WVTK Local & State News March 3, 2011

An investigation has revealed the February 26th fire in Middlebury College’s Gifford Hall was the result of arson. The Vermont State Police Fire Investigation Unit is assisting the Middlebury Police Department with the case. Anyone with information regarding the fire is encouraged to contact the Middlebury Police Department. The Vermont Arson Tip Award Program can also be contacted at 1-800-32-ARSON.

A state court has invoked Vermont’s 2008 groundwater protection law, setting aside Omya’s solid waste disposal certification. The Vermont environmental court ruled the Agency of Natural Resources failed to conduct a public trust analysis “with respect to groundwater quality issues” when it issued a permit for the disposal of marble waste from Omya’s calcium carbonate processing plant. The decision sends Omya’s final certification back to the ANR to perform a public trust analysis.

The Rutland County Parent-Child Center will continue on without money from the city. The request from the center was the only special appropriation rejected Tuesday by Rutland voters. The Executive Director said it was the center’s first time on the city ballot. Clarendon rejected a much smaller request as well, but the rest of the towns the center sought money from this year approved it, some as line items within the budget.

Central Vermont Public Service Corp. has reached a settlement that allows it to move forward with the purchase of the Vermont Marble Power Division while cushioning the rate shock for Proctor residents. Under the terms of the settlement, CVPS will pay $28.25 million — nearly $4 million less than the previously announced price. The sale, which has received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval, still awaits approval by the Public Service Board.

The city-owned Burlington Electric Department says it is a step closer to achieving its goal of being 100% renewable by 2016. The Burlington Electric Commission recently voted to pursue buying the development rights of the four-turbine Georgia Mountain Community Wind project in Chittenden County. Burlington Electric already had reached a deal to buy all of the project's electric output.

An amber alert has been issued in northern New York where police say a Vermont woman has abducted her children. New York State Police say Patricia Duncan is a noncustodial parent who took her two daughters from Albany without permission. She and the children may be traveling to Canada in a 1995 silver Mercury Villager minivan with Texas plates P 45 FDZ. The two girls are 15-year-old Ashley Duncan and 11-year-old Heather Duncan. If you have seen the girls or their mother, you're asked to call the New York State Police.

Teachers in South Burlington are going on strike. In a unanimous vote Wednesday, members of the South Burlington Education Association opted to walk off the job March 9 unless the school board resumes negotiating and reaches a settlement. The teachers had been working without a contract for eight months. The union represents about 275 teachers at five schools in South Burlington.

The Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says it's suing the Town of Franklin over its practice of opening the annual Town Meeting with a prayer. In a lawsuit filed yesterday on behalf of town resident Marilyn Hackett, the ACLU said the practice, which has been in place for about 10 years, violates Vermont's constitution and the state public accommodations act.

Preliminary construction work has started on the site of a new Kinney Drugs store in Hinesburg. The store is located at the intersection of Farmall Drive and Route 116. When completed it will be a "prototype" Kinney Drugs unlike its other regional stores. It will be "greener" and designed to blend into a small community.

There are about 40 employee-owned businesses in Vermont and about 10,000 nationwide. Supporters of the concept say they are better places to work that pay their people more money. The most common employee-owned businesses consist of either a worker cooperative, which typically is smaller companies, or an employee stock ownership plan, which is by far the most common type of employee ownership in Vermont and nationally.

Vermont's congressional delegation is getting involved in the Yankee shutdown issue. Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch want the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure the owner of the nuclear plant cleans up the site as soon as it closes down. Regulations allow plant owners to take up to 60 years to complete the work. But the delegation calls that unacceptable.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service issued a report yesterday that concludes the eastern cougar, also known as the catamount, no longer exists. The catamount had been on the endangered species list since 1973. Biologists are now recommending the big cat be taken off that list. The fish and wildlife service reviewed hundreds of claims of sightings before reaching its decision. The last known catamount to be shot in Vermont was in 1881.

North Country Congressman Bill Owens announced late last week a new initiative aimed at removing regulations that impede small business growth. He is asking small business owners to help him identify existing and proposed federal regulations that "impede economic development and job creation."

The Edison Electric Institute has honored Central Vermont Public Service with the association’s “Emergency Recovery Award” for outstanding power restoration efforts in the wake of a massive two-part weather event in February 2010. This is the third time CVPS has earned this honor. A panel of judges following an international nomination process chose winners and the awards were presented during EEI’s Spring CEO meetings.

The Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s “Harp and Soul” harp and flute duo will present two performances at area schools on March 14. They will take place at Shoreham Elementary School at 10:00 AM and Orwell Village School, 1:00 PM. Support for the day has been provided by: the Neat Repeats Resale Shop of Middlebury and by the Vermont State Employees Credit Union. The VSO’s traveling ensembles visit all corners of the state as part of an outreach program known as “Musicians-in-the-Schools.”

During National Agriculture Week, March 21st – 25th, students throughout New York will be learning about the variety of products that the poultry industry provides during the sixth annual New York Agriculture Literacy Week, coordinated by New York Agriculture in the Classroom. Ag Literacy Week will be celebrated across the state in second grade classrooms with a visit from a community member involved in agriculture.

Students from the Vermont Teen Leadership Safety program chapters at Proctor High School, Mill River Union High School, and Stafford Technical Center began an unusual partnership with several Rutland County auto repair shops. The proactive partnership is aimed at reducing excessive speed on roads and highways and the many crashes that result from speeding. The theme, called Slow Down – Stick Around, is printed on ribbons with a card explaining the risks of speeding. The plan was to disseminate the ribbons at highway rest areas and visitor’s centers but other outlets were considered, such as auto body and repair shops, chambers of commerce, and auto dealers.

National FFA Week ended last week but the work of local FFA chapters continues. The Future Farmers of America is in sharp focus year-round in Vergennes as it is elsewhere in Addison County. Individual chapters like Vergennes initiated events throughout the week to promote FFA and agriculture in classrooms and communities countywide. Last week FFA officers in Addison County met with state legislators and leaders of Vermont's agriculture industry.

Residents of the towns of Castleton and Hubbardton will be further connected online through Front Porch Forum, an online neighborhood bulletin board. Front Porch Forum, which began in communities and neighborhoods in Chittenden County, has spread to 60 towns across Vermont. Other surrounding towns include Poultney, West Rutland and Middletown Springs.