WVTK Local & State News December 29, 2014

Investigators have ruled the deaths of 2 people in Moriah on Saturday as accidental. According to reports 28-year-old Barry Raymond of Ticonderoga and 50-year-old Stephen Welch died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to smoke inhalation during a fire at a residence on Route 9N. The owner of the property returned home at 5:45 Saturday Morning to find the structure engulfed in flames. Police say the man went inside and found Raymond collapsed and removed him from the home. The man then went back inside to get Welch, but had to leave after becoming overcome by smoke. Both Welch and Raymond died in the fire. Fire officials say the fire is under investigation, but they believe the fire was accidental.

Vermont State Police are investigating an armed robbery at the Shoreham Service Center. The robbery happened at around 8:40 last night. Police say a man entered the store, brandished a handgun, and demanded all the money from the drawer. After receiving an undisclosed amount of cash, the man fled on foot toward Lapham Bay Road. A police K9 was able to track and recover some evidence, but the man was not captured. Police say additional evidence was collected at the store. Anyone with information is asked to contact Vermont State Police at 802-388-4919.

After almost 43 years of producing electricity, the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is off the New England energy grid. The plant announced that is ceased operations at 12:12 p.m. this afternoon, at the end of its 30th operating cycle. Plant owner Entergy Corp. says it is closing the plant for economic reasons. The plant employed more than 600 people when it announced it would close. The workforce will be cut in half after a round of layoffs and retirements on January 19.

Police in Middlebury say a robber targeted two Middlebury pharmacies yesterday. Authorities say a man walked into the Rite Aid pharmacy around 5 p.m. yesterday with a note demanding narcotics. After getting the drugs, police say he then fled on foot. The suspect is described as a white male, 5'10", average weight, wearing a black jacket with a green hooded sweatshirt. Police obtained surveillance from a Kinney Drugs where they say the suspect also entered. Anyone with information is asked to call the Middlebury Police Department.