WVTK Local & State News July 15, 2014

The Vermont Student Assistance Corp. is urging students who applied for financial aid to double-check their numbers. This past year the U.S. Department of Education made some updates to the online free application for federal student aid, or FAFSA. However, when the updates were made, a glitch in the system happened and it's causing students to lose out on Pell grants, or other financial aid. A misplaced decimal point could mean all the difference between you, and thousands of dollars toward your college tuition. VSAC discovered the problem last week when reviewing grant applications. The U.S. Department of Education believes 200,000 people across the country are at risk of losing financial aid, if the error isn't corrected.

State health care officials have promised to find additional financial support for a joint effort by Porter Medical Center and the Counseling Service of Addison County to expand medication assisted treatment services to local residents who are addicted to opiates. While Porter officials have not closed the door on a new clinic, they are currently committed to ramping up the Suboxone program at Bristol Internal Medicine, which will be beefed up over time to eventually accommodate 80-90 patients. A total of four primary care physicians based at the Bristol office will soon be able to prescribe Suboxone.

The Vermont Air National Guard will be flying with U.S. Navy F-18 fighter jets this week. The joint training starts today and continues through Friday. Guard officials say the aircraft will be operating during normal operating hours of the Burlington International Airport.

If companies are looking to build in Burlington, they might be forced to recycle during construction. There's been an uptick in construction in the city and that has some city councilors concerned. They want to make sure any waste from construction is recycled, including wood, sheetrock, and insulation. Yesterday, the city council started the process of requiring recycling during commercial construction as part of a permit.

Police say they've found unexamined evidence in the case of a Vermont couple charged in the killing of a popular Vermont teacher. Allen and Patricia Prue face kidnapping and first-degree murder charges in the March 2012 death of Melissa Jenkins. Police allege the Prues lured Jenkins from her home, then killed her. They've pleaded not guilty. The items, which include a hard drive, memory cards and 8 mm video cassettes seized from the Prues' home, were found at the St. Johnsbury state police barracks. The state forensic lab has not evaluated them yet. A judge has approved a warrant to examine them.

The Pentagon has cleared the F-35 fighter jet to take flight, less than two weeks after the fleet was grounded. According to a statement from the U.S. Defense Department, the F-35 fleet will have limited flight clearance that includes extra engine inspections. An engine fire in an F-35 at Eglin Air Force base last month prompted military officials to ground the planes.