Friday, December 7, 2012

WVTK Local & State News December 7, 2012


The Essex County Ethics Board will conduct a meeting at 9 this morning at the Board of Supervisors Chambers.  The meeting is open to the public.

Vermont State Police from the Rutland Barracks in conjunction with local and county law enforcement will be conducting Sobriety & Safety checkpoints during the Christmas Holiday enforcement period, which runs from December 14th thru January 1st. At this time, Vermont statewide has experienced 74 fatalities in 67 crashes, up from 50 fatalities this time in 2011 with over 70% of the fatalities being unrestrained. The scheduled checkpoints are an opportunity to use high visibility enforcement to turn the tide, across the state, in the number of traffic fatalities.  In addition to the checkpoints, Troopers will be aggressively patrolling and enforcing motor vehicle laws with specific regard to aggressive driving, speeding, and seatbelt usage in high crash areas.

There’s a lot of Holiday Cheer planned this weekend here in Middlebury!  Tomorrow will have events ranging from the Holiday Character Breakfast getting underway at 8:30 AM at the Middlebury Inn, to visits with Santa at Maple Landmark Woodcraft at 10 AM and Pet Photos with Santa at Homeward Bound Animal Welfare Center from 10AM – Noon!  Then on Sunday it’s a Hannukah Party from 3 – 5PM at Havurah House and the Lessons and Carols for Advent and Christmas at Mead Memorial Chapel at 4 & 7 PM!  Learn more now HERE!

Next Spring the Middlebury Community Players will branch out of the American canon to produce the most successful musical to have come out of Germany, "The Three Penny Opera".  It’s been performed over 10,000 times since its Berlin premier in 1928.  Written and performed a year before the world’s most dramatic economic crisis, "The Three Penny Opera" is still a play to make us ponder the relationship between capital, power, gender, and society.  The show will be fully staged in April at Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater.  For audition or production information just visit www.middleburycommunityplayers.org

Vermont Sate Police are currently investigating a burglary in Bridport. On Thursday between the hours of 7:30 AM and 5:00 PM, the residence of Gary Hutchinson in Bridport was entered. Stolen from the residence was cash, jewelry, and a Kindle. Anyone with information in reference to this burglary or who may have seen anything suspicious in the Lake Region of Bridport is encouraged to call the Stated Police in New Haven at 802-388-4919.

A developer has made a pitch to Brandon town officials for an idea he said could keep hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual heating costs circulating in the local economy.  The founder and owner of Renewable Energy Resources in Bennington, introduced the idea of creating a heating district that would use a biomass system burning renewable agricultural sources such as grass, straw and farm waste.  The presentation this week was the first time the idea was presented to town officials. The state plans to create a similar heating district in Montpelier that will be built around a plant fired by wood chips. A lot of work and investigation must happen before the town can move forward, but the developer hoped Monday’s presentation would start those conversations.

Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, the largest year-round organization to offer daily adaptive sports programs to people with disabilities, unveiled new headquarters at Pico Mountain.  Erin Fernandez is the executive director of Vermont Adaptive and announced that in partnership with Pico Ski Education Foundation and the Andrea Mead Lawrence family, the new headquarters will be named the Andrea Mead Lawrence Lodge.  The Lawrence family has committed to help raise $250,000 necessary to complete the $1.3 million facility. A special ceremony and official announcement will be held at the project site at Pico Mountain on Saturday December 15th at Noon. 

A group of Ticonderoga students have completed a community service project, while helping themselves.  Ticonderoga Middle School seventh graders recently sold more than 530 calendars for the community’s First 250 Year Committee. Proceeds from the 2013 historical calendars will help pay for the group’s “signature event” during the 2014 celebration marking the 250th anniversary of the community. 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 Ti students received $2 for each calendar they sold, raising $1,062. The money will be used for the annual seventh grade whale watch trip in the spring.  Calendars are still on sale for $10 each and are available at various locations in Ti including the Ti Chamber. 

The Ti school board has adopted a resolution asking the state to create a special fund for Adirondack schools and is asking local school districts and other officials to join in the campaign.  According to Ti Superintendent John McDonald, those who use the Adirondack Park could generate the money for the education fund.  The Moriah Supervisor also likes the idea, but feels municipalities should be included, too.

The Essex County Board of Supervisors has decided to place on hold a move to increase the county occupancy tax from 3 to 5 percent.  The tax increase would require the approval of home-rule authority from the state Legislature and the adoption of a local law by Essex County. According to County Treasurer Mike Diskin if enacted, the additional tax is expected to reign in $1.2 million dollars for the county. 

The Westport Central School Board will meet at 6 PM on Thursday December 13th in the library.  Agenda items include a discussion on the 2013-14 budget calendar, facility-use requests and any other business brought before the board.  The session is open to the public.

This year’s 113th-annual Christmas Bird Count will take place in the Plattsburgh area on Sunday December 16th.  Local birders and nature enthusiasts join citizen scientists across the Western Hemisphere for the Bird Count, which takes place throughout North America and beyond between December 14th this year and January 5th, 2013. There is no fee this year, but Cornell University and National Audubon Society welcome donations to help with expenses for the count.  Some other area counts include Elizabethtown on Saturday the 22nd and Ferrisburgh, which is included in the New York circle on Saturday December 15th.  Learn more about the bird and other counts at www.christmasbirdcount.org.

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin says he's not going to host a traditional inaugural ball next month after he's sworn in to his second term in office.  Instead he's going to host a free-to-the-public open house at the Montpelier Statehouse that will also serve as a fundraiser for ongoing efforts to help victims of last year's Tropical Storm Irene.  The January 10th event in the House chamber will feature music and light refreshments.  The funds will be donated to the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund, the private group that has become a source of last-resort funds for people still struggling after Irene who have no other sources of help.

Gov. Peter Shumlin has appointed Louis Porter to be his point person in the Legislature as secretary of civil and military affairs.  Porter, a former Statehouse reporter with the Vermont Press Bureau and most recently the "lake-keeper" water policy lobbyist with the Conservation Law Foundation, will coordinate the administration's contacts with lawmakers.  Porter replaces Alexandra MacLean, who announced her departure from the administration recently.  The 37-year-old Porter will earn $72,000 in the post.

The owners of the landfill in Moretown have until Monday to come up with a plan to prevent noxious odors at the site or face closure.  The Burlington Free Press reports that state officials warned regional solid waste managers last week that the landfill is likely to close because of an inability to comply with state solid waste regulations.  Closing the landfill would leave Vermont with one certified landfill operated by Casella Waste Systems in Coventry.  Natural Resources Secretary Deb Markowitz said if the landfill owners offer a convincing plan by Monday the agency might be able to issue a permit.  A spokesman for the Moretown landfill said he believes the company has a plan that will prove that it can comply with state standards.

The FBI says a confessed Alaska serial killer who targeted people across the country told authorities he planned to strike again in the state if he had gotten away with the murder of an 18-year-old Anchorage barista.  Before killing himself in his Anchorage jail cell, Keyes told authorities he killed a barista and at least seven others over the past decade, including Bill and Lorraine Currier of Essex Vermont.

An 80-year-old Vermont diner that's on the National Register of Historic Places is reopening soon.  The Miss Bellows Falls Diner closed in June.  The Eagle-Times reports Brian and Alisha McAllister bought the restaurant in August. The McAllister’s, who also operate Father's Restaurant in Westminster, have done some renovations and hope to have the diner open by mid-December.  The 30-foot diner still has its barrel roof and porcelain sheathing, resembling an old railroad car. It was added to the national list in 1983.


Yesterday around 5:45 state police responded to West Tinmouth Rd in Clarendon for a reported theft.  State police spoke with the Lawrence Hawkins who said he had sugaring equipment stolen from his maple syrup operation sometime over the last month. He further advised a sugaring vacuum designed to collect sap was stolen.  Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Vermont State Police at the Rutland barracks, 802-773-9101.  Information can also be submitted anonymously online at www.vtips.info or text “CRIMES” (274637) to Keyword:  VTIPS

A program to purchase meat from drought-stricken farmers is put to good use.  The meat is being sent to food pantries and soup kitchens.  The Vermont Food Bank is taking in and distributing more than 145-thousand pounds of chicken, pork and sausage provided by the USDA program.  About half the meat has already arrived, with the other half expected to be trucked in by January.

Governor Peter Shumlin says he will listen to the roar of an F-35 jet himself.  Debate has raged over whether to site the F-35s at Burlington Airport with the Vermont Air National Guard.  Residents say that the F-35 noise is much louder than the F-16s the National Guard currently uses.  Shumlin and other officials will go to a base in Florida to hear the planes for themselves before making a final decision.

Rifle deer season is closing this weekend, and numbers suggest more deer were harvested this year.  The current number is 4,087 deer taken by rifle, with numbers still coming in through the weekend.  The yearly average is about 30 deer fewer than that.  A final report will be issued in March.

A new study says that Vermont ranks in top ten of states for smoking prevention.  But the report also says that the state is not spending enough on programs.  Vermont spends four-million dollars on smoking prevention programs, falling short of the recommended amount of ten-point-four-million.  Every year, 700 Vermont youth begin smoking, 800 adults die from smoking related diseases, and the state spends 233-million on healthcare for smoking-related illness.

A new study by the Natural Resources Defense Council says that warmer temperatures will adversely impact Vermont's economy.  According to the study, current rates of carbon emissions will drive temperatures higher, making winter temperatures unstable.  This will affect the amount of snowfall Vermont receives.  Winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding will be affected.  Warmer temperatures will also impact timing of ice-in and ice-out on ponds important to ice-fishing.

Governor Andrew Cuomo sounds upbeat about the prospects of the coalition government that has formed in the state Senate.  Cuomo tells former Governor David Paterson on his radio show that he had no intention of getting involved in the deliberations over who would run the Senate, and says he just wants to see the chamber perform for the people.  The governor says should the coalition government between the Republicans and the IDC fall apart, there could be chaos.

New Yorker’s wanting to make changes to their Medicare coverage should be aware today is your last chance.  Open enrollment will end as of midnight tonight.  This allows those with coverage to review and make any necessary changes to the health and prescription coverage.  For more information you can visit CDPHP.com or you can call 1-800-993-7299.

It appears New York State residents want to hit the jackpot more than folks in any other state.  New U.S. Census numbers show the Empire State is tops in the nation in lottery ticket sales, bringing in roughly seven-billion dollars in 2011.  New York also ranked first in lottery prizes awarded, at roughly four-billion dollars. 


Every day that goes by, there's more worry about whether you and I will have to pay more in taxes come January first. No surprise here, still no deal. The deadline is the end of the year. Today, the President reinforced he's optimistic. Even though he doesn't want to sign anything that doesn't include an increase for wealthy Americans. Republicans so far, aren't budging. One thing we know for sure... This decision on the fiscal cliff will impact a lot of people, not only through finances, but through non-profits that people use every day.  Organizations such as LIHEAP, Outright Vermont and Food Banks.  Non profits all across the country are going to feel the pinch. In Vermont alone there are four thousand of them, and one of those we took a closer look at today shows the impact the fiscal cliff will have on the Boys and Girls Club in Vergennes.  Money from the government that it's relied on in the past is going to be cut by $70,000.  Imagine it's three o’clock; the Boys and Girls Club in Vergennes would be swarming with kids.  "We see about 40 kids a day," Mike Reiderer, Executive Director of the Club said.  It costs about $275,000 to keep the club running, a big chunk of that comes from the federal government.  "The last couple of years we received a hundred thousand dollars and this year, we just got notice that it's going to be $30,000 so it's a big hit," Reiderer said.  A 70 thousand dollar hit that will wipe out programs, staff, and maybe even kids.  "We are looking at closing down our youth center," Reiderer said.  The Vermont Community Foundation President says sadly, no matter which way the fiscal cliff pans out, cuts at the federal level mean cuts all across the board, tax increases on the middle class mean fewer donations... same thing with tax increases on the wealthy because there wouldn't be tax incentives. So even with uncertainty looming, non profits know they're getting the ax.  "It's our future here, it's all we got are kids, I mean after we go, hopefully the next generation is good or better," Boys and Girls Club Board President Ed Biello said.  So in the meantime, like non profits do, they're looking to the community to make it through.  "Hoping that everybody can chip in and minimize the impact," Reiderer said.  Biello says, out of all the programs the teen center is one that really has to stay because the kids that it serves are at such a critical age.  "A lot of our members come from challenging family backgrounds and the club can really provide a good safe place for them to grow and develop," Reiderer said.  The Boys and Girls Club says cutting this funding could have long term effects on communities, by not having prevention programs for kids.  What you can do is donate your money or time to your favorite nonprofit.

The Vermont disaster relief fund is helping Vermonter’s pick themselves up after Irene delivered horrible devastation.  Yesterday in Montpelier governor peter Shumlin gave an update on how the fund is doing.   Six point eight million dollars has been raised to date but they're still hoping to raise 10-million dollars.  The easiest way to help is by donating or buying an “I am Vermont strong” license plate. All the money goes to the aid of people like Anne Marie Bolton.   “I’ll be honest if it wasn't for the disaster relief fund I would probably still be in my apartment unclear of where or how I’m going to buy a home and so it's because of all the generosity of Vermonters that my dream was made possible.”  Another opportunity to raise money is to go to the state inaugural open house. That will be on January tenth at 4:30 pm.