WVTK Local & State News January 19, 2011

A warm winter storm dumped up to 8 inches of snow in some parts of southern Vermont and closed 73 schools across the state yesterday. According to one meteorologist, Springfield and parts of Bennington and Windham counties reported between 6 and 8 inches of snow throughout the morning. Throughout central Vermont, towns reported an accumulation up to 4 inches of snow. Police responded to a fatal motor vehicle accident on Route 7 in South Wallingford.

A Florence woman hurt her back and shoulder in a crash off Whipple Hollow Road in West Rutland yesterday morning. State police said Nicole Fischer lost control of her car while navigating a curve on a downhill part of the road just before 7 AM. Her car went off the road and into a swampy area where it struck some small trees.

State engineers and private contractors are seeking to assemble the arches for the new Crown Point Bridge in downtown Moriah. A variance request to allow the arch assembly at Velez Marina is expected to be up for agency approval in February. DOT reports the bridge construction is on schedule and on budget. It's expected to open to traffic next October.

Talks between the Addison Northeast Supervisory Union school boards and the teachers union have stalled, and there are no positive signs that either side will soon return to the negotiating table. The impasse is the result of an intense contract negotiating process that left both sides dissatisfied with the outcome. The school boards represent five town elementary schools and Mt. Abraham Union Middle/High School. Officials are hopeful that the teachers will accept the imposed contract and move forward with the next round of negotiations targeting June 30, the end of the fiscal year.

Vermont State Police say a 15-year-old Mount Mansfield Union High School student is dead after apparently shooting himself at the school. Police say the initial investigation indicates that Connor Menning of Huntington died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound but they are still investigating. No one else was involved. Grief counselors were immediately called in to speak with students, teachers and staff.

As the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade approaches, Vermont women's rights supporters say there is still a lot of work to do. A group of legislators and representatives from Planned Parenthood and the Vermont Commission on Women say women's rights and health is still threatened. They point to the effort to repeal the health care law which they say helps women.

Falling property values have lessened the gap between the state’s grand lists and market prices for homes. The state’s common level of appraisal has gone up to 94 percent this tax year, that’s an increase of 4 percent compared to last year. Market values in Vermont have dropped about 1.5 percent this tax year. Town leaders are optimistic their CLA will be more in line next year, as property is beginning to be bought for nearly the same amount it is listed by the town.

Vermont's leading anti-hunger advocacy organization, the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, launched its new name recently as Hunger Free Vermont. Since 1993 the organization's outreach and advocacy have significantly enhanced Vermont's nutrition safety net and broadened access to healthy food for Vermont's children and families.

Vermont State Police are looking for the driver of a red pickup truck who was seen near a suspicious fire that destroyed a house in Sharon. State police say they believe Friday's fire was arson. The Sharon Fire Department noted some graffiti and other "suspicious activity" in the area of the fire at 63 Farm Field Lane. The house was a total loss.

The three members of the Vermont congressional delegation say they're going to try to clear the way to let the state implement a single-payer health care system. U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch met at the Statehouse in Montpelier yesterday with Gov. Peter Shumlin to announce their plans. The three say they will introduce legislation in Congress to move up to 2014 the date when states may propose pilot health care programs as part of the nation's new health care law.

Five New England residents and five national health care advocacy groups are suing the federal government, saying Medicare benefits are being cut improperly after their conditions are determined to be chronic. A suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Burlington on behalf of people from Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island and Connecticut targets what it calls an unofficial condition of eligibility.

Property owners and developers in Vermont and New Hampshire say they're disappointed that a plan for a $32 million development on the Connecticut River in White River Junction has fallen through. The Prospect Place plan would have overhauled an industrial park near the U.S. Route 4 Bridge between Vermont and Lebanon, NH, for a mix of retail, office space and housing.

Prayers before meetings are not going away any time soon for the Essex County Board of Supervisors. Although the practice was recently criticized, county leaders said this week that they have no plans to stop the prayers. The County Clerk delivers a short prayer before monthly Board of Supervisors sessions.

A big announcement is expected this morning from Governor Peter Shumlin and officials from both USA Hockey and the University of Vermont. The event will be the World Women's Ice Hockey Championships. That runs from April 6th through the 12th, on the UVM Campus.

The trustees of Rutland Free Library invite the public to join in tonight as they begin to draft a new strategic plan. The trustees meet at 5:15 PM in the library’s Fox Room and the meeting will open with a public presentation by consultant Bill Wilson on current trends in public libraries around the country.

Changes are coming to the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington. Old Navy is moving to Taft Corners in Williston while two new tenants are coming to downtown. One is Panera Bread and the other is yet to be determined or announced. Old Navy will make the move in March. The marketplace says 5,000 square feet will be Panera Bread and the other 20,000 square feet will be the other business. All that is known is that it is a local business and after the move the business will have doubled in size.