WVTK Local & State News January 27, 2011

One of Vermont's most notorious sex offenders has been released from prison. Mark Hulett got out just after 10AM Wednesday. He served 5 years for repeatedly raping a little girl in Williston. Hulett is now living in Waltham here in Addison County. The Corrections Department will monitor him with a GPS-tracking bracelet until June of 2012 and will track his computer activity to make sure he's not communicating with his victim or other children.

A nursing home in Rutland that started out catering to Civil War widows will close in March. The president of the Sunset Home Board of Directors recently confirmed the North Main Street home’s impending closure. She said it was for financial reasons. The Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living’s Division of Licensing and Protection said the home was not in any trouble with the agency. They plan to cease operations March 31.

Town of Ira residents voted to change the structure of their upcoming town meeting. Residents voted to divide the town meeting activities into two days. The new format will have voting on all budgets and articles on the Monday before the first Tuesday in March, and voting for town officers by Australian ballot on that Tuesday.

In a 2-1 vote, Killington Select Board members approved a budget strictly supported by local option taxes that was about $62,000 higher than a draft budget for special town events presented to the board January 4. Residents were divided at a meeting Monday night on the EDT budget. Some supported the resort community’s initiative to develop a four-season economy while others questioned expenditures that weren’t approved by all members of the Select Board.

The Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce will host an open house with Adirondack Employment Opportunities this evening at 5:30. The open house will be held at the Chamber office on Montcalm St. in downtown Ticonderoga. Complimentary snacks and refreshments will be served. Adirondack Employment Opportunities provides skilled, no cost job placement and retentions services to businesses and other organizations.

The Vermont National Guard is sending 16 members of a team trained to respond to attacks with weapons of mass destruction to help provide security at the Super Bowl in Texas. Members of the 15th Civil Support Team will be 1 of several such teams at the Super Bowl that have been trained to respond to incidents involving radiation, biological agents and chemicals. They can also help respond to natural disasters. Most of the Vermont Guard team will be leaving today. Others will be leaving over the weekend.

Police in Westport say a local man was arrested after several of his cows were found dead and 50 others severely malnourished. State Police were called to Joshua Warren's leased farm on Napper Road in mid January after an animal-control officer allegedly discovered neglect. Authorities have charged Warren with three counts of failure to provide proper animal sustenance. Police said area farmers have pulled together to aid the animals and have volunteered to help care for the surviving cows.

Authorities in Burlington have arrested two men wanted in an armed bank robbery in the Vermont town of Georgia. Burlington Police and U.S. Marshals arrested 30-year-old Michael Haines of St. Albans and 37-year-old Timothy Bentley of Swanton yesterday morning after a short chase. Vermont State Police say tips from the public helped lead to their arrests.

Senators from the economic development committee met with officials at IBM in Essex Junction Wednesday, to discuss what to do about rising energy costs in the state for its largest employer if Vermont Yankee shuts down. IBM pays about $35 million a year to power its Vermont facility. And the company estimates those costs will go up by 25 percent if Vermont Yankee goes off line. Legislators want to look into sources of power to keep IBM in the state of Vermont.

Vermont's three major maple industry associations may soon merge into one group. The Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association, the Vermont Maple Federation and the Vermont Maple Industry Council represent more than 2,000 producers in the state. Officials from the three associations say they've been discussing a potential merger for the past ten months and have formed a committee to draft a proposal. That official proposal is expected in May.

The VT Agency of Transportation spelled out a plan to the House transportation committee yesterday about the experimental use of salt brine on Vermont roadways. Balancing cost, safety and environmental issues is what the agency said has to happen in order for the salt and water mixture to work for Vermont. They told the committee that currently the amount of salt and sand Vermont uses to clear roadways is not only polluting but also very harmful for Lake Champlain.

A bill, introduced to the House Committee of Fish, Wildlife, and Water Resources in Montpelier yesterday, will set strict limits on the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen going into Vermont soil. The bill called H.26 targets non-agricultural areas. It bans the use of fertilizer with phosphorus in it, and limits amounts on fertilizer with nitrogen in it.

A study aimed at finding out whether police in 1 of America's whitest states engage in racial profiling says data from four Vermont police departments shows no clear pattern of it, but that it may be happening. The "Analysis of Traffic Stop Practices in Four Vermont Jurisdictions” that included Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski and at the University of Vermont was conducted by Northeastern University's Institute on Race and Justice.

Two years after it was converted to a women-only prison, Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans could be returning to its former status. Gov. Peter Shumlin wants to move the women now being held there to the Chittenden Regional Correctional Center, in South Burlington, and move men back in. He says that will help maximize bed space and allow the state to return some inmates being held in out-of-state prisons and lease the rest to the federal government. Shumlin says the reforms will save the state $2 million.

Burlington is giving landlords a chance to come clean if they are breaking city rules. Owners of rental properties have two-months of amnesty to register their property if it's not already. Landlords face big fines if they don't.

A New York Post article published this week says Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive budget will feature substantial cuts to school and municipal aid. The article also predicts prison closures across the state and layoffs within the state Department of Correctional Services. Cuomo's much-anticipated executive budget is due February 1.

Officials with the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation announced this week a new regulation prohibiting the intentional or unintentional feeding of black bears. The regulation comes after an increase in the number of conflicts between bears and people statewide. Environmental experts note that the population of black bears in New York has been on the rise in recent years.

The Shelburne Charlotte Hinesburg Interfaith Project is ready to make another round of grants. Applications from non-profit organizations in the towns for projects from large to small are due by January 31. They have used the profits from selling used clothing and home goods turning them into grants totaling more than $240,000 to provide funds for everything from food shelves and football uniforms to a shower for an elderly person. For more information click HERE.

The Addison County Chamber of Commerce has announced the opening of Middlebury's newest retailer, Middlebury Floral & Gifts. Owned by Carolee Ploof, the store is located on Route 7 South, which is the widely recognized Little Red Schoolhouse, just south of town. Middlebury Floral & Gifts will offer fresh flowers, floral arrangements and live plants which are all available for delivery within Addison County and beyond.