WVTK Local & State News May 20, 2011

Vermont State Police in New Haven are currently investigating an online e-mail scam complaint. The scam consists of citizens receiving an e-mail job offer to work as a customer service representative. After being hired by the company via e-mail, the citizen goes through a series of steps that in the end leaves them with a negative checking account balance. Vermont State Police are warning the community to be cognizant of this and other common e-mail and/or Internet scams involving individuals requesting that citizens’ deposit counterfeit checks into their personal checking accounts.

Nationally recognized Paralympic skier and social activist Chris Waddell will deliver the 2011 Middlebury College commencement address on Sunday, May 22. He’s a member of the Middlebury Class of 1991. Waddell is also the founder of the nonprofit organization One Revolution, whose mission is to educate people worldwide about the range of human capability. He was a promising young skier at Middlebury in 1988 when a skiing accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. A year later, he was back on the slopes, and two years later was a member of the United States Disabled Ski Team.

A Brandon man answered to a charge yesterday of threatening the life of a police officer called to assist him earlier this week. Jeffrey Newton pleaded innocent in Rutland criminal court to a misdemeanor charge of leaving a phone message that threatened the life of Brandon Police Lt. Rodney Pulsifer. The officer and Newton came into contact Tuesday night when police were called to a home on Spellman Way in Brandon where Newton was found intoxicated on the front lawn.

The Better Middlebury Partnership is preparing to introduce the first-ever Midd Summer Festival. The Midd Summer Festival is a celebration of local beer, wine and cheese. The festival committee is seeking participation from all Vermont breweries, vineyards and cheese makers to provide the festival attendee with a true showcase of the great products produced in this state. The 2011 Midd Summer Festival will be held on August 6th from 3 to 7 PM on the Marble Works lawn.

The industrial park in Bristol has been freshly renovated, renamed Bristol Works and is set for its first tenants. The bicycle vacation company VBT was the building’s first tenant, moving its sales team into an office space in March. The Vermont value-added food delivery service Graze was up and operating in a manufacturing space last month. You can learn more by checking out their new website, www.bristolworks.org.

Vergennes Union High School has won a $137,700 grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to further the school’s effort to require students to demonstrate proficiency in self-designed portfolios before graduation. According to its grant application to the foundation the school hopes to switch to “Performance-Based Graduation Requirements” by 2016.

In its continuing effort to update the town plan, the Bristol Planning Commission worked on the “Resource Extraction” section of the plan this week. The plan has been a focus of attention as townspeople have debated the merits of a particular gravel pit proposal and sand and gravel extraction in general over the past several years. An application for gravel extraction by the Lathrop family has been the subject of litigation.

The proposed Bristol Police District budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year represents a 10.5 percent cut in spending and would require 6.5 percent less funding from taxpayers. Residents of the district will vote on the proposal this coming Monday in a 7 PM meeting at Holley Hall.

West Rutland hopes to receive town highway emergency funds from the state Agency of Transportation to cover repairs of an extensive mudslide on along a section of Dewey Avenue. The project is estimated to cost about $250,000, which is five times more than allocated in the emergency funds of West Rutland’s highway budget. Dewey Avenue is closed to one lane of traffic.

Vermont's record-breaking wet spring has left farmers in the lurch, delaying the planting of vegetables and feed crops for cows, making an already short season even shorter. After a rainy April and May following a near-record snowfall, farm fields across the state are too soft and wet to cultivate. The wetness also could spell problems for certain crops. Typically dairy farms would be planting corn right now but the fields are too soft for the machinery. A growing concern is that corn planting might now coincide with the first cut of hay.

Vermont public safety organizations are due to receive more than $8.5 million in a new round of grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy says more than $5.1 million of the money will go to Vermont law enforcement agencies to be used in their efforts to prevent and respond to terrorism and other disasters. More than $556,000 will go to enhancing the security of drivers' licenses issued by the state. More than $2.8 million will go to governments to help with emergency preparedness geared to disasters and hazards.

Travelers in the Richmond area may face delays in the coming days due to blasting on a state construction project. State officials say the first rounds of blasting are scheduled for today at 11 AM and 3 PM and will continue at the same times on Monday and Tuesday. Motorists on Interstate 89 between exit 11 in Richmond and exit 12 in Williston should expect delays of up to 10 minutes.

A Vermont farm advocacy group is celebrating a new Vermont law that allows it to resume offering raw milk workshops. Rural Vermont had taught people how to turn raw milk into butter, yogurt and cheeses until it received an order to stop or face possible legal action from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture on Feb. 10th. The bill, which Gov. Peter Shumlin signed on Thursday, changes a 2008 law from allowing the sale of raw milk for drinking to allowing consumers to turn raw milk into other products.

The Vermont state treasurer's office has received more than $9 million in new unclaimed property so far this fiscal year. It's issuing a reminder that anyone who wants to see if they have unclaimed money in the state's care should click HERE and can search by last name or town.

A team of Monkton Central School First and Second Graders is out to set a new world record. They want to break the Guinness World Record for team finger knitting, currently held by a group of Austrian Fourth Graders at 3.85 miles. According to an unofficial measurement they have a little over four miles as of this week. On June 8 at 9 AM in Monkton’s Morse Park, the measurement will be finalized. Finger knitting is great for improving children’s fine motor skills and is done without the use of any tools.

The Addison County Chamber of Commerce will host its 17th Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament. The event takes place on Friday, June 24th, at Basin Harbor Club in Ferrisburgh. Participants will enjoy 18 holes of golf and an awards reception during which the 2011 scholarship recipient will be recognized. For more information on sponsoring or participating in the tournament, call Andy Mayer at 802-388-7951 or e-mail andy@addisoncounty.com.

Crown Point will host its 143rd annual Memorial Day observance May 29th and 30th. The theme for the two-day event is "Remember When”. Activities are scheduled to get under way that Sunday at 11 AM with an ecumenical church service at the bandstand in Veterans Park. At noon the park will open for a day of rides, games and vendors. Fireworks will conclude the day at dusk at the Crown Point State Historic Site. On Monday, Memorial Day will begin with the traditional Solemn Tour of Crown Point cemeteries and historic sites. Crown Point's annual Memorial Day parade will begin at 2 PM at Ferry Road.

Proctor's historic Wilson Castle will reopen to the public on Friday May 27th. The reopening marks the return of public tours at the state's only official castle. To kick off the castle's new tourist season, a special open house will be held May 27, 5-7 PM and include free admission. For more information on this and other events visit www.wilsoncastle.com.

American Forests will plant 13,618 trees throughout northern California's redwood country as a result of Woodchuck Hard Cider's Facebook Global ReLeaf campaign. Woodchuck Cider committed to planting two trees for every Facebook fan gained during Earth Week 2011. Woodchuck Cider's eco-friendly Facebook and Twitter fan bases embraced the tree planting efforts and Earth Week saw 6,809 new Woodchuck Cider Facebook fans.