WVTK Local & State News March 9, 2011

The Town of Middlebury Department of Public Works will start snow removal operations in downtown Middlebury on Thursday night, starting at 11 PM and work through the night. They will continue at 11 PM Friday night and work through the night. The Town’s winter parking ban prohibits parking on town streets and in town lots between midnight and 6 AM. Vehicles left in these areas that are impeding snow removal will be ticketed and towed at the owner’s expense. There are two areas where all night parking is allowed – in the lower municipal lot behind the Ilsley Library in spaces signed for all night parking and in the municipal lot in frog Hollow (Mill Street) in spaces signed for all-night parking.

The big snowstorm hit some Vermont dairy farmers hard. That's because milk haulers could not get to the farms. At least 10 dairy farmers in Vermont did not get a milk pickup. That will likely force some farmers to dump their milk--costing them big bucks. According to the Vermont Agriculture Agency, farmers in Addison and Franklin Counties were hardest hit.

CVPS crews assisted by more than 30 outside crews have been cutting through ice, and hundreds of trees and tree limbs to restore the last of the more than 12,000 CVPS customer outages since the peak of Monday’s snow and ice storm. Most of the work was in Windsor and Bennington counties. Much of the repair work left to be in done in that area is off-road, in places where there is ice on top of snow.

Burglars targeted a West Rutland gas station for the second time in a week. State Police say sometime between 10 p.m. Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday someone broke a window at the Sunoco Service Station on Route 4A. The suspect reportedly stole about $3,400 in merchandise including cigarettes and chewing tobacco. The suspect in the previous burglary reportedly broke in the same way. Anyone with information is asked to call police.

The U.S. Forest Service says investigators have identified a subject involved in the fire that destroyed the Tucker Johnson Trail Shelter in Vermont's Green Mountain National Forest in Mendon near the intersection of the Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail. The Forest Service says federal agents worked with the Vermont State Police and Rutland City Fire Department to identify the suspect.

If the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce annual Business Show is an economic indicator, the economy is making a slow but steady recovery from its bout with the recession. The event at the Holiday Inn drew a record 86 exhibitors. Featuring everything from transportation companies and colleges to real estate firms and restaurants.

Nine vehicles slipped off Interstate 89 or into each other in a chain reaction that started when a tow truck that was pulling a vehicle back onto the highway was struck by a vehicle that had lost control on ice. Vermont State Police say the mile section of Interstate 89 north between Richmond and Williston was closed yesterday for the third time in two days.

The Vermont Coalition for Food Sovereignty was bringing attention to the use of raw milk yesterday in Montpelier. The milk used in their demonstration was pasteurized to comply with state law. Recently state officials raised red flags about workshops they say went too far because they promote using raw milk for making other things, like cheese and butter. Raw milk is only allowed to be sold for drinking. The Vermont Agency of Agriculture says it is working collaboratively to develop a protocol for these events so they will meet the requirements of the statute.

Attorneys representing some Northeast dairy farmers in an antitrust lawsuit against a dairy cooperative and its marketing affiliate say the cooperative is misleading dairy farmers about the merits of the case. Under a proposed settlement announced in December, Dallas-based Dean Foods would pay $30 million to dairy farmers and change its milk-buying practices in the region for 30 months. But the cooperative Dairy Farmers of America, a co-defendant in the civil suit, opposes the settlement, saying it favors one group of farms over another.

Emergency management officials are warning Montpelier residents to be on alert for possible flooding later this week. The big snowfall and rain over the weekend has pushed the water levels on the Winooski River to dangerous levels. Combine that with warmer weather expected for later in the week and officials are concerned an ice jam may cause the river to flood.

Vermont environmental groups are joining to push a shared agenda involving renewable energy, closing the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, land conservation and recycling. The League of Conservation Voters Education Fund held a news conference yesterday and invited representative of other groups to outline what they hope to accomplish before lawmakers go home. Smart Growth Vermont is backing Gov. Peter Shumlin's plan to put more than $12 million into the Vermont Housing and Conservation Fund.

The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant may have a renewed federal operating license a full year before its currently scheduled shutdown date. A Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman says it could have that agency's permission to run for an additional 20 years as soon as next week. Even if it gets the federal license extension, as expected, the plant still is seeking approval from the state of Vermont to continue operating. That's widely seen as less likely.

The Colchester Select Board passed an ordinance last night that will lend a hand to fire fighters. It modifies building codes to require sprinkler systems in some new homes, along with many other measures. The Mallets Bay Fire Chief says it will greatly increase the number of homes they can save. While everyone agrees it would make homes safer, opponents argue the cost would hurt new home sales in an already down market.

It doesn't feel like it right now, but maple-sugaring season is right around the corner. Gov. Peter Shumlin is expected to kick off the season with a tree tapping ceremony on Thursday at Vermont Academy in Saxtons River. The event launches a week of maple sugaring related activities, followed by Vermont Maple Open House Weekend on March 19 and 20, in which sugar makers open their sugarhouses to the public.

You might describe it as one Vermonter helping another. About 500 cases of a special Rock Art Brewery beer are headed for stores and distributors. The bottles of Pete's Green Barn Raising Brown are being sold to help the state's largest organic farm. In January, Pete's Greens' barn was destroyed in a fire. Fourteen dollars from each case of the English-style brown, malty beer will go to help Pete's Greens in Craftsbury.

Organizers of the NCAA skiing championships being held in Stowe are re-scheduling the giant slalom. The reason: inclement weather. The NCAA has moved the competition from Thursday to today ahead of a rainy forecast. Twenty-one teams - 148 athletes - are competing in the skiing championships, which are being hosted by the University of Vermont at Stowe's Spruce Peak and the Trapp Family Lodge.

The Burlington School District says an accounting error in the city's budget report exaggerated teacher salaries up to 15 percent. Superintendent Jeanne Collins says her office accidentally included a portion of the teachers' benefits in their salary listings, which is printed in the annual financial report. Teachers are concerned, saying the mistake could impact public opinion at a time when they are negotiating a new contract with the school board.