WVTK Local & State News June 10, 2011

Afternoon Update...

Authorities are looking for a man who was impersonating a police officer and reportedly groped a woman he had pulled over. The incident took place Wednesday on Route 15 in Morrisville, with the man using an older-model white sedan with a light bar and spot light. The woman managed to get away and described him as six-feet with a mustache and a receding hairline, dark hair and graying on the sides. She says when he approached her car he had a handgun and a yellow Taser.

A search late last night by police of an Essex home failed to turn up where the couple may have gone. A relative called police after learning neither Bill Currier nor his wife Lorraine showed up for work. Family and friends say it's behavior very unlike them, and police say medications the couple needs to take daily were apparently left behind. Anyone having information about Bill or Lorrain Currier's whereabouts is asked to call Essex Police.

Ticonderoga Central School District officials have trimmed $88,000 from their previously defeated budget and are headed for another vote. The increase in the tax levy in the proposed spending plan dropped from 4.9 percent to 3.9 percent. The district will hold a public hearing on the revised budget at 7PM Tuesday at the Elementary-Middle School. The budget vote is from Noon to 8PM Tuesday, June 21st, at Ticonderoga High School and Hague Community Center.

The downsizing of the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation continued today. VSAC has been cutting its budget and staff since losing its primary lending role last year due to a change in federal law. Today was the last day of work for 38 employees who accepted a voluntary separation package. Twenty others have left under that program since March. In all, about 160 jobs have been eliminated, leaving VSAC with 242 employees. Officials say no additional reductions are planned.

Hinesburg Community Police say they found and arrested the CVU student who had the stolen cell phone that led to the arrest of Taylor Gingras and Tylor Barnes. Police say Dylan St. George, of Charlotte, said he bought the cell phone from a friend for $25. St. George refused to give then name of the person who sold him the phone. Police say St. George is charged with Possession of Stolen Property and will appear in court July 25.

Low income Vermonters can now buy food at more farmers markets than ever before. In 2007, only three markets accepted EBT cards. Now, 37 markets are open to EBT cardholders, an increase of ten from last year. 3SquaresVT, formally known as Food Stamps, are working with Hunger Free Vermont to continuously expand recipient's food shopping options. Recipients of 3SquaresVT can also buy fruit and vegetable seeds with their monthly food money, something they couldn't do in the past.

A panel charged by the Vermont Legislature with redrawing the state's representative districts wants to create 150 single-member House districts. Thursday's 4-3 vote of the Legislative Apportionment Board would be for a starting point for discussions with local election officials. After the board finalizes the boundaries of its House map, it will then ask for comments from town boards of civil authority by Aug. 1. A final House redistricting map must be done by August 15th. Senate boundaries will also be redrawn.

This is a great weekend to spend some time in the great outdoors. It's that special weekend when Vermonters can visit state parks for free. Every June the state picks a weekend to offer free admittance for all day users. The annual event is designed as a way to encourage people to explore the beauty that surrounds them. Vermonters can also fish for free tomorrow. No license is needed.

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The storms on Thursday brought dangerous lightning to the region. A lightning bolt struck a man in Essex, NY, as he stood in his front yard on Twin Valley Lane, just off Main Street. The man in his mid-30s was rushed to the hospital. No word on his condition.

A second series of thunderstorms in two days has left more Vermonters without power. Power was knocked out to 12,000 Central Vermont Public Service Corp. customers Thursday afternoon as crews were repairing lines from Wednesday night's storms. By 7 PM Thursday, nearly 7,000 CVPS customers were still without service. The hardest hit area was Windham County but officials say Windsor, Orange, Bennington and Rutland counties also had outages.

Health officials say 39 people have been sickened from a salmonella outbreak spread through handling baby chicks or ducklings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the cases occurred from late February to late May and are spread through 15 states. Ohio had the most cases, with eight. The other states included New York and Vermont. No deaths have been reported but at least nine were hospitalized. A mail order hatchery was identified as the source of infected birds, but CDC officials did not name the business.

Police in Vermont believe an Essex couple is missing. Essex police said Thursday they are looking for Bill and Lorraine Currier who was last seen Wednesday by their respective co-workers in Burlington. The 49-year-old Bill and 55-year-old Lorraine were reported missing by Bill Currier's sister and police responded to a welfare check at their residence in Essex. Police said circumstances at the house lead authorities to believe the couple's disappearance is suspicious. In addition, police said both have medical conditions, which requires daily medication. Police said the couple might be driving a dark green Saturn sedan bearing Vermont registration ABF-818.

Mt. Abe’s Jim Ross is retiring this month. He has been involved in education for 39 years. He spent eight years in Enosburg Falls as assistant principal, guidance counselor and psychology teacher. Then 31 years at Mount Abraham Union Middle-High School teaching a range of history and humanities classes. Over the years he has had yearbooks dedicated to him and given numerous graduation speeches and will give one more at tomorrow’s Mt. Abe commencement ceremony. Inspired by an eighth-grade teacher in Middlebury, Ross decided at a young age that he wanted to be a history teacher.

Beginning July 1st former Chittenden East Supervisory Union Superintendent Gail Conley will serve as interim leader of the Addison Central Supervisory Union for the 2011-2012 academic year. Current Superintendent Lee Sease will be leaving the Supervisory Union.

One Middlebury resident is rising to the rank of one-star general. After more than two and a half decades of military service the U.S. Army has promoted Brian Carpenter to the rank of brigadier general. The U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination on May 26th, making it 27 years to the day since he was first commissioned for service.

As the new Bristol town plan comes together the Planning Commission continues to work through the level of detail necessary to pass and implement an effective plan. Commissioners and residents have debated for weeks how specific they need to make the language in the draft of a new town plan. Individuals on both sides of the long-running debate over whether gravel extraction should be permitted in certain town zones have called for more detailed language.

The Ferrisburgh Board of Zoning approval has approved a revised site plan submitted by Champlain Oil Co. of South Burlington. However there are other issues to be resolved by the state’s Environmental Court. Champlain Oil’s revised plan called for all of its septic and wastewater treatment elements to be contained on a 9.7-acre Route 7 site. The site is to include a gas station and a building that would be shared by a Jiffy Mart and a fast-food restaurant.

Continuous service and a Bennington-Rutland connection topped the interests of people at a forum on intercity rail Wednesday. The forum at the Holiday Inn in Rutland was held as part of a study undertaken jointly by transportation officials in Vermont and New York. About 40 people attended. The study is aimed at finding ways to serve portions of New York and Vermont that don’t have rail service.

Lincoln teen Andrew Rainville was one of the winners of a statewide video contest held last month. Rainville's video will be used to advertise the teen summer reading program for the Vermont Department of Libraries. The contest was sponsored by the Vermont Department of Libraries. Rainville won $250 and the Lincoln Library received $100.

Moses-Ludington Hospital has signed an affiliation agreement with Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Science that will place pharmacy students at the Ticonderoga facility. The placement is part of Albany College's experiential program and will provide the students with supervised practical experience and training. The program is a core component of the college's Doctor of Pharmacy Program.

Ticonderoga school officials will submit a revised budget proposal to voters. The board of education has trimmed $88,000 from the proposed 2011-12 budget that was rejected by residents May 17th. The new proposal calls for a 3.9 increase in the tax levy.  The budget re-vote will be Tuesday, June 21st from Noon to 8PM in the Ticonderoga High School lobby and at the Hague Community Center.

Landlords are now responsible for garbage at their apartment buildings in Moriah. Facing a growing cost to dispose of neglected trash, the town has turned to the New York State building codes for help. The state makes property owners, including landlords, responsible for garbage disposal. Moriah officials hope enforcement of the state code will alleviate a problem in the community.

Rutland officials are kicking off a countywide competition to encourage energy efficiency. The competition offers $10,000 rewards to towns that show the greatest percentage of home energy improvements and the highest average energy savings per home. Sen. Bernie Sanders says the funding is available under an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program that was created by 1 of his bills. He says the challenge is part of a larger effort to produce 1,000 home energy upgrades throughout Rutland County, saving homeowners more than $1,000 on average in their annual energy costs. So far, 500 energy audits have been performed and retrofits are under way or completed on 250 homes.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation says all state highways that were damaged by flooding will reopen. Officials say the repaired roads will be open today. Some of the roads will be unpaved for now.

United Way officials in Vermont say they want to collect information to help make the case to the federal government that the state should be eligible for individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency due to recent flooding and storm damage. The United Way say is asking that anyone who has flood or storm damage to call 2-1-1 and report it, even if they have insurance or question their eligibility.

U.S. Department of Agriculture officials say 2011 was a sweet year for maple syrup production. U.S. production of 2.79 million gallons was up 43% from 2010, an off year, and easily topped the previous record of 2.40 million, set two years ago. Vermont led the nation again, with its 1.14-million-gallon total surpassing 1 million gallons for the first time since the 1940s. New York was second with 564,000 gallons, followed by Maine with 360,000 gallons. States from Maine to Ohio also had strong years.

Economists say Vermont's economic picture is starting to improve in part because the financial fortunes of the state's top 3,000 income tax filers are getting better. The state's income tax revenues are up more than 10% from where they were a year ago. The growth in state income tax revenues this year reflects gains made by the small group of wealthy Vermonters.

The Vermont Air National Guard is being recognized for outstanding service. The United States Air Force and the National Guard Bureau announced yesterday that the Guard would be presented with the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award this weekend. The Vermont Air Guard last received that award in 2001. Now, the 158th Fighter Wing is being recognized for its work between 2008 and 2010. The award will be presented during a ceremony tomorrow at 1:30 PM at the Vermont Air Guard's Base in South Burlington.