WVTK Local & State News March 8, 2011

The Weather Channel Says: We’ll see some Sun Today – High Around 30!

The 5th largest storm ever recorded in Burlington’s history left various amounts of snow around the region including 30 inches in Jericho, 27 inches in Westport, 23.7 inches in South Burlington, Cornwall received 22 inches and Wallingford 10 inches.

The Middlebury Police Department is alerting residents that due to the amount of snow from the last storm, snow removal will take place from downtown streets late on Thursday and Friday night. Any cars impeding the snow removal will be moved at the owner’s expense.

Not two years after Hancock and Granville closed their shared elementary school, the boards in both towns are facing yet another potential closure. This time, it is the Windsor Northwest Supervisory Union that is considering its options following a March 2010 vote by Bethel and Rochester residents to withdraw from the union. This decision was the response to a number of management and financial issues within the union that serves the communities of Bethel, Rochester, Stockbridge, Pittsfield, Hancock and Granville.

Vergennes American Legion Post 14 will bestow its annual Community Service Award on Marguerite Senecal this Thursday. She organizes half-dozen annual events in Vergennes, including Vergennes Day, and has worked for the past 10 years for the Addison County Chamber of Commerce, most recently with the title of information specialist.

At Town meeting in Shoreham townspeople agreed to transfer $90,000 in Newton Academy fire insurance money to an expansion - renovation plan for the Platt Memorial Library that has set on the Shoreham green for more than 100 years. That action could allow for construction on the 1,600-square-foot addition to begin as soon as this fall. Library trustees said the $90,000, plus an anticipated $50,000 Americans with Disabilities Act grant, should cap the donation drive.

Based on the results of a poll taken among people who voted in Bristol on Town Meeting Day, it could point the town toward adoption of the first full update of the Bristol Town Plan in nearly a decade. The Bristol Planning Commission’s two-question poll offered voters a chance to weigh in on where to permit and where to prohibit gravel and sand extraction in town.

Danielle and Stephen Boyce of Vergennes are buying American Flatbread’s Middlebury location. They have no plans to substantially change what has been a winning business recipe at the popular Marble Works based restaurant. Danielle has been manager of American Flatbread’s Middlebury location for the past five years.

Firefighters responded to a house on Lake Road in Benson yesterday afternoon. It started as a chimney fire and had quickly spread to the second floor of the two-story home. Nobody was home when the fire started, but this is the second fire for Morgan Phillips and his family. The Phillips family’s home was destroyed in a fire last month.

All of the heavy snow ended up leaving the town of Richmond high and dry. A burst pipe and the weather are likely to blame for leaving residents in Richmond without any water yesterday. Residents are being told it could take as long as Wednesday for the water to be turned back on in Richmond.

A former Rutland man who allegedly viewed and downloaded child pornography answered to a felony charge in Rutland criminal court. Jason A. Pease pleaded innocent last week to a single charge of possessing child pornography. He was released on conditions that included he not possess a computer or access the Internet.

Concerned that their town needs an economic upgrade, some interested citizens have formed the Moriah Community Economic Development Group to give it a boost. The group feels with the start of the new marina and the opening of the Crown Point Bridge this fall that their timing is good. The group will meet at 6 PM Wednesday, March 16th at the Port Henry Knights of Columbus Building, and the meeting is open to all.

Negotiations have brought about a contract deal for the South Burlington teachers union. The deal was struck late Monday afternoon, and will be presented on Wednesday. With any hope, members will have it ratified by Friday. While teachers say they did not get everything they wanted, they're still satisfied with the deal. The new agreement covers the next three years.

Vermont’s state Health Department is seeking video submissions for a national contest focusing on ways young people can prevent alcohol and drug abuse. They are seeking entries from people aged 18 to 25 in the form of 15- or 20-second public service announcements. The winner gets an all-expense paid trip to Indianapolis in June for the National Association of Drug Abuse Directors annual meeting, where the video will premiere. To enter, click HERE.

Ticonderoga High School French and Spanish class students are celebrating National Foreign Language Week this week. Many special events have been planned that include an international cultural trivia contest, a foreign language poster contest and a tee shirt decorating class. Posters will include this year's theme, "Explore foreign languages; join the revolution."

After a decade as executive director at Literacy Volunteers of Essex and Franklin Counties, Chuck Gibson is moving to Oregon to be closer to family. Maria Burke of Ticonderoga will take his place and she’s already working with Gibson as part of a smooth transition effort. Gibson has headed the tutor-based nonprofit organization for the last 10 years.