WVTK Local & State News June 14, 2011

There are new details in the case of a missing Essex Junction couple. Essex police joined forces with other police departments in their search for Bill and Lorraine Currier. Now, one business owner said she was asked by state police to give them video surveillance tapes from her convenience store. This comes a day after the Currier's family begged the public for help. If you have any information on this case, please contact the Essex Police at (802) 878-8331.

The owners of Vermont Hard Cider Company are suing one of their former top employees who they say stole company secrets to start up a competing hard cider company in New York. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Vermont Hard Cider Company officials argued that Leonard Ciolek spent half of his seven-month tenure as the company’s national accounts manager mining proprietary secrets and arranging private deals to launch his own brewery. The Middlebury Company is seeking a court injunction that would force him to stop using proprietary information. Vermont Hard Cider, which does business as Green Mountain Beverage, sells its Woodchuck line of ciders in 50 states.

There will be a special town meeting in Panton on June 28th to deal with two financial issues. Both are related to the fact that the town is over budget because of high spending to maintain roads during the exceptionally snowy winter. The town is also not sure if it will get federal money to deal with this spring’s flooding. Selectmen at the June 28th meeting will discuss the issues and options.

The town of New Haven will receive an $8,500 federal grant to help pay for replacement of a platform lift at the town hall. The old lift inside the New Haven Town Hall has been broken for a while. This is an issue when people who have mobility problems want to attend town meetings.

The Bristol select-board met with the Bristol Rescue Squad about improving the emergency response system. At meeting earlier this month they discussed summer issues ranging from the hours of the farmers’ market to liquor licenses for this weekend’s music and street festival.

The town of Moriah is recovering from spring floods, but the most severe pain for residents may be yet to come. The town supervisor has deep concerns about this years and next years budgets due to the flooding. The town has spent thousands of dollars for emergency repairs. If Moriah doesn’t get help from FEMA, they'll have to make major cuts in this year's budget and raise taxes next year.

A preliminary damage assessment says spring flooding in Vermont has done $4.9 million worth of damage to roads, culverts and buildings. The public infrastructure damage calculation, which will be used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the White House in determining whether to issue a disaster declaration for Vermont, lists Lamoille County, Caledonia County and Washington County as the hardest hit.

Flood-damaged Vermont businesses could soon have help on the way. The state Emergency Board is voting today on Gov. Peter Shumlin's request for $1 million to establish a low-interest loan program for merchants hit by flooding this spring. Loans of up to $25,000 would be made available to any Vermont business directly affected by flooding. The loans would be interest-free in the first year, with the rate 1% for five years after that.

Two forums in Rutland seek your input. Today the Rutland Free Library will host a public hearing on the library’s strategic plan for 2012-17 at 7PM. The second forum, hosted by the Department of Public Service, will focus on Vermont’s comprehensive energy plan that will go before Gov. Peter Shumlin in October. The forum will be Thursday at the Leahy Center at Rutland Regional Medical Center from 6 to 9PM.

The Rutland Regional Planning Commission is recommending a wider road, farm crossing signs, possible byway designation north of Route 4 and incorporating wildlife corridor considerations into zoning for Route 22A. The commission presented the findings and recommendations of a Route 22A corridor study at Benson Town Hall last Wednesday. The final report will be presented to the Agency of Transportation.

State Police are investigating a report of possible sexual misconduct by a student involving other schoolchildren at Castleton Elementary School. School Superintendent Ron Ryan says the school district reported the complaint to police. No other information is being released because of the nature of the investigation and the fact that juveniles are involved.

The commissioner of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation says almost every town in the state needs to upgrade its water pipes, its sewage systems or both. Commissioner David Mears said towns should study their systems to determine how long it will be before the systems have to be replaced and make sure they have the money to pay for it.

A top Vermont budget official says the state is poised to finish the fiscal year on June 30 around $20 million ahead of forecasts. The comment by Administration Secretary Jeb Spaulding follows a report for May that showed state revenues came in ahead of target for the third month in a row.

Massachusetts is backing Vermont's assertions that it is not pre-empted by federal law from closing the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. The Commonwealth says it wants to defend its own laws regulating reactors, and Vermont's should stand as well. Vermont is the only state in the country with a law saying that before a nuclear plant within its borders gets to extend its initial 40-year operating license, it must get approval from both houses of the Legislature.

A New York lawmaker has proposed legislation that would ban adults from smoking in cars when children under the age of 14 are present. He wants to reduce children's exposure to secondhand smoke. The bill would apply even when the windows are rolled down. Four other states have passed similar laws: Maine, Louisiana, Arkansas and California. Violators could face a fine of up to $100.

Anti-hunger advocates in New York want to change the name of the food stamps program to help avoid the stigma of receiving the benefit for the poor and working poor. 23 states have changed the name of their food stamps program to SNAP. That stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. They say the name, as well as a fingerprinting requirement, are keeping hungry New Yorkers from getting the food they need.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and 29 of 30 Senate Democrats are trying to pressure the Senate's Republican majority to approval a gay marriage bill within days. Cuomo says three more Democratic senators are yes votes on the bill that hasn't yet been released. Three more votes from Republicans appear necessary to legalize gay marriage in New York, a critical battleground for the national movement.

Gas prices continue to fall across our region. The average price for a gallon of regular is now $3.83 in Vermont, two cents lower than last week and 12 cents lower than a month ago. New York's average price is higher at $3.94, but it's fallen three cents in the past week and 21 cents in the past month. Nationally prices have fallen just over five cents in the past week to an average of $3.71.

Vermont is helping drive an increase of home births in this country. New research by the CDC finds that home births increased 20-percent nationwide from 2004 to 2008. Vermont, Montana and Oregon had the most with about 1 in 50. The medical establishment warns against home births, especially for women who are at a high risk for complications.

Camp Point CounterPoint music school has been part of Lake Dunmore since 1963. This season some new sounds are coming alive with a new program called “New Music On The Point”. This is a new camp offering through which aspiring composers, vocalists and instrumentalists are working under some of the nation’s most renowned chamber music instructors and performers. This new program is geared toward undergrad and graduate composers and performers ranging from 17 to 26 years old. Finished pieces will be performed with 5th House Ensemble this Saturday at 2PM at the Salisbury Congregational Church and on Sunday at 2PM at the Town Hall Theater.