WVTK Local & State News February 12, 2013

Planning has stated a natural gas line that will connect travel though Vergennes and Middlebury and eventually connect to International Paper in Ticonderoga in 2015.  Vermont Gas has already been meeting with residents in the towns between Chittenden County and Vergennes.  They are now planning meetings in Cornwall and Shoreham to discuss the pipeline’s proposed path to Lake Champlain.  Vermont Gas has scheduled an informational meeting for next Monday at 7 PM at the Shoreham Firehouse.  A similar meeting will soon be scheduled in Cornwall. 

Today is Hunger Awareness Day at the Vermont State House.  According to a press release, more than 8,200 people will walk through the doors at food shelves and meal sites around the state.  The Vermont Foodbank is striving, with the help of its staff, volunteers, Board of Trustees, and community partners to make 100 meetings with legislators on the issue of hunger.

Ripton voters on Town Meeting Day will be asked to spend up to $150,000 to put a new roof on their elementary school. And in a separate vote on the same day, they’ll be asked to add to that new roof 200 solar panels in order to generate electricity to reduce the school’s energy bill for at least the next 20 years.

The Vermont Federal Credit Union will soon be in its new location at One Court Square in Middlebury.  The Credit Union purchased the former Chittenden Bank property and has been remodeling the building.  The new space is 4 time larger than their current location on Washington Street.  Once the renovations are complete they will be moving to their new location. 

A group of Vermont lawmakers is joining with some civil rights groups to push for legislation that would create new rules governing police use of electronic stun guns. The bill they are proposing would set up statewide training and rules for law enforcement officers using Tasers and similar devices. This new push follows the death of a Thetford man who died of a heart attack after a state trooper shot him with a Taser.  A report last month found that trooper was justified using the stun gun.

Vermont police are investigating an armed robbery at the Sears department store in South Burlington.  The hold up happened at Sears at the University Mall around 1 o’clock yesterday afternoon.  Police say a masked man used a knife rob a clerk.  A K-9 tracked him across the street to the Anchorage Inn but lost the scent.  Police recovered a pair of sneakers and a knife in the Umall parking garage.

WVTK Local & State News February 11, 2013

The controversial doctor-assisted suicide bill is going to the floor before the full Senate.  Despite having enough votes to stop it, the Senate Judiciary Committee allowed the measure to go ahead.  It's part of an agreement reached in the Senate Democratic caucus before the measure began, allowing the full Senate to debate it.  That begins on Tuesday, with a final vote possible late next week.  The bill would allow terminally-ill patients to get a doctor's prescription to end their lives.

Senator Bernie Sanders is about to unveil what he calls "the boldest piece of legislation" to move the nation's energy systems away from fossil fuels.  Sanders say the bill is needed to combat climate change.  It includes a tax on emissions.  Sanders adds dramatic cuts are needed in greenhouse gas emissions and the country needs to transition away from fossil fuels and focus more on renewable energy projects such as wind, solar and biomass.  Sanders plans to release details of the bill in the coming weeks.

Essex County's new emergency communication system will cost more.  The original price tag was $16 million, but now the Plattsburgh Press-Republican reports new technology, and an increase in attorney fees, has added another $1.7 million.  The Board of Supervisors will vote on the increased costs at a later date, and construction should begin this spring.

A Vermont fugitive wanted in a 2010 armed robbery in South Burlington has been arrested in Charlotte.  The U.S. Marshals Service says 57-year-old Kevin "Buster" Beaupre was arrested Friday morning.  Authorities say Beaupre has been on the run since May 2012 after he was convicted of assault and robbery with a weapon. Police say he entered a dwelling and robbed the resident at gunpoint in 2010.

If you're a Vermonter eager to file your taxes and get your refunds then you'll be happy to hear state tax forms are now available online.  Because of the fiscal cliff, paper forms will be distributed later than normal this year.  In the meantime, everything you need now is available electronically.  Officials say the personal income tax return booklet, as well as other helpful information, may be downloaded and printed from the Vermont Department of Taxes website.

The Vermont state panel that regulates utilities is beginning a new round of technical hearings on the future of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.  The Public Service Board is meeting in Barre to hear witnesses on behave of Entergy’s bid for a certificate of public good to operate the Vernon reactor until 2032.  The hearings begin today and will move back to Montpelier for four days next week.  Entergy is trying to get a state permit to match its federal license.  The plant has been embroiled in a series of legal battles with the Shumlin administration and the Legislature.

If you look up into the sky for the next 2 weeks, weather premitting you should be able to see the planet Mercury.  The show begins about a half hour after sunset.  If you look to the west, you should be able to see Mercury should pop out of the twilight as a bright pink light.  If you are having problems finding it tonight, just look for the moon and you will find Mercury just below it. 

WVTK Local & State News February 8, 2013

We won't get the blizzard conditions coastal New England is expecting, but plenty of snow is expected in our area.  Winter storm warnings cover the southern two-thirds of the state, with accumulations expected to pile up fast.  Nearly a foot is likely in southern Vermont, with lesser amounts in the north.  Snowfall will taper off, from west to east, early tomorrow.  Dozens of flights from Burlington, Plattsburgh, and Montreal have been cancelled, and Amtrak shut down Vermonter service to Springfield, Massachusetts.

Gov. Peter Shumlin has appointed a Ferrisburgh Republican to finish the 2-year term of the late Representative Greg Clark of Vergennes, who was struck by a car and killed late last year.  Warren Van Wyck has been appointed to the vacant seat.  Shumlin said that Van Wyck has big shoes to fill.  He says Clark's warmth and humor are missed in the Legislature.  District Republicans forwarded Van Wyck's name to the governor to replace Clark.

Expansion is planned for this summer at the Southern Vermont Regional Airport.  Nearly five-and-a-half-million dollars is coming from the transportation budget to help double the runway to six-hundred feet.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers still needs to approve a final permit, as the project includes work in wetlands.

The Empire State Winter Games are under way.  It's a multi-sport event in Lake Placid that has been around for more than 30 years. This year there are more than 1,100 athletes from across the state competing in a variety of winter sports.  This year's games kicked off last night and will continue through Wednesday.

Addison Northwest Supervisory Union residents on Tuesday voted down two Vergennes Union High School bonds totaling $6.2 million that would have paid for major improvements.  Some of the improvements included new roofing in several areas as well as improvements to the kitchen and cafaterria, the auditorium, and resurfacing one of parking lots.  He second bond would have funded an artificial surface for the school’s varsity soccer/lacrosse field and built a six-lane track to surround it.  The VUHS board is set to meet Monday night to discuss its next move. 

Brandon may be the site of the next medical marijuana dispensary in the state of Vermont.  Alexandra Ford of Rutland County Organics has been in negotiation with Chuck Mitchell Properties regarding the lease of a building on Lover’s Lane in Brandon.  The building in question recently housed a wood furniture manufacturing facility until late last year.

A bill that would allow doctors to help their patients end their lives is headed to the Vt. Senate floor without the support of the Judiciary Committee.  The committee wrapped up its review of the end of life bill this morning and voted to forward it to the floor with a negative recommendation.  The bill is again causing deep divisions at the Statehouse, with supporters saying people should have the right to end suffering from chronic illness and opponents saying doctors should not be in the business of killing people.

WVTK Local & State News February 7, 2013

Some Vermont lawmakers will be holding a press conference to discuss new F-35 legislation.  According to a press release, Representative George Cross (D-Chittenden-6-7) and the Stop the F-35 Coalition unveiled a bill to delay the F-35's from coming to the Burlington area.  He also proposed a complimentary bill designed to protect those who live in the 65 db impact zone.  The decision on whether or not to base the jets in Burlington is up to the Department of Defense.  No word yet on what location the Defense Department selected to house the F-35's.

Two dozen co-sponsors believe a soda tax is needed to fight obesity in Vermont.  The bill was submitted yesterday.  The bill would implement a penny, per ounce tax on sodas and sugar sweetened beverages.  Many doctors and other health leaders are on board.  Testimony for the bill, known as SSB, begins tomorrow morning in the House Healthcare Committee.

Should there be security cameras in the Rutland neighborhoods which have more crime?  That's what a local landlord is proposing, with the suggestion going to the town's Public Safety Committee after the Board of Aldermen first heard the idea .  The suggestion is to put surveillance cameras on public property in residential areas to cut down crime.  Rutland's police chief says while the cameras in downtown have helped, he wants to hear what the community says before he offers up an opinion for the neighborhood cameras.

It's not required now, but the whooping cough vaccination could eventually be required for every man, woman and child in Vermont.  That's what the bill now before lawmakers is calling for, as the illness can be especially dangerous, even deadly, for infants and children.  While 2010 recorded just 18 whooping cough cases in Vermont, the number spiked last year to nearly a hundred.  The Governor and Health Commissioner, however, are opposed to the bill as is the Vermont Coalition for Vaccine Choice.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says federal and state officials hope to complete funding arrangements for the rebuilding of the Waterbury state office complex by the end of the month.  The two sides are working to determine how much FEMA will contribute to the cost of reconstructing the Waterbury campus, most of which was flooded and made unusable by Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011.  The state has designed a project that would demolish some of the existing structures in Waterbury, repair others and build new structures above the flood level.

A member of the Middlebury College men's basketball team reached a milestone with scoring his 1000th point.  Jake Wolfin is now the 18th player in school history to pass that mark, and now actually has one-thousand-and four points in 108 games after the game this week defeating Lyndon State.  Another team member, Nolan Thompson did the same thing last month.  The Middlebury Panthers are currently ranked fifth with a 20-and-one record so far this year.

WVTK Local & State News February 6, 2013

The Postal Service is cutting their Saturday mail delivery service to trim costs.  A press release says during the week of August 5, 2013 they will transition to the new delivery schedule for mail delivery. This means mail will be delivered Monday through Friday.  The exception is package delivery which will still have Saturday service.  The changes are expected to save the post office $2 billion annually once the plan is fully implemented.

Vermont student test scores were released today from the New England Common Assessment Program also known as NECAP.   The results show the percentage of fifth graders who scored proficient in writing increased 5 points from 46% proficient in 2011 to 51% in 2012.  Writing at the 8th grade level increased 7 points from 59% last year to 66% last fall. High school students saw scores drop 2 points from 48% to 46%.  The NECAP exams are given in collaboration with Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

After two years of work and revamping, the state has a new sex offender website.  A 150-thousand-dollar federal grant paid for the project.  The new website gives the public more information about registered offenders and Vermont, and also makes it easier to find them.  Another feature allows citizens to receive e-mail alerts if a sex offender moves into their town.

Rutland County sheriff's deputies say they have three teenagers who went on a three-night shooting spree.  Dozens of windows in businesses and cars were shot out in late January, adding up to more than 50-thousand dollars' worth of damage.  The Rutland Herald is reporting Cody Vanguilder, Jacob Eels and Cade Bowen are pleading not guilty to multiple charges of unlawful mischief and reckless endangerment.  If convicted, the teens face up to 30 years in prison.

Once again, officials are warning people about the unsafe conditions on the ice.  It happened again on Lake Seymour this past weekend, when the ice buckled under the weight of a truck which crashed through.  Both the driver and passenger got out safely, but there's the problem of fluids leaking and causing environmental issues.  The most recent thaw, and the roller coaster of temperatures is to blame, with anglers planning on participating in an ice fishing tournament this weekend warned to be extra cautious.

A Green Mountain College student is behind bars, denying charges he beat and assaulted a fellow student.  According to reports, 22-year-old Arthur Field of Warwick, New York, allegedly assaulted a female student in his dorm room on January 26.  He is facing repeated aggravated sexual assault, a charge that carries a possible life sentence.  Green Mountain College has placed Field on an interim suspension.

Vermont lawmakers are once again raising the sticky subject of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.  Advocates are calling for a penny per ounce excise tax on soda and other sweetened drinks.  The goal is to generate money for anti-obesity programs, while creating a disincentive for people to buy the beverages.  Critics say the tax will not reduce consumption, but could hurt merchants in border towns.  The beverage industry says it should not be singled out from other sugar sources.

WVTK Local & State News February 5, 2013

One of at least five people suspected in a home invasion in Rutland over the weekend is now in jail.  34-year-old Christopher Orkins from Rutland, was arraigned yesterday afternoon and ordered held on 15-thousand dollars cash bail.  Police say the group broke down the back door of a home Saturday afternoon and used pepper spray on the people inside.  When the victims fought back, several were pistol-whipped.  Police say the victims recognized Orkins and one other man, Calvin Alexander, who is believed to have now fled the state.

Vergennes aldermen this past Tuesday settled on a $1.85 million bond amount to request from voters on Town Meeting Day to fund construction of a new North Main Street police station.  That amount includes $229,000 to buy the former Vergennes Auto Sales parcel, $21,000 to buy more land to the rear and side of the parcel, site work, construction costs for a roughly 6,000-square-foot building, and a $50,000 contingency fund.

An oil company and solar power business have a partnership to help Vermonters cut their energy costs.  Energy Co-Op of Vermont is offering Co-Op Solar in partnership with Sunward Systems of Shelburne.  Homes and businesses in most of northwest Vermont are eligible, and financing can be repaid completely through net savings of heating fuel.  It a site visit confirms it has sufficient sun exposure, the incentives/financing package means homeowner can switch to solar hot water with no out-of-pocket expense.

If Governor Peter Shumlin gets his way, 17-million dollars of state money will be invested in early childhood education.  The governor made the announcement Monday at Trinity's Children's Center in Burlington, saying his plan will fix a broken system.  He says lower income parents need to be able to afford quality childcare so they can work.  Shumlin says he wants a system which doesn't penalize most single moms who want to get a job.

Representatives of Vermont Gas Systems Inc. told Vergennes aldermen on Jan. 29 that natural gas — which they said is a cheaper form of energy than oil, propane and electric heat — will be available to most, but not all, city residents by 2015.

An anonymous but very grateful patient of a heart surgeon at Fletcher Allen Health Care has a spectacular way of saying "thank you."  The person was a patient of Doctor Frank Ittleman, and is donating one million dollars which will be used to establish a professorship in his name at the University Of Vermont College Of Medicine.  Ittleman says it's a win-win situation, as professorships attract top tier doctors, and interest generated from the money will help pay salaries, upgrade labs and still fund research.

Someone in Vermont could soon be very rich.  That's because tomorrow night's estimated Powerball jackpot has swelled to a whopping 208-million dollars.  The cash value of the jackpot is pegged at nearly 131-million dollars.

WVTK Local & State News February 4, 2013

Police have arrested one of the suspects in the Rutland, Vermont home invasion that took place Saturday.  He is being arraigned this afternoon.  Police believe there may have been a total of 5 suspects, two of which were named.  One of the named suspects may have fled to a neighboring state.  Police say the 5 suspects broke into a home on Maple Street in Rutland with 3 people inside.  The suspects kicked open the door and threw in a canister of pepper spray.  Police say the robbers then attached the victims in the head.  They demanded drugs and money before leaving through the front door.  Anyone with information is asked to contact the Rutland City Police Department.

Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos is announcing paperless licensing.  According to a press release, paperless licensing is coming soon to 45 professions and occupations regulated within the Secretary of State's Office of Professional Regulation (OPR).  Condos says, "Making this change will increase efficiency, reduce costs, prevent fraud and protect the environment, without sacrificing public protection."   The press release says that the paperless licensing initiative begins immediately with the Office's largest license renewal of registered nurses whose licenses are set to expire March 31.

Police are investigating the theft of about $60,000 of gold, diamonds and other property during a burglary at a University Mall business in South Burlington.  The owner of Yin's Collectibles says the break-in was discovered when employees came to work Friday.  Police are investigating the burglary.

The controversial doctor-assisted suicide is moving on through the state Legislature.  Health and Welfare committee member unanimously approved it Friday, and it's now before the Senate Judiciary committee, where it's expected to be voted down.  The bill would allow patients with terminal illnesses and less than six months to live to be allowed to receive fatal doses of medications from their physicians.

A new poll shows the geographic divide over New York's new gun control law, with strong support in downstate urban and suburban areas and heavier opposition across the more rural upstate region.  The Siena College poll of 1,154 registered voters shows 65 percent support statewide for the more restrictive gun law.

New York state plans to open a stretch of land along the upper Hudson River this spring and fall.  The land was purchased in December for $12.4 million.  It includes a 10-mile track of the river flowing south from Newcomb. The river wanders through deep forests in nearly tranquil water interrupted by stretches of mild and moderate rapids.  The Department of Environmental Conservation is proposing a wilderness designation for the river and a swath of forest on both sides. It would allow two nearby parking areas for canoeists who want to leave the water.