WVTK Local & State News May 9, 2011

The Charlotte to Essex Ferry remains closed this morning due to the continued high water situation on Lake Champlain. Grand Isle and Chimney Point ferries are running as scheduled. Get updates on any of the Lake Champlain Ferries at www.ferries.com.

Beginning today a portion of Happy Valley Road north of Ellen Drive and south of House #636 on Happy Valley Road will be closed to through traffic for water main improvements. Middlebury School Bus routes will not be impacted by this closure. This closure is expected to continue through May 27th. We will provide with any changes or updates regarding this maintenance work.

Vermont State Police are investigating a complaint that a front window at a person's home was shot out with a potato gun. Police say a New Haven resident called at 3 a.m. Sunday reporting that somebody had shot out the front window, causing an estimated $1,000 in damages. The homeowner told police he suspected that somebody had used a potato gun to launch a potato and shoot out the glass. A potato gun is a pipe-based cannon that uses air pressure to launch projectiles, such as potatoes, at high speeds.

Water levels on Lake Champlain are remaining above flood levels as high waters continue to damage homes and roadways in Vermont. The National Weather Service said the water level at 10AM yesterday in Burlington was 103.1 feet above sea level. Flood stage is 100 feet. The high waters have flooded hundreds of homes along the lake.

The Vermont Department of Health is reminding people affected by flooding bring private well water to a rolling boil for one minute before use. These precautions should be followed until the floodwaters recede, the well has been disinfected, the bleach odor has worn off and a follow up bacterial test confirms it is safe. Precautions should also be taken if there has been a change in well water quality such as odor or taste. In Vermont, a free water bacterial testing kit is available from the town’s health officer or the district office of the department of health. New Yorkers whose wells have been affected by flooding should call the New York Department of Health’s information line. (1-800-458-1158)

After approving a four-point-six billion dollar budget Friday, the 2011 Vermont Legislature adjourned. House Speaker Shap Smith praised lawmakers for their work on health care, a telecommunications bill and passing a balanced state budget. When the House and Senate Appropriations Committee first took up the budget several months ago, it had a projected 176-million-dollar deficit. However, lawmakers dealt with a combination of cuts, particularly in human services, and raised more money from an increase in the cigarette tax and a tax on health insurance claims. There were also savings in state employee contracts and cuts in education.

A dentist from Waterbury Center is dead following a small plane crash in North Carolina. Authorities say Peter Hebert died Friday after his single-engine plane went down near a rural airport in Richlands. An F-A-A spokesman says the plane reported a loss of fuel pressure to controllers shortly before the crash. He had survived two other plane crashes in the past in Vermont, one near the Morrisville airport in 2009 and in 2007 in Fairfax.

Former Gov. James Douglas told the Class of 2011 at College of St. Joseph’s 52nd commencement yesterday that Vermont needed them. Douglas said he was making his pitch to the graduates because as governor, he had always regarded himself as Vermont’s “cheerleader-in-chief and he planned to keep it up. Addressing a class of about 90 graduates Douglas said he knew how the students felt because his own life had recently changed.

High water is hampering the ongoing search for the body of a fisherman swept into the Lamoille River last month in Milton. Twenty-six year-old David Driscoll of Essex was fishing on Arrowhead Lake when his boat was swept against a dam. The Down East Emergency Medicine Institute in Maine is assisting in the search. That group helped locate Middlebury College student Nick Garza in the Otter Creek three years ago.

Hartford police said they found a 14-year-old girl who disappeared from school last week. They said Mykaela Simond turned up in Queensbury, NY Saturday night. Police did not initially offer an explanation of what happened, but said the girl is unharmed. Investigators said Simond left her classroom to go to the bathroom Wednesday, and never came back.

New changes to Vermont's public records law are being hailed as big improvements in government transparency, but town officials remain skeptical about the demands they'll face as a result. Town officials facing the prospect of having to pay other people's legal fees are leery of the new requirement, which they say could be unfair in cases where they believe they're acting in good faith but lose in court.

Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell says Vermont and 49 other states have reached a settlement with a bankrupt video rental chain accused of unfair debt collection. The chain is Movie Gallery Inc., also known as Hollywood Video, which once had six outlets and more than 27,000 customers in Vermont. When it filed for bankruptcy in Virginia last year, the company's accounts receivables were assigned to a debt collection firm, National Credit Solutions. People complained that that company reported negative credit information to credit bureaus, double-charged for late fees and sought to collect money that wasn't owed. Under the settlement, Movie Gallery Inc. trustees will withdraw the credit reports, not charge collection fees or interest on debts and stop collecting late fees and replacement charges for the same item.

Two Vermont organizations will release guidebooks today that can help communities cope with energy issues in a comprehensive fashion. 1 of them is entitled "The Energy Planning and Implementation Guide for Vermont Communities," the other "Communities Tackling Vermont's Energy Challenges." The guidebooks are aimed at helping people save money, reduce energy consumption and make the transition to renewable energy sources.

Vermont officials have collected 1,404 pounds of expired and unwanted prescription drugs. The public dropped off the drugs on April 30th as part of the second annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The president of the Vermont Sheriff's Association says he hopes the effort will help in reducing accidental poisonings and overdoses and impeding intentional misuse and abuse.

The Inter-Lakes Health Board of Directors has decided to close down Inter-Lakes Medical Supply on July 1. The decision means two full-time employees will lose their jobs. Inter-Lakes Health is the parent corporation of Moses-Ludington Hospital and Heritage Commons nursing home. Inter-Lakes Medical Supply is a subsidiary of the hospital.

Three incumbents are running for three seats on the Crown Point Central School Board of Education this year. Morgan Sprague, Terry Ross and Jacalyn Popp are all seeking re-election for three-year terms; they are unopposed. The election is from Noon to 8PM on Tuesday, May 17, at the school.

Essex County is once again scouring the region for a new public health director. County officials say they're searching for a qualified person to fill the position vacated by Karen Levison. She's taken a job as Saratoga County's Public Health Commissioner. That leaves the county searching for its second public health director since 2009. The job pays between $79,000 and $83,000 per year.

Community groups are planning to give Ticonderoga a spring-cleaning. Ticonderoga Montcalm Street Partnership, PRIDE, Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce and Ticonderoga Kiwanis will jointly hold a "Spring Clean" this Saturday, May 14th. Volunteers will be assigned specific jobs and/or areas. Lunch will be provided Saturday for all the volunteers.

The annual Strolling of the Heifers, Vermont's version of Spain's running of the bulls, is getting its own postmark. The Brattleboro post office will offer the special pictorial postmark on June 4 from 10 AM to Noon at the main post office. The 10th annual Strolling of the Heifers weekend will be held from June 3-5 in Brattleboro. The theme for the weekend is "It takes a community to support our farmers."