WVTK Local & State News February 7, 2011

The National Weather Service has issued a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY that goes into EFFECT AT 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH 11 AM TOMORROW. Up to another 5 Inches of Snow is possible.

The Weather Channel Says: Cloudy Today with Snow Showers – High In The 30’s.

Police are investigating a convenience store robbery in the Addison County of Hancock. Vermont State Police say a man wearing a camouflage jacket and a ski mask held up JD's Quick Stop on Route 100 shortly before 9 PM Saturday. Police say the suspect showed a gun and told the clerk to get on the ground or he would kill him. The suspect took all the money from the cash register before leaving in a vehicle. Police described the suspect as a white man who was between 5-foot-3 and 5-foot-5 with a stocky build.

The snow is being blamed for causing a barn to collapse yesterday morning in Windham County. It happened on the Taylor Farm on Route 11 in Londonderry. The 200-foot long barn collapsed, trapping nearly 100 animals inside, mostly cows. Rescue crews were able to save all but two of the cows. A farm worker also suffered minor injuries as snow from the collapsing barn fell on him. A barn also gave way in Bath, New Hampshire. State officials are urging homeowners to prevent collapses by shoveling off roofs. They say the weekend storm and possibly more snow to come early this week could lead to more problems.

Heavy snow is to blame for a chimney collapse in Burlington on Sunday. Residents on Howard Street say they heard a loud noise around 5 in the morning. Luckily no one was hurt. However, firefighters say they were busy all day with weather related calls. Emergency responders are requesting people clean off their vents and neighborhood fire hydrants.

There will be more room to mountain bike in the Green Mountains. The Vermont Mountain Biking Association is partnering with the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps and the U.S. Forest Service to improve trails and increase mountain bike access. Over $150,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is making the initiative possible. The money will help create a nine-mile loop trail that begins and ends at the Silver Lake Campground in Goshen.

NECAP results to be released Wednesday The Vermont Department of Education is releasing fall 2010 New England Common Assessment Program results for public school students in grades 3 through 8 and 11 at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Individual school results will be posted on the department’s website. The Education Commissioner will hold a press conference to present statewide assessment results at 11 AM at the Pavilion Auditorium in Montpelier.

U.S. Rep. Peter Welch is pushing for new legislation that would support businesses that hire unemployed veterans. The Vermont Democrat plans to announce details of the bill today in an appearance at Granite Industries of Vermont at 1PM in Barre. Granite Industries owner Jeff Martell and representatives of the Vermont National Guard’ll join him.

People across northern New England were treated to a relatively rare weather phenomenon when a band of thunderstorms crossed the region while it was snowing. The National Weather Service says a large line of thunderstorms with thunder and lightning crossed Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine during Saturday night's storm that brought snow, sleet and freezing rain to the region.

State Police were called to a home on Route 2 just before 6 PM Saturday night in East Montpelier. 55-year-old Lawrence Laperle was reportedly drunk and firing a rifle out of the window of his home. The SWAT team was called in. Police say just before 12:30 Sunday morning, Lawrence exited the home and was taken into custody without incident. He was charged with disorderly conduct.

Vermont's electric utilities and telecom companies are near an agreement that could accelerate the completion of two major technology projects for the state. Green Mountain Power, and Central Vermont Public Service Corporation are among utilities rolling out "smart meters" later this summer. The new devices replace old dial meters on homes and businesses, and automatically communicate customer outages and energy use back to the utility. But smart meters require a communications network to tap into and the utilities are hoping to partner with telecom companies like V-TEL, which is a major developer of wireless technology that promises high-speed 4-G broadband to much of the state.

Ticonderoga leaders want to make sure the downtown retail district doesn't turn into a collection of first-floor apartments. The Town Council is amending its zoning law to prohibit replacing first-floor retail space with residential housing. A public hearing on creation of a new First-Floor Residential Central Commercial District will be held at 6 PM this Thursday in the Ticonderoga Community Building.

According to an advocacy group, across-the-board cuts to Medicaid are not the answer to the growing problem of health-care spending in New York State. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed cutting the state's Medicaid funding by 2 percent in his preliminary budget plan. However, representatives from the Healthcare Association of New York State believe a major overhaul to Medicaid will be more effective than straight cuts to the program.

Police say the latest phone scam to hit New York involves callers targeting business owners, claiming an employee is in need of bail money. Lake Placid Village Police warned local businesses Friday that they have already received two reports from area restaurant owners being contacted by fraudulent callers. Authorities said the callers claim to be law-enforcement members in Essex County or Lake Placid, advising establishment owners that an employee has been arrested and is in need of bail.

The Marble Valley players will be holding open auditions for its spring Comedy Extravaganza II today and tomorrow at the West Rutland Town Hall. Auditions begin at 6:30 PM and run until 9 PM. Gary Thompson, Robert Higgins and Nancy Manney will each direct a one-act comedy to be presented at the Town Hall Theater here in Middlebury during April Fool’s Day weekend. More auditions will be held Feb. 17-18 at the West Rutland Town Hall. No special preparation is necessary.

Teens in Rutland were out Saturday hoping to get their peers to stick to their promise not to smoke cigarettes. A Velcro wall has been set up outside of the chill center in the Diamond Run Mall. It is free to use for everyone who signed the pledge, promising not to smoke. The Department of Health reports that nationally 3,000 people start smoking every day in the United States. Vermont numbers show 8 out of 10 teenagers in the state do not smoke, but youth prevention advocates say more still needs to be done. Organizers say the wall is a new spin on quitting.

Well over a thousand people jumped into an icy lake Champlain Saturday for one of Vermont's largest charity fundraisers, the Penguin Plunge. The event on the Burlington waterfront gets larger every year. This annual plunge into ice-cold water has become an important source of funding for the Vermont Special Olympics. Combined with events in North Bennington and Newport, it's expected to set a record with around four hundred thousand dollars raised for Special Olympics.

Teachers in South Burlington are planning a strike vote unless the school board is willing to negotiate a settlement. After working without a contract for eight months they have set a March 2 deadline. One of the sticking points is a provision that would allow the board to impose working conditions and not honor negotiated salary schedules.

It's antique skiing time at Vermont's Suicide Six ski resort. An antique ski race held each year as part of the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum's annual fun weekend is set for Feb. 13. The race has three categories: Wooden, metal/fiberglass and "strictly vintage." Proceeds from the weekend benefit the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum, in Stowe.