Tuesday, May 12, 2015

WVTK Local & State News May 12, 2015

The state of Vermont was left unable to pay its bills yesterday because of a computer glitch. State Treasurer Beth Pearce says close to six-million-dollars in state bills went unpaid because of the glitch. More than a million-dollars of the unpaid bills were supposed to be paid to subsidized day care providers. An investigation is underway to determine what caused the problem.

Embattled state Senator Norm McAllister says he has not made a decision on whether or not to resign. Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott said yesterday that McAllister is resigning following his arrest on sexual assault charges. McAllister was arrested outside the Statehouse last Thursday, accused of seeking sex in exchange for rent payments from female tenants. McAllister commented briefly yesterday, saying he has made no decision on whether to step down.

The Vermont House passed a bill yesterday to allow election day voting registrations. According to the Vermont Secretary of State's Office, the bill allows all eligible Vermonters the opportunity to register to vote on Election Day. Under the current law, the registration deadline to vote is the Wednesday before the election. The Vermont Senate passed the bill in April. The legislation now heads to Governor Shumlin's desk.

Health officials say tick season is currently underway. A press release says 13 different species have been identified in Vermont, but only four are known to carry pathogens that cause disease in humans. Symptoms of Lyme disease include an expanding red skin rash, swollen joints and flu-like symptoms. The Health Department is advising everyone to take the following actions this spring and summer: avoid areas that are good tick habitat such as tall grass, or areas with a lot of brush and leaf litter, and along forest edges, before you go outside, remember to use insect repellant with up to 30% DEET, do daily tick checks on yourself, children and pets, and remove and ticks promptly. The Vermont Health Department is encouraging everyone to report ticks. To report a tick, visit the tick tracker at healthvermont.gov/tracking.

A company here in Addison County is seeking approval from the state to build a different kind of natural gas power plant. Lincoln Renewable Natural Gas want to build a plant at the Goodrich Farm in Salisbury would take manure and other bio matter from several nearby farms. Most of the Natural Gas produced would be sent to Middlebury College by a pipeline. The rest would be sold to Vermont Gas and it’s customers. An application was submitted to the Public Service Board yesterday.