WVTK Local & State News April 18, 2011

High winds tore through our region over the weekend leaving plenty of damage in their wake around the state. Over the last 24 hours, about 2,000 Vermont Electric Cooperative customers lost power. Approximately 3,000 Central Vermont Public Service customers were in the dark a various points throughout the weekend.

Taxes are due today. With a tax code that runs close to 60,000 pages and dozens of possible credits, it is not hard to see why filing them daunts people. According to Turbo tax, nearly 27% of taxpayers wait until the last two weeks of tax season to file their taxes. That is mostly because filing your taxes is so confusing. The IRS says nearly 10 million people a year put off filing until mid-October. Remember, that is only an extension to file, not to pay them. If you owe any taxes you need to pay them as soon as possible.

Peak Lodge at the top of the K-1 Express Gondola at Killington Ski Area is being replaced this summer. The highest gondola-served restaurant and meeting space in eastern North America will come down this summer and visitors will be without a summit lodge until the 2012-13 winter ski season. The facility will include a multilevel restaurant, be somewhat smaller than the existing lodge and cost about $7 million to build.

A local Tea Party chapter gathered in Rutland’s Main Street Park on Saturday urging people to take a stand if they want to see change in local and state government. Rally organizer John Wallace of West Rutland said the purpose of the rally was to get people together who, no matter what side of politics they are on, want to see something different.

A program coordinator from the Library of Congress is coming to Vermont to discuss efforts to digitize historically significant newspapers from around the nation. UVM's libraries, the Vermont Department of Libraries, the Ilsley Public Library of Middlebury and the Vermont Historical Society are collaborating to digitize up to 100,000 pages of Vermont newspapers published between 1836 and 1922. On Thursday, Deborah Thomas, of the National Digital Newspaper Program, will discuss the national effort in a 5PM speech at UVM's Bailey-Howe Library. Admission is free.

Police in Burlington say they are investigating an attempted break-in near the intersection of North Union and North Streets where a man forced his way into an apartment after the tenant opened the door and made threats. Neighbors told officials they saw the intruder flee in a maroon van with Vermont Registration possibly starting with EDD. Police said no one was hurt, but they're urging the community to be on the alert.

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin celebrated his 100th day in office Saturday. The Governor's most notable moves include a plan to put Vermonters on a single-payer healthcare plan and a budget plan to cut into Vermont's $150 million deficit. Political expert Garrison Nelson said, the Governor is making some smart moves when it comes to using social media to get out his message.

As the Vermont Senate prepares this coming week to debate major health care legislation, a fight may be emerging over what conditions must be met before the state moves to a single-payer plan. One Senate committee added conditions that the Green Mountain Care Board can't go forward unless it can be shown it will do no harm to the Vermont economy. The Senate is expected to pass the bill, and then differences with the House-passed version will be worked out in a conference committee.

It's on to the Vermont Senate for a bill whose backers say it will promote competition in the propane industry. The bill passed by the House on Friday would eliminate minimum purchase fees and requirements imposed by some propane companies. It requires timely refunds, and requires companies to sell propane to customers that own a tank, as long as it meets safety checks.

After 13 years as president of Lyndon State College, Carol Moore is stepping down. She made the announcement Friday, but earlier this year she stated faculty and staff would have to be cut in order to deal with the budget deficit now projected at 350-thousand dollars in the next fiscal year. Students have already held protests over the cuts, and faculty members want to know why positions are being cut despite enrollment numbers going up. Moore says only she's leaving for personal reasons.

Vermont State Police say a woman and her baby are fine after she gave birth along the side of Interstate 89 in south Burlington early Saturday morning. Police say that when they arrived, the baby was having trouble breathing and the mother was in considerable pain. Police escorted the family in the car to Fletcher Allen Health Care. The mother, father and baby were all reported in good condition shortly after the incident.

New York State environmental regulators are giving dealers more time to sell inventory of older, air-polluting outdoor wood furnaces before strict new emission standards take effect. The DEC's new regulations took effect Jan. 28. The ruling Friday allows dealers to sell older boilers currently in their showrooms until July 14th. However the new fuel and installation rules would still apply.

Attorney General Bill Sorrell and his assistant Cindy Maguire were given a Humane Law Enforcement Award for 2010. They were honored for their crackdown on Bushway Packing, a former slaughterhouse in Grand Isle, where the office investigated the abuse of calves. The co-owner was fined and given a one year suspended sentence. An employee of the slaughterhouse was ordered to spend a month on a work crew.

The annual Ticonderoga StreetFest promises to be bigger and better than ever. Sponsored by the Ticonderoga Montcalm Street Partnership's Enterprise Committee, the third annual event will be held Saturday, July 30th from 10AM – 3PM. Vendors and others who wish to participate in StreetFest can go to the Ticonderoga Montcalm Street Partnership website, or contact the Ticonderoga Chamber of Commerce.

A group of nurses from North Country Community College's Ticonderoga campus recently visited Honduras to give their talents to the poor. The Ti group was teamed with students from the University of Southern Illinois Medical School. The group, which included doctors, physician assistants and nurses, treated more than 150 people a day from March 26th to April 1st. Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere, with about 65 percent of the population living in poverty.

The 45th annual Vermont Maple Festival parade marched through downtown St. Albans yesterday afternoon. Thousands of residents and visitors lined the sidewalk along Lake and Main streets to celebrate the taste of maple and watch the event. After forty-five years, excitement for celebrating the taste of pure Vermont maple has not diminished.

Castleton students are cleaning up an on-campus pond in hopes of creating a "third space." A third space is a location on campus for students and community members to gather that is not living or classroom space. The school will host a luau Thursday April 28th to help raise money and awareness about fixing up this space.

College students and community members celebrated spring, food and art at Sunday Sprouting, with a silent art auction and community potluck lunch to benefit the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link. The community event, hosted by Green Mountain College graduating senior Jason Jansen, was held at the college yesterday.

New York State has announced the launch of collaboration between National Geographic Maps and the Lakes to Locks Passage to highlight the historic, natural, cultural and recreational attractions along New York's only All-American Road in the collection of America's Byways. This project will create a co-branded website to promote geotourism: which is tourism that contributes to the economic health of communities by enhancing the geographical character of a place, its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents. This will include the New York communities along Lake George and Lake Champlain.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is holding its second annual Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on April 30, and dozens of locations in Vermont are participating. On that day, the DEA will collect expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs and destroy them - free, with no questions asked. The event is part of the government's effort to reduce prescription drug abuse. To find the location nearest you, click HERE and type in your zip code or city and the site will show participating locations for the events, which run from 10AM – 2PM.