WVTK Local & State News May 23, 2011

The Class of 2011 was told Middlebury College would follow them wherever they went. The 593 graduates heard from class speaker Donovan Dickson about the bond they had formed and from guest speaker Chris Waddell about how that bond would extend to other Middlebury alumni. Waddell, a Paralympic skier and graduate of Middlebury's Class of 1991, accepted an honorary degree before offering his thoughts. He closed by telling the graduates that as some of the country's best and brightest, it was their duty to build a better community, and that the effort to do so would bring them success and happiness.

Troopers with Vermont State Police in New Haven are investigating the report of a burglary involving a family camper at Kampersville in the Town of Salisbury. Unknown individuals forced entry through the front door of the Salem camper, ransacked it, and slept inside it. The camper sustained approximately $1,000 in damages. The investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Haven Barracks. (1-802-388-4919)

Chittenden County job seekers can meet up with local employers today. The Vermont Department of Labor is holding a job fair at its Middlebury location at 1590 Route 7 South. Six different employers will be on hand including the U.S. Army and the Vermont Air National Guard. Career counseling will also be available. The job fair runs from 10 AM to 2 PM. For more information, call the Burlington Career Resource Center at 863-7676 or the Middlebury office at 388-3921.

The Supreme Court found for Rutland in a dispute between the city and the Vermont Swim Association. The decision issued Friday said the VSA was liable for injuries a girl suffered during a 2005 swim meet at the White’s pool playground despite the accident not being directly a part of the competition, upholding a lower court decision awarding the city $700,000.

Essex County continues its search for a new health director. Karen Levison left at the end of April to become the new Saratoga County commissioner of public health. Essex County Board of Supervisors Chair Randy Douglas said they haven't named anyone to serve as acting director of the County Public Health Department at present but are once again conducting interviews for the director's position. County Manager Daniel Palmer said there's a shortage of qualified health directors.

The public hearing on a proposed 99-unit development in Westport will be held this week. The public hearing for the Rolling Hills Farms development proposal will take place at the Westport town offices on Wednesday at 7 PM. The plan calls for 37 new buildings, which together would contain 99 living units. In addition, a centrally located educational center would offer members instruction in maple sugaring and baking as well as a supply depot where members could pick up farm products.

With Memorial Day coming up this weekend, law enforcement agencies around the state are teaming up for a safety campaign they hope will click with the public. Starting today and running through June 5, local, state and county police will be checking to ensure that Vermonters are wearing their seat belts as part of a nationwide “Click It or Ticket” campaign funded through a federal grant. The seat belt inspections, conducted at checkpoints on the highways and byways of every Vermont County will be conducted day and night to get the message out that wearing a seat belt is a round-the-clock necessity.

U.S. Rep. Peter Welch will discuss efforts to end the war in Afghanistan and new strategies for fighting terrorism. Welch will hold a press conference today at the Burlington International Airport as he returns to Vermont from Washington. He’ll announce amendments he plans to offer to the National Defense Authorization Act, which is expected to reach the floor next week.

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin is slated to sign into law a bill to give a boost to homemade electricity and put new restrictions on the charges people can be hit with by their propane providers. Shumlin is set Wednesday to sign an energy bill into law that also contains provisions helping people finance renewable energy and efficiency efforts in their homes.

A push is underway to get more young Vermonters on the voter rolls. It's High School Voter Registration Week. The effort, established by the secretary of state's office, is an effort to encourage the state's high schools to register all 18-year-old students to vote before they leave school. Throughout the week some schools will be holding voter registration events. Others will schedule registration drives at high-attendance events like graduation.

New college graduates interested in a career as a veterinarian can take advantage of some cash for the schooling. Vets are in short supply in several rural areas around the state. Individuals who commit to working for three years in those under served areas can qualify for up to 25-thousand dollars in federal loan forgiveness for each year they attend school for up to three years. The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program is eligible for vets who will work in Orleans, Caledonia, eastern Lamoille, northern Washington, Windham, Windsor, eastern Bennington and eastern Rutland counties.

Hundreds of Vermonters walked together over the weekend to raise awareness and money to help put an end to diabetes. About 700 people came out to the 4th annual "Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk to Cure diabetes in Hinesburg. The event targets juvenile, or type 1 diabetes, which affects children and young adults. Organizers say they raised nearly $70,000 dollars and couldn't have been happier with this years' turnout.

What started out as a basement business has propelled one Vermonter into the national spotlight by being named small businessperson of the year. Rick Cochran started his mobile healthcare business 16 years ago in the basement of his Walden home. Now his company employs 55 people and creates products used in the U.S. and overseas by the militaries, hospitals and at homes as well. Cochran received the award from the U.S. Small Business Association in Washington DC.

The post office in Chittenden will offer a special postmark to help celebrate the 30th anniversary of a local fishing derby. The Teenies Handicapped and Seniors Fishing Derby will be held at Teenie's Tiny Poultry Farm on June 5th. From 11 AM to 2 PM, the postmaster and his staff will stamp letters and postcards with a pictorial postmark documenting the event.

Families will take over a Lake Groton campground for a weekend workshop next month in Vermont geared toward those new to camping or spending time outdoors. The Becoming an Outdoor Family Weekend will be held from June 3-5 at Stillwater State Park in northern Vermont. The program includes more than 50 different classes, ranging from kayaking, outdoor cooking and fishing to mountain biking, hiking and birding. The cost per families of up to eight is $165 for the classes, campsite and most equipment. Participants must provide their own camping gear and food.

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department has entered the world of social media and now wants to make its Facebook page more vibrant. The department is asking the public to contribute photographs taken this month while turkey hunting, fishing or observing wildlife. The department says it's using its Facebook page more and more to provide timely news and information.

Volunteers helped clean up Burlington's waterfront Saturday. Nearly eighty people worked to collect trash and driftwood that has washed ashore after weeks of flooding. The city asked for help to get the waterfront looking better in time for this weekend's marathon, and accessible to recreational users since the summer travel season begins Memorial Day Weekend.

Propane companies operating in Vermont soon will face new restrictions barring them from charging customers for propane they haven't used. Also under a wide-ranging energy bill passed this year, customers who stay with a propane dealer for a year or more can't be charged for removal of a tank from their property when they decide to switch. Gov. Peter Shumlin is expected to sign the bill in the near future.

Vermont's unemployment rate dropped again last month. The jobless rate for April was 5.3 percent. That's down 1.2 percentage points from a year ago. By comparison, the national unemployment rate climbed two-tenths of a point in April to 9 percent. Though Vermont's jobless rate is down, there are actually fewer people with jobs. The end of the winter tourism season means many seasonal jobs come to an end. And the state says seasonally adjusted data for April shows a decrease of 2,200 jobs.

Tennis great Billie Jean King told University of Vermont graduates that relationships are everything because "you never know when you're going to touch another person's life or how they will touch yours." King recounted to the 3,097 graduates on Sunday how she reluctantly went to a party attended by Elton John and they ended up becoming friends. He wrote "Philadelphia Freedom" in her honor. The song played over the loudspeakers when King concluded her address by hitting more than a dozen tennis balls into the crowd. The 67-year-old Hall of Famer was honored for her efforts to bring gender equality to sports.

The Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce May "After Business Mixer" will be held this Thursday at Eddie's Restaurant from 5:30 to 7 PM. Sponsors providing door prizes will be Achieve Fitness, North Country Home Services and The Wagon Wheel Restaurant. Eddie's Restaurant is located is on Route 9N in Ticonderoga.