WVTK Local & State News April 21, 2011

Vermont health officials are warning consumers about a recall of alfalfa sprouts. The maker of Jonathan's Sprouts announced Tuesday that some of the sprouts sold in four-ounce and eight-ounce containers, with an April 23 sell-by date, may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria.

Rutland Police say they thwarted the plans of two would-be robbers. Early Thursday morning a 17-year-old girl allegedly walked into the West Street Corner Market, displayed a pellet gun and demanded cash. The clerk refused to cooperate and another employee called police. Meanwhile officers say her getaway driver, 21-year-old Aaron Gould, was down the road in West Rutland trying to rob the Sunoco store on Route 4. Neither suspect made off with any money. Both were arrested and are now behind bars. Police have not released the name of the 17-year-old girl.

A fire of suspicious origin destroyed a vacant home at Lord Howe and Pearl streets in Ticonderoga early Wednesday morning. A neighbor reported flames and smoke were issuing from the house at 107 Lord Howe St. at 12:42 AM. Crown Point, Schroon Lake, Putnam and Hague aided Ticonderoga firefighters. Wednesday's fire is the second one on that street in the last few years that may have been deliberately set.

Lake Champlain has reached well above flood stage. In Burlington water levels reached 100.8 feet. And in Rouses Point New York water levels are above 101 feet the highest it’s been since 2000.

Burlington is awaiting test results to determine the level of contamination from a big sewage spill Wednesday. About 2.5 million gallons of untreated wastewater was accidentally discharged into Lake Champlain at the sewage treatment plant in downtown Burlington. Public Works officials say it was the result of human error. A plant employee failed to open a valve to the chlorine pump Wednesday morning.

As the weather warms up, Vermonters spend more and more time outside. Ticks like the warm weather too, and they have already been spotted this year. Most Lyme disease occurs in the spring. Anyone who is outdoors should take precautions to prevent tick bites. Using appropriate repellents, daily tick checks and showering as soon as you come home should become standard practice. It is also possible to be exposed to ticks while working around the house, so take precautions when doing yard work and gardening as well.

Vermont lawmakers are going ahead with changes to the state's Clean Energy Development Fund that is aimed at freeing up money for new projects. On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee voted 7-4 to support a proposal by Gov. Peter Shumlin to allow recipients of tax credits to get half the money in cash grants instead. Supporters say the move will free up about $2.7 million.

A Vermont organization that tracks housing affordability says the cost of renting an apartment is getting harder and harder for people to pay. In its annual "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" report on housing, the Vermont Housing Finance Agency says that a modest two-bedroom apartment costs about $990 a month, a 7% increase over the year before. To rent that, a person would need an hourly wage of at least $19.13, or $35,595 a year.

The owners of a Vermont general store gutted twice by fire have signed a lease with an operator to run it when it opens later this year. Work is continuing on the Putney General Store, in Putney, which was heavily damaged by a fire in May 2008, rebuilt and then leveled in a second fire in November 2009. The second was ruled arson, but no arrests have been made.

Firefighters in Brattleboro say a historic building heavily damaged by fire may be salvageable. The fire Sunday damaged the upper floors of the Brooks House. Smoke and water affected the rest of the Victorian structure.

Castleton State College will have a special treat for the community: author Archer Mayor will be discussing his writing and its connection with his career in criminal justice. The event, taking place April 28 at 7 PM in CSC's Herrick auditorium, is free and open to the public.

According to Ticonderoga Town Police a traffic stop early Wednesday morning resulted in the seizure of several thousand dollars worth of heroin. It started when police pulled over a car driven by Zack A. Muroff of Ti. Inside the vehicle there were allegedly numerous packets of heroin with a street value of $7,500. Ticonderoga Police Chief Mark Johns said that police believe the heroin was going to be sold locally.

The Sherburne Elementary School Board unanimously voted to change the town school’s name to Killington Elementary School effective immediately. The Sherburne Volunteer Fire Department was the first to change its name to note its affiliation to the town. The School Board said there are a multitude of reasons why the board opted to change the school’s name.

The state Senate is expected to take up the single-payer system for health reform today with a vote likely on Friday. The House has already passed a version of the bill, and now the Senate is looking at some changes. State Senator John Campbell says self-insured plans will not be touched under the program.

Gov. Peter Shumlin will take his campaign for a single-payer health care system to Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Shumlin will speak to the Colchester college's faculty, students and pharmacists at 5 PM today. The first phase of the plan is currently moving through the Legislature.

Vermont Rep. Peter Welch will be in Killington today at 5 PM for a “Congress in your Community” event at the Deli at Killington Corners on Route 4. According to Welch’s communications manager the event is for the public to ask Welch any questions or air their concerns.

Local food banks face the threat of funding cuts. It is the result of nearly $38 billion worth of proposed budget cuts to the Federal government. And with the demand for food assistance rapidly growing, food shelves could find themselves scrounging for cash. There are proposed cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's funding. The USDA gives goods and money to food banks like the Vermont Foodbank.

Vermont lawmakers have signed off on a $536 million transportation bill that includes money for interstate road paving, the state's contribution to a new Lake Champlain Bridge and money for deteriorating bridges. It includes $15.5 Million specifically for the Lake Champlain Bridge.

Vermont lawmakers and Gov. Peter Shumlin are at odds over whom to target with tax increases as they try to close a $176 million hole in next year's state budget. The Senate Finance Committee has passed legislation that would add a $1-per-pack tax to Vermont's cigarette tax, but Shumlin opposes it. He says the state's tax revenues would take a hit because people would go to New York and New Hampshire to buy. Shumlin wants lawmakers to sign off on a 3% provider tax on dentists, but state Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell says he'd rather not because their services provide a benefit to Vermonters' health.

There will be a special Westport Town Council meeting at 4 PM today to meet with a representative of Amtrak. The meeting is open to all.

Proposed changes to the Ticonderoga zoning law will be presented during a public hearing Tuesday, April 26, at 7 PM at the Ticonderoga Community Building auditorium. The hearing will include a presentation on the work of the town zoning revision committee and its efforts to make Ticonderoga's zoning law more comprehensive, clear and precise.

The village of Port Henry Board of Trustees will conduct three consecutive public hearings Wednesday April 27 beginning at 6 PM at the village hall. The first public hearing is regarding the village's intent to submit an application for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant Program. The second public hearing is regarding a proposed Local Law relating to the use of village water in the Village of Port Henry. The third is for review of the revised water rate schedule.

Moriah Central School Board will hold a special meeting at 8 AM Thursday, April 28th, in the Central Office boardroom. This meeting is to vote on the CVES budget as well for board candidates who that are also on the ballot. The public is welcome.

Vermont Congressman Peter Welch says it's time to pull the plug on federal subsidies for the ethanol industry. He said the subsidies cost taxpayers nearly $6 billion a year and in the process drive up food prices and damage engines in boats, motorcycles and lawnmowers.

Lawmakers are trying to pass a bill to stop people from applying phosphorus fertilizer to their lawns. New lawns, phosphorus-deficient dirt and farmland would be the only exemptions. Lawmaker’s hope by limiting the use of phosphorus fertilizer, less will end up in the lake. Phosphorus runoff feeds the dangerous algae blooms that are popping up in Lake Champlain. If the bill passes violators could face up to a $500 fine.

A bill that would protect Vermont's celebrity moose is a step closer to approval in the Legislature. Yesterday the state Senate approved on second reading a bill that would exclude Pete the Moose from actions taken by the state on an Irasburg game preserve. The measure aims to undo what lawmakers did in the eleventh hour of last year's session, which was to grant private ownership of the animals at the 700-acre Big Rack Ridge preserve to owner Doug Nelson. Now, the Legislature is moving to repeal that because of pressure from hunters and wildlife officials.

Vermont Secretary of State James Condos has been named to a national task force examining ways to prevent identity theft. Condos and his counterparts from nine other states will serve on the Business Identity Theft panel, which is being formed by the National Association of Secretaries of State.

A group of retired Essex County employees are suing the county over an attempt to make them pay a larger portion of their health insurance. The county asked them to pay 12 percent of their premiums this year. According to the suit that violates their contract.

A longtime Connecticut legislator and former attorney general candidate has been chosen over more than 100 other candidates to head a regional education accrediting agency. The New England Association of Schools and Colleges says Cameron Staples will become its new chief executive officer starting July 1st. NEASC is the accrediting agency for more than 2,000 public and private institutions from pre-kindergarten through universities in New England's six states. It's based in Bedford, MA.

The town of Killington was recently awarded the 2011 Governor’s Award for Marketing Excellence at the 28th annual Vermont Travel Industry Conference. The Governor’s Award winner is selected by the VTIC Board of Directors and honors a tourism-related business, region, or association that has shown a clear understanding of the Vermont brand and has successfully incorporated it into at least one marketing initiative.

An informal poll has found support for making sweet corn the official state vegetable for New York. The state Farm Bureau conducted a survey on Facebook and sweet corn received more than twice as many votes as onions, the other main contender for the title. The unscientific poll comes as New York lawmakers consider competing bills, one backing corn and the other onions. New York already has an official fruit, the apple.

Common Ground Center, which is a nonprofit family camp and retreat center, will be celebrating the completion of their year-round Eco-Lodge at a Grand Opening scheduled for Saturday, April 30. Middlebury College educator Bill McKibben will speak at the dedication ceremony. Activities will begin at 1 PM and will include tours of the facility, food, music, speakers, educational booths, and family friendly activities.