WVTK Local & State News May 16, 2011

A Flood Watch Is In Effect Through This Evening For Addison & Essex Counties. The Weather Channel Says: Showers Today – High In The 50’s.

Various area school votes will take place tomorrow including a two-town revote on Addison Northwest Supervisory Union unification. Polls will be open for Vergennes residents from 9 AM to 7 PM at the city’s Green Street fire station, and balloting in Addison will run from 7 AM to 7 PM at the town clerk’s office off Route 17. A vote against unification in either town will defeat the initiative despite the solid margins it earned on Town Meeting Day. There are no re-votes in the other Addison Northwest Supervisory Union towns of Waltham, Panton and Ferrisburgh.

Residents will decide the fate of the proposed Moriah Central School budget tomorrow from 1 to 8 PM in the school's main lobby.

Voters will decide on the proposed Crown Point Central School budget from Noon to 1:30 PM tomorrow in the school foyer and 1:30-8 PM in the school cafeteria.

And the Ticonderoga Central School District budget vote takes place as well tomorrow. Ti voters can cast ballots from Noon to 8 PM at the Ticonderoga High School lobby and the Hague Community Center.

A farm worker in Leicester escaped injury Friday after rolling his tractor. Police say Jonathan Chamberlin was driving on Fern Lake Road when he overturned the tractor in a ditch while trying to avoid an oncoming vehicle. Chamberlin received only minor injuries. The tractor was carrying approximately 900 gallons of an herbicide and a small amount of that spilled during the accident. However, officials from the Department of Agriculture determined there was no environmental risk.

A high-speed chase through Burlington Saturday night ended with a crash and an arrest. Police say James Ganger stole a car from in front of the China Express restaurant on North Street, and then after a wild chase through downtown, crashed into a tree on Riverside Avenue. Ganger is now facing several charges including driving under the influence, plus he had at least two warrants out for his arrest in Rutland. He's due in court later this morning.

Vermont health officials say flooding throughout our region is likely contaminating some well water. They say private well owners in northern Vermont and other areas of the state impacted by the flooding should use caution. They recommend boiling water or using another source for drinking, brushing teeth, making ice, and preparing food. The Health Department says well water should be tested before using. Testing kits are available at your district office or through your town health officer. Wells containing bacteria should be disinfected with chlorine bleach before water is consumed.

Rutland City officials closed the Dorr Drive Bridge on Friday, pending a state inspection. The Department of Public Works conducts its own inspections each year, and the city engineer said that one of the panels on the bridge deck has steel that is broken on the bottom and there was some visible distress on the surface of the deck. A state bridge inspector is scheduled to look at the bridge today. In the meantime, traffic will be detoured onto West Street. West Street traffic is being detoured onto State Street because of work at the rail crossing.

Officials in Vermont say dozens of drunken-driving convictions may be jeopardized by a series of problems in processing breath samples, including a mistake in the software for a machine and complaints about unethical lab work. At issue are breath tests performed by a DataMaster DMT machine that wasn't set up properly at a Vermont State Police barracks. Not only are convictions at risk but also a handful of driver's license suspensions are being overturned.

Vermont officials say state parks along Lake Champlain will remain closed for the Memorial Day holiday because of flooding. The State Parks Director said that the water level on Lake Champlain is dropping a few inches every day, but it remains at record high levels. And that means several Vermont State Parks along the lake will remain closed for the upcoming holiday.

Vermont's roadside rest areas, which provide information and tourism destinations, are the target of budget cuts as the state faces a shortfall of about $176 million. The 15 state-run rest areas left operate on a budget of $3.7 million, down from $4.8 million two years ago. Now state officials are thinking outside-the-box to keep them running. One possible answer is having private businesses pick up costs of running rest areas and visitors' centers. That would require a change in the federal law for areas along the interstate highways, but political pressure to do that is building.

The Vermont Air National Guard is conducting night flying training exercises in South Burlington for the next three weeks. The F-16s will leave from Burlington International Airport Tuesday through Friday of this week, as well as May 24 through May 27 and May 31 through June 3. The Guard says the planes will take off in two shifts after 9:30 PM and land no later than midnight.

A new report shows women now make up 27% of all state and federal judges, up slightly from last year. The report by the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy says last year 26% of judges were women. Vermont has the most at almost 40%, unchanged from a year earlier. Idaho stays in last place at 11.3% and New York ranks 12th with almost 31% women judges.

The director of the Vermont State Hospital is resigning. Terry Rowe announced last week that she will leave her post to accept another position in state government. Rowe spent seven years as director. She tells the Burlington Free Press that she told co-workers the Shumlin administration's new vision for mental health services played a major role in her decision to step down. Her departure comes amid ongoing concerns about federal recertification and staff morale at the hospital.

Two more groups have filed court papers in hopes of intervening on the state of Vermont's behalf in a civil suit brought by the owners of Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Entergy filed suit last month, saying Vermont doesn't have the authority to shut down the plant in March 2012. On Friday, the Conservation Law Foundation and Vermont Public Interest Research Group jointly filed a motion in U.S. District Court to intervene as defendants in the suit. The New England Coalition filed a similar petition last month.

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin applauded Green Mountain College’s class of 2011 for tapping the trees as opposed to just looking at them. He said the 186 graduates are a crucial part of reversing the effects of climate change; noting how they grew their own produce, made honey, sustained an off-the-grid greenhouse and worked toward a zero carbon footprint from the college.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed tougher criteria to evaluate teachers as a tool that could be used to weed out bad teachers and save young, promising teachers from layoffs that are now based on seniority. Cuomo wants more extensive use of student performance on standardized tests and more rigorous classroom observation of teachers.

Two families have a new place to call home in Charlotte. Both families say owning their own home wouldn't be possible without Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity and some 800 volunteers. Habitat's Executive Director David Mullin says the families spent hundreds of hours building their homes. He says they will save big because of the homes' national award-winning energy efficient design. The Town of Charlotte donated the land for the homes.

Nearly 100 vendors came out to celebrate spring at Rutland's outdoor farmer's market Saturday. The market is the only year-round weekly farmer's market in the state. But Saturday was all about going big. The outdoor market almost quadruples in size compared to the winter one. And it's open every Saturday from now until October.

Improvements at Lefferts Pond next to Chittenden Reservoir are complete. A reconstructed dam and a cascading water feature are the latest additions to the fishing and canoeing spot. Hikers and bikers approaching the long way will pass over four new bridges built by the Green Mountain & Finger Lakes National Forest recreation department in coordination with the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers. The combined project, paid for with more than $1 million in federal stimulus funds from 2009, began in March 2010, and the additions are ready for use this season. The project was completed in November.

Dartmouth College will be presenting an honorary degree to the 41st President of the United States during its graduation in June. George Herbert Walker Bush will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Ivy League College. The former President is among nine people who will receive honorary degrees at the commencement. About 1,600 undergraduates and masters degrees will also be presented during the June 12th ceremony.