WVTK Local & State News March 30, 2011

There has been a major recall from Price Chopper. The supermarket chain is warning people about possible listeria contamination in its 'Regular Home-style Potato Salad.' The product in question was sold by the pound in the store's deli. One case of contaminated salad was found in New York, but Price Chopper says no illnesses have been reported. The recalled potato salad was sold between March 19 and March 28. If you bought it, return it to any Price Chopper for a full refund. Customers with questions can call 1-800-666-7667 ext. 3 between 8:30AM and 5:00PM Monday through Friday.

It may be officially Spring but the National Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch from late Thursday Night through Late Friday that includes Addison, Rutland and Essex County, NY. Rain is expected to mix with snow on Friday with some light accumulation possible. We’ll keep you informed with updates from the Weather Channel.

Most Vermonters are ready for it to warm up, including maple syrup producers, who agree there is still plenty of time for a strong season after cooler-than-average temperatures have given the season a slow start. Cooler temperatures are delaying the sugaring season. For maple trees to produce sap, temperatures need to rise at least into the mid-30s during the day and fall to below freezing overnight. Producers in the southern areas of the state have had a stronger start to the season than some in central Vermont.

Out-of-work New Yorkers will get to keep unemployment benefits through the end of 2011. New York participates in a two-year federally funded unemployment insurance program that started in 2009. In December, Congress extended the program for another year. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has now signed legislation that amends state law and allows New York to qualify for the third year of the program.

The Vermont Student Assistance Corp. is cutting about 15 percent of its work force because of changes in the way federal student loans are managed. Officials at the Winooski-based VSAC say 52 full-time and six part-time workers have agreed to take a buyout. After the staff reduction, VSAC will have 255 employees, down from almost 400 three years ago.

The Recreation Committee in Rutland decided this week that the aldermen should take the most hands-on approach they can to building Giorgetti Arena. The committee met to discuss potential construction models as the city prepares to send the project’s engineering out to bid.

Gov. Peter Shumlin is pushing a $500 state incentive for people who want to switch their heating systems from oil to wood pellets. Shumlin says he wants the electricity conservation program Efficiency Vermont to be able to use some of its funds to provide the incentives. The Governor says pellets have several advantages over oil. He says they're currently about half the price of oil, they provide jobs for Vermont foresters, pellet mill workers and equipment manufacturers, and they're less damaging to the environment than oil.

Vermont lawmakers want your input on the state's energy plan. The Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee will hold a public hearing tonight. It's from 6-8:30 PM in room 11 at the Statehouse in Montpelier. The state will use the input as it updates its 20-year energy plan. The law requires the state to work toward increasing renewable energy generation and decreasing reliance on fossil fuels.

All five Vermont Supreme Court justices and nine trial judges face votes by a joint assembly of the Vermont Legislature to see whether they'll keep their jobs for another six years. All 14 jurists are expected to be retained in Wednesday's voting. The only judge who was generating controversy, Mark Keller, withdrew his name from consideration for another term on the bench.

Remarks by a Castleton State College freshman during a presentation on peace activism prompted an investigation by Secret Service agents last month. According to dean of academics Joe Mark, Freshman James Cote who served as a sergeant with the 82nd Airborne Infantry, spoke out during an event featuring peace activist Colman McCarthy on Feb. 10th. Secret Service agents interviewed Cote and concluded he was not making a threat.

The United States is looking to build 13 new nuclear power plants across the country. Some town leaders in Massena, NY, are hoping their town will be the sight for one of them. They say the town has everything needed to build a nuclear power plant. Supporters of the idea say such a plant would supply clean, cheap energy, and help attract development to a part of the state that's struggling. Other people say they have reservations about nuclear energy in their own backyard.

New York has joined a federal program that helps people safely dispose of old appliances. The Environmental Protection Agency's Responsible Appliance Disposal Program looks to protect the ozone layer and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Currently West Virginia is the only other state participating in the voluntary program. Retail and wholesale companies can now recover hazardous chemicals from old refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and dehumidifiers.

The state of Vermont is now using the threat of jail time to get deadbeat parents to pay up. The office of child support recently took advantage of a new law to prosecute a man who owed $24,000 to his ex-wife and kids. Some 30 percent of noncustodial parents fail to meet their child support obligations. There is a total of about $100 million currently owed to children.

Iraq's ambassador to the United States is saying thank you for America's role in bringing democracy to his country. In a speech to Vermont lawmakers yesterday he talked about the price of war and also met a woman who'd paid it with the 2005 loss of her son in fighting there.

The future of Crown Point's Monitor Bay campground is in question. The town has been notified by the state Department of Health that it will not be granted a 2011 campground permit until electrical safety and potable water issues are resolved. Local officials will meet with engineers to determine exactly what needs to be done to meet state regulations and how much the work will cost.

The Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Southern Vermont will hold its 14th annual Home and Recreation Show this weekend. The show will be held from 9AM to 3PM Saturday at Spartan Arena. Admission is free. Door prizes will be given away throughout the day. The first 50 children will get a wooden birdhouse kit thanks to LaValley Building Supply. There will also be free children’s activities provided by the Boys & Girls Club of Rutland County and the Mentor Connector, as well as performances by local children’s entertainer Linda MacFarlane.

Curves of Middlebury will participate in the 13th Annual Curves Food Drive, April 4-17, to collect non-perishable food and cash donations to benefit the local food bank. From April 4-17, Curves will waive the membership fee for new members who donate a bag of non-perishable food or make a minimum donation of $30.

Mount Abraham Union High School's Prom Night is Saturday, May 14th and the school's PTO is helping to make it easy to shop for those special dresses and tuxes by sponsoring the Mt. Abe Prom Dress and Tuxedo Sale. The sale will be held in the school's cafeteria April 8th and 9th. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the school's PTO enrichment programs and organizers say they are hoping to make it an annual event.

The lower part of Church Street in Burlington is brimming with construction, which officials said will make the area look just as good as the rest of downtown. Until the beginning of June, workers will be on the street widening sidewalks, installing new streetlights and planting trees. This is the second expansion of the marketplace within the past seven years. It's being paid for with federal money.

A first grade classroom at JFK Elementary School in Winooski is doing what it can to help one of their own. The students in Nancy Johnson's class a fellow classmate moved back to Japan with his family recently. They now know he survived the devastating earthquake and tsunami, but the kids still want to help. The kids have started a fundraiser called a coin drop, in which other classes are asked to donate change. They raised just over four hundred dollars in a week, and donated it promptly to the American Red Cross for relief efforts.

New York Teachers, public employees, renters, health care advocates and college students are packing sleeping bags and toothbrushes in preparation for a massive protest of state budget cuts at the Capitol. The demonstrators from various groups across the state plan an overnight camp-in starting Wednesday afternoon to protest Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to close a $10 billion budget gap with cuts in education and health care spending and state worker layoffs.