WVTK Local & State News February 11, 2011

Central Vermont Public Service is asking customers to help keep meter readers safe, and clear a path to electric meters. CV says if a meter reader is unable to get to a meter due to safety hazards or inaccessibility, the meter cannot be read and usage will be estimated. Also, quick access to the meter may be critical in an emergency, such as a fire.” CVPS asks that customers maintain a clear pathway to electric meters, but never use a sharp tool, such as a shovel, near the actual meter.

State Sen. Claire Ayer filed legislation this week that lays the groundwork for a single-payer health system for Vermont. The Weybridge Democrat, who is chairwoman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, filed bill S.57, which proposes that the state create a “single-payer and unified health system.” She said much of the new health-care bill is based on a Harvard University economist’s recent study of Vermont’s health-care system and recommendations on how to improve it.

Leaders of e-Corporate English announced plans to hire an initial batch of more than a dozen workers. They are getting set to start moving into the company’s new headquarters off Exchange Street here in Middlebury after March 1. For more information you can visit e-corpenglish.com.

Coming up on February 21st the Addison Planning Commission will review changes allegedly made to town zoning laws last summer by Addison’s interim zoning administrator. Some Addison residents believe Jeff Kauffman overstepped the bounds of his authority and made major changes to the zoning law. These alterations were not approved by planners at their August 16, 2010, meeting.

Rutland City has started an amnesty program for people with outstanding tickets from 2005 to 2008. Through April 30, people with tickets from that era can pay them off for 50 cents on the dollar, getting themselves off the city’s boot list. There are roughly $140,000 in outstanding tickets during that time frame, meaning the city could get about $70,000 if everyone takes advantage of the amnesty.

Fair Haven hired a new town manager on Wednesday. Peter Hathaway of Pawlet was hired by the town’s Select Board and is set to begin work on March 7. Hathaway was unanimously chosen as the strongest candidate for the position by the Select Board after being one of the five candidates recommended by a community search committee.

The trial of a Middlebury man in connection with the August 19, 2009, armed robbery of a Hancock convenience store ended in a hung jury in Addison County District Court last week. Addison County State’s Attorney David Fenster said he is weighing options on what to do next with the case involving Adam Racine who had been charged in connection with the robbery of JD’s Quick Stop Convenience Store on Route 100.

Vermont’s population is shifting according to 2010 census figures released yesterday. The state’s southernmost counties of Bennington, Rutland, Windham and Windsor all recorded stagnant demographics or slight losses in the past decade, while their northern counterparts of Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Franklin, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans and Washington reported growth since the last official count in 2000. Burlington remains Vermont’s largest city up 6.5 percent from 10 years ago. Rutland City drops from third to fifth. Chittenden remains the largest County in Vermont followed by Rutland. Addison County is number 8 with a population of 36,821, up 2.4 percent.

Vermont State Police say a tour bus accident on Interstate 91 that injured 17 people was likely caused by the driver's medical condition. In an investigative report, police say 49-year-old Andrew Castillo, of Pennsylvania, suffered a cardiac emergency on December 3, 2010, while driving a group of Massachusetts college students to a ski resort in Quebec. Police say a wire between a pacemaker in his chest and his heart was found to be broken after the crash.

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin is touting a state program that encourages unemployed and underemployed Vermonters to develop job skills and helps to match them with employers. Shumlin said the Governor's Career Readiness Certificate program has helped to place about 600 Vermonters in jobs with Cabot, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and other companies in the last year and a half. The program is aimed at helping place returning veterans and people emerging from Vermont's Corrections system as well as unemployed young people into entry-level jobs.

School officials in the Vermont town of Hartford say they have uncovered a $554,000 budget deficit caused by accounting errors that go back three years. District Business Manager George Cormier says the problems were a result of a flawed accounting system within the district and a lack of oversight by the former financial officer, who is now working in California.

Vermont State Police say speed is believed to have played a role in a head-on collision on U.S. Route 302 in the town of Orange. Police say Sandra Sicely died at the scene of the collision that occurred at about 6 PM Wednesday after her vehicle crossed the centerline. The investigation is continuing.

The Vermont Public Service Board is demanding regular reports about ongoing tritium leaks at Vermont Yankee. The board has ordered Entergy Nuclear to submit its first report by Friday and says it will expect reports every other Friday until the source of the radioactive contamination is found. The board also wants the information submitted in sworn affidavits.

The chancellors of New York's public universities are pushing legislators hard for regular, moderate tuition increases and the authority to enter lucrative partnerships with the private sector as they face another round of deep budget cuts. Cuomo's budget would cut state support by 10 percent. It would also end the state's subsidy for teaching hospitals in Syracuse, New York City and on Long island.

A handwritten letter announcing the victory at Fort Ticonderoga that went missing from the Massachusetts state archives six decades ago has been recovered after being spotted as part of a planned auction of Revolutionary War manuscripts. Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said the 1775 letter from Joseph Warren was discovered in a Sotheby's catalog. The state was able to negotiate the letter's return.

The Lake Steward Program that watches for aquatic invasive species in Lake George isn't gone after all. The Lake George Association just got a $25,000 grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program to continue the effort this summer. The lake custodians are stationed at public boat launches, looking for aquatic invasive species of plants and marine life clinging to hulls of boats.

Now that the Essex County Fish Hatchery finally has permission to sell surplus fish, it's facing water-supply issues and charges of unfair competition. The Franklin County Farm Bureau has come out against the sale of fish by the county because it might compete with a commercial fish farm in Chateauguay. And the water lines at the county hatchery are so antiquated they need an upgrade before any surplus fish can be produced.

Vermont is proud of its cheese-making, but right now there are a lot of cheese makers in the state upset the federal government may take away a key ingredient from them: raw milk. The F-D-A is considering banning it, but artisan cheese makers say raw milk adds a special flavor to their creations, and consider it safe. The F-D-A used to think 60 days was long enough aging to kill any bacteria. However, researchers at the University of Vermont's Institute for Artisan Cheese have now proved that theory wrong after finding out some cheeses still had bacteria after a year.

"Pete the Moose must live." That's the official word from Pete the Governor. Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin says a bill passed last year giving hunt park operator Doug Nelson permission to keep a moose known as Pete on his preserve was a mistake. Shumlin says he wants to see that legislation reversed, but he does not agree with what some have suggested: allowing the celebrity moose to be the target of a controlled hunt. Shumlin told reporters yesterday that Pete the governor hasn't issued any pardons yet, but that he will - for Pete the Moose.

It's been plenty cold enough to freeze over lakes and ponds for ice fishing in our region, but officials say all the recent snow may have created some dangerous conditions on the ice. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says the problem is the weight of the snow, which can cause ice to sink slightly, forcing water from below onto the surface. Then the snow acts as an insulator preventing the water from refreezing completely. The end result is weak ice that may not support vehicles or even people on foot.