing marijuana. "That's
what I'm going to be asking them to do," said Shumlin. Four social issues, that haven't done
well in the past. "What makes
you so confident those 4 things will pass this upcoming session?" said
FOX44/ABC22. "First of all
because they're the right thing to do and I think this legislature will do
what's right for Vermonters," said Shumlin. Even though Governor Shumlin is confident they'll pass this
time around, some other state leaders aren't so sure. "We have our job to do over here in the legislature so
we'll see what happens," said Vermont Senate Pro Tem John Campbell. Campbell says he wants to focus on balancing
the budget and building a new state mental hospital. But that doesn't mean Governor Shumlin's items won't come
up. Campbell says he expects
Vermont's top leader to be lobbying hard for those items he wants to see pass. "If they're shown to be worthy of
the vote we'll certainly take them up," said Campbell. Governor Shumlin is also working on his
proposed budget. He's trying to
find a way to come up with upwards of $70 million dollars to close the budget
deficit without raising broad based taxes.
A report was released
Tuesday highlights one organizations "dirty dozen," lists of what
they believe are New England's worst polluters. A group of people talked about the places today on the steps
of the Vermont capital building. On
the Toxins Action Center list it included Entergy in Southern Vermont and
Advanced Disposal Services in Moretown.
Organizers say Tuesday's announcement is meant to bring awareness. "It basically highlights 12 of the
"dirty dozen" which highlights threats to New England and Vermont
that pose toxic and hazardous risks to the communities," said National
Wildlife Federation attorney Jim Murphy.
To see the list yourself, click here.
The Vermont grandma
accused of giving her three-month-old grandson a lethal level of
anti-depressants, she says, "to keep him quiet," was deemed
incompetent to stand trial. We
told you about Pamela Raymond's mental health a couple of weeks ago, and now, the
court is trying to decide if she should be involuntarily committed to a
hospital. She's still sitting in
jail. The plan would be to treat
her and then prosecute. "Competency
is not a fixed state; it's a fluid state, so someone could be incompetent today
and competent tomorrow," Lamoille County State's Deputy Attorney
Christopher Moll said. Pamela
Raymond was a nurse, until she lost her license in 1996.
