Tuesday, January 8, 2013

WVTK Local & State News January 8, 2013


On Wednesday the Vermont Agency of Transportation will be holding an Open Forum and Public Hearing regarding the Middlebury State Airport Runway Reconstruction and Safety Area Improvements.  The Open Forum begins at 6 PM and provides an opportunity for interested parties to ask questions of VTrans representatives specific to their property.  The Public hearing begins at 6:30 PM so VTrans can receive comments and suggestions for changes from interested persons. Project plans are available for review in the Middlebury Town Clerk's Office.

The Addison County Chamber Of Commerce After Hours Business Mixer is coming up next Thursday the 17th. January’s mixer is hosted by the Rikert Nordic Center. Come early at 4 PM and enjoy an hour of free skiing. Rentals are free too if you don’t have your own equipment.  The mixer will take place from 5 – 7PM.  For more information or to RSVP to see just visit the Chamber Website.

Beginner skiers and snowboarders at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl will receive a magic carpet treatment this winter with a ride on the unique SunKid Wonder Carpet conveyor lift system.  The Austria-based SunKid Company installed the unique people-mover belt at the Snow Bowl just in time for the arrival of plenty of snow, which fell between Christmas and New Year’s Day.  In addition to luring local skiers and snowboarders, the Middlebury College Snow Bowl will be in the national spotlight when it hosts the 2013 NCAA Alpine-Nordic Skiing Championship March 6th – 9th.

A local business has announced their expansion. Bryan and Jenny Phelps, owners of Noonie Deli here in the Marble Works are expanding with a second location in Essex to open in the this spring.  The new location will be in the Towne Marketplace complex at 1 Market Place, near Susie Wilson Road.  The deli will occupy space previously used by the Essex Party Store. Noonie Deli is a member of the Vermont Fresh Network and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.

Two New York School Board meetings are scheduled for today.  The Westport Central School Board will hold a budget session and regular meeting at 5:30 this evening in the library of the school.  Topics for discussion include the budget and policy review. There will also be a presentation on the ‘Dignity for all Students’ Act.  Meanwhile the Willsboro Central School Board will meet at 6 in the conference room of the school.  Agenda items include business and finance reports and personnel discussions. Both of these meetings are open to all.

The Elizabethtown-Lewis Central School Board will meet at 6 PM tomorrow in the conference room of the school.  Items on the agenda include public recognition of faculty and staff members for supporting community members during the holidays, recognition of the Adirondack Youth Climate Board and a presentation of the E-L-C-S Green Team.  The meeting is open to the public.

Moses-Ludington Hospital has a new director of medical emergency care.  Dr. Todd G. Menia has been appointed medical director of the emergency department at the Ticonderoga hospital, a division of Inter-Lakes Health.  Inter-Lakes Health is an affiliate of Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington.   Dr. Menia will be an employee of Fletcher Allen Health Care working at Inter-Lakes Health. He will supervise and work alongside the Inter-Lakes Health Emergency Department team in conjunction with specialists in the Fletcher Allen Emergency Department.

As new 114th District Assemblyman Dan Stec visited several counties this week to witness their annual reorganizational ceremonies, he identified his initial legislative priorities.  While the state leaders will be grappling with whether to allow casinos, raising the minimum wage and gun control as top issues, Stec said he would be advocating other objectives that reflect the needs of his constituents in the southern Adirondacks. This past week, Stec visited the reorganizational meetings of Essex County, Washington County, and his home turf of Warren County.

Rep. Peter Welch was in Rutland yesterday and outlined several priorities he will pursue in the upcoming session, including a proposal to help people make their homes more energy efficient.  Speaking at the future Green Mountain Power Energy Innovation Center on Merchants Row he also proposed assisting owners of commercial buildings in making their facilities more energy efficient as well as the need to push the federal government in the same direction.  In order to implement these initiatives, three pieces of legislation would be vital including the HOMES Act, the need to reform the 179-D Commercial Tax Credit and Energy Saving Performance Contracts. 

Every single Rutland High School Yearbook is on its way to the Internet.  The Rutland Free Library and Rutland Historical Society are recruiting volunteers to help digitize the library’s yearbook collection. The RHS collection goes back to the first yearbook published in 1930. Volunteers must be able to attend a 30-minute training session and work two to three hours at a time. No special computer knowledge is required, but a basic familiarity is advised.

Vermont has been awarded nearly $378,000 in historic preservation grants.  The grants are part of $22.9 million in historic preservation grants awarded nationwide. Vermont has received 1.6% of the total award.  State officials may use the grants to fund projects such as nominations for the National Register of Historic Places, preservation education, architectural planning, repairs, and other subjects.  The grants were announced yesterday by Vermont's Congressional delegation.

Gov. Peter Shumlin has proposed changing the way courts deal with drunken drivers to reduce the rate of repeat offenders.  The state would set up DUI courts, similar to drug courts, in which judges would monitor the treatment of people with second or third DUI offenses and could impose sanctions and rewards.  The goal is to reduce drunken driving by helping impaired drivers overcome their addiction.  Shumlin announced yesterday that Robert Sand will leave his job as Windsor County state's attorney in March and join the Vermont Department of Public Safety to help officials set up the courts, including developing DUI treatment dockets.  The Governor also proposed consolidating the Community High School of Vermont and the Vermont Correctional Industries programs to better train inmates to be successful outside of prison.

A Vermont sheriff is lobbying the public in the town of Newfane to support construction of a new cell tower.  Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark says the 150-foot cell tower would also host his department's emergency radio equipment.  The Brattleboro Reformer reports the department feels it needs a new tower at its Newfane Village headquarters. Clark says the proposal for the Newfane tower makes the most sense and would save taxpayers money.

The Supreme Court says it will hear two days' worth of arguments over laws affecting gay marriage during the last week of March.  Justices announced yesterday they would hear arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry on March 26th and United States v. Windsor on March 27th.  Nine states; Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Washington along with the District of Columbia allow gay marriage.

The Vermont Health Department says influenza is now confirmed in all areas of Vermont.  For the first time this season, the department reported widespread flu activity to the Centers for Disease Control.  The health department is urging everyone 6 months or older to get a seasonal flu vaccine. They say the flu can be a serious illness, especially for the very young and old.


Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger wants to see the city's waterfront district spruced up.  Yesterday he announced the Waterfront and Downtown Public Investment Action Plan, saying it will identify and build the next vital public investments, funded by tax-increment financing.  That is, it will be if approved by voters.  Potential improvements include redeveloping the Moran Plant, extending the lakefront boardwalk and building a staircase to Battery Park from the waterfront.

A Hinesburg man is expected to be arraigned on charges of attempted murder and assault and robbery in connection with three armed robberies in Chittenden County in November. Police say Jason Peet is accused of robbing the Simons Store in South Burlington, and the Champlain Farms and Maplefields stores in Colchester using a long-barreled handgun.

Bank officials are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man who robbed a bank in Hardwick in September. Police say the Union Bank was robbed on September 6th by a man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses who handed a teller a note claiming he had a gun.

Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to make a public push for gun control legislation in the coming days.  The "New York Daily News" reports Cuomo will launch a major public-relations assault on Senate Republicans with help from national and state anti-gun groups if GOP lawmakers in the Senate balk at gun control legislation.

Governor Andrew Cuomo says school districts still have plenty of time to reach an agreement on teacher evaluation plans.  Cuomo says there are still ten days left before such evaluations are due to state officials, a length he calls a "lifetime."  The state's roughly 700 school districts are required by law to get union-negotiated teacher and principal evaluation systems approved by January 17th or lose a four percent funding increase.  Cuomo says there is still plenty of time for districts having problems coming to an agreement with teachers to strike a deal.

A coalition of Adirondack Park and regional environmental groups is calling on state officials to help create a new mandatory boat inspection program for Lake George. The groups say boat inspections and cleaning are needed to stop the spread of invasive species into the lake.


Skiing conditions have been ideal these past few weeks, but almost every year, skiers searching for untouched powder ski out of bounds and get lost. This means search and rescue has to be called, man-hours are used, and taxpayer dollars are spent.  "It is technically illegal," Captain Donald Patch said of the Vermont State Police, Rutland Barracks.  But because police fear a ticket would deter lost skiers from calling and asking for help, it's been years since anyone has been charged. Already this season, 40 Killington or Pico mountain skiers have skied out of bounds, gotten lost and had to call. The majority were from out of state.  "Anybody that has to be fielded in that area, it's a dangerous situation because of steep inclines, the snow is deep," Captain Patch said.  Every search and rescue mission takes about four hours. We reached out to Vermont State Police to find out how much that costs you and I, who foot the bill, but did not hear back. Aside from taxpayer dollars, it's officer time.  "The troopers on duty, when they're stuck on those cases up there, they're not able to tend to other incidents," the Captain said.  With the diverse terrain, and sheer volume of space, the Killington Resort Communications Manager doesn't see why skiing out of bounds is even desired.  "We have 140 trails, there are 71 miles, anything you want from long cruisers, blue square trails, tree skiing, steeps, bumps, parks, it's offered in bounds," Sarah Thorson said.  Thorson says the violators know they're breaking the law. To ski out of bounds, you would literally have to lift a rope and ignore the signs.  "The signs are very very prominent," Thorson added. Not only is it Vermont State Police troopers who respond, but also Vermont Fish and Wildlife, volunteers and the ski patrol.  There will be a meeting soon involving all of those agencies, to discuss how skiing out of bounds can be prevented.

The Burlington City Council preliminarily passed a ban on assault weapons.  It now goes to a committee to be worked on and then would return to the council.  If passed for a second time, the ban because it's a charter change would still need the approval of Burlington voters and legislators in Montpelier.  The ban would outlaw semi-automatic guns and multiple ammo clips in the city.   Before the ban was passed, gun supporters packed the council meeting and they made it clear any attempt to outlaw these guns was going too far.  "It should be federal. So we have federal laws. So it's the same across the nation. Not Burlington has this. Barre has this. Rutland has this. Brattleboro has this," says Clint Gray, who was against the ban.  Councilor Norman Blais says he had proposed the ban on semi-automatic weapons and multiple ammo clips to make the city safer.  Blais says he was motivated by tragedies including in Newtown, Connecticut.  Opponents pointed out that the guns could be easily bought outside the city and brought to Burlington.  They also argued there should be a greater emphasis on mental health.  Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin said he wouldn't talk specifically about what is happening in Burlington.  But he did weigh in generally on gun control measures.  "I firmly believe that a 50 state solution is the only way that we're going to make real progress," says Shumlin.  The governor says there needs to be a greater focus on mental health.  And that's something he thinks can be done in Vermont.