WVTK Local & State News January 13, 2015

The polls are open until 7 o’clock tonight at the Brandon Fire Department on Franklin Street. Voters who live in Brandon Fire District No. 1, which includes all of Brandon and Forest Dale, can vote “yes” or “no” on a $2.5 million bond to fund a major water system replacement. The district expects to use a grant of $756,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help pay off the bond and bring the total cost to ratepayers closer to $1.7 million. The fire district is a separate government from the town and the local schools.

Vermont's list of the top 100 individual and business tax delinquents is now public. The state tax Department released the information yesterday, but did not release the amounts each alleged tax scofflaw owes. However, the top 100 individuals and businesses owe the state a total of 25-million-dollars. In total, the state is owed a total of 175-million-dollars in unpaid income, room and meals taxes.

The Chairwoman of the Brandon Select Board has resigned. Maria Ammatuna resigned her position "effective immediately" in a letter to another selectman last night. Ammatuna said she is experiencing health problems. Also in her letter, she recommended Seth Hopkins, member of the Budget Committee, be appointed to take her place until March.

Burlington Police are still trying to figure out who killed a former University of Vermont student in his Greene Street apartment earlier this month. Kevin DeOliveria died from a single gunshot wound, and the death has been ruled a homicide. Police are continuing to follow leads, with more than two dozen law enforcement personnel working on the case. DeOliveria was originally from New Jersey and last attended UVM in 2013.

Vermont's congressional delegation says about 67 percent of the state's dairy farmers have signed up for a new price protection program. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch say that figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that 582 dairy farmers are now enrolled in the Margin Protection Program that began last year. The voluntary program offers financial assistance to participating farmers when the difference between the price of milk and national average feed costs falls below the coverage levels selected by individual farmers.