WVTK Local & State News June 22, 2011

Due to drainage rehab work, on Friday (6/24/11) Weybridge St. will be closed for a Cross St. culvert replacement at 7:30AM and will re-open once the replacement work is completed which is expected to be done by 5PM Friday.

The Essex County Highway Department is paving Center Road in Moriah this week. Road crews throughout that project are controlling traffic.

Vermont State Police responded to a three-vehicle crash that occurred on Route 7, south of Round Barn Road in Ferrisburgh yesterday afternoon. The investigation indicates all three operators were traveling south at the time of the crash. One driver was transported by Vergennes Area Rescue Squad to Fletcher Allen where she was treated and later released for soreness to her neck and left shoulder. The Ferrisburgh Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene. The investigation is on going at this time.

Vermont State Police are currently investigating a burglary that occurred on Bristol Cliffs Road in Bristol. Someone entered a private residence and stole a lap top computer, change, and back up hard drive for the laptop. Estimated value for the property is approximately $2,200. Anyone with information is asked to contact Vermont State Police in New Haven (1-802-388-4919).

The dropping water level on Lake Champlain is enabling construction crews to resume work on the archway of the new Lake Champlain Bridge. The archway is being built at a marina in Port Henry. Work stalled last month because of the record flooding on the lake. The archway will be floated to the bridge site later this year. Flooding did cause some delays in the construction of the approach spans on the Crown Point and West Addison approaches to the bridge.

The principal of Castleton Elementary School said last week that the school followed its own harassment and bullying policy to protect students and notify parents of possible sexual misconduct among students. On June 13th, police and school administrators confirmed that possible sexual misconduct occurred on school grounds involving a student and other schoolchildren. A criminal investigation is ongoing.

The Rutland Board of Aldermen approved the water and sewer budgets along with near level-funded rates Monday. Rates remain flat except for the sewer collection rate, which went up 2.64 percent. Roughly $60,000 in savings over the previous year was applied to a capital replacement plan.

Vermont Achievement Center has offered the city of Rutland recreation space. The organization sent a letter to the city last week offering “a large volume of vacant or underutilized space” to the recreation department for a fee. The Dana Center closed earlier this month and the Recreation Department has temporarily moved into the Godnick Adult Center and dispersed programs among a handful of facilities.

New York State police say a body found by a fisherman in Lake Champlain has been confirmed as that of a woman who went missing from a family camp last fall, and the death has been ruled a suicide by drowning. Police say dental records confirmed the body was 56-year-old Francine Marcel, who was reported missing after she went to close the camp for the winter in November and didn't return home to Morrisonville.

There are new concerns that the proposed sale of Central Vermont Public Service could put control of Vermont's entire power grid in Canadian hands. A Canadian company already owns the state’s second largest utility Green Mountain Power. CVPS and GMP are the main owners of VELCO, the state's transmission grid. Senator Vince Illuzzi is concerned that if the CVPS deal is approved the Canadian companies may use the VELCO transmission grid to move electricity to southern New England where there is a greater demand and set rates not in the interest of Vermonters.

If you ate at the McDonald's on the Barre Montpelier road in Barre, Vermont, Thursday June 16th or attended the East Barre Fire Department barbeque Sunday June 19th, you may have been exposed to measles. The Vermont State Health Department believes a young child from Washington County has the illness, which health officials say is highly contagious. If you think you were exposed to measles at either the McDonalds in Barre, or the East Barre Fire Department barbeque, contact the Vermont Health Department at (802) 863-7240.

Convicted embezzler Don Hewitt pocketed about $400,00 from the town of Ira over 10 years while he was in charge of the books. He shared his story about how he did it with community and business leaders meeting in Montpelier. They came together to tackle a statewide embezzlement problem. Vermont Auditor Tom Salmon says in the last 5 years millions of dollars have been embezzled across Vermont. He's pushing simple checks and balances to stop criminals in their tracks.

Vermont State Police say they've cited a man who fired a shot during a confrontation with two Central Vermont Public Service Corp. linemen working on a power pole near his home. 67-year-old William R. Bump, of Halifax, was charged with disorderly conduct in Thursday's incident, which started when he approached the linemen as they worked in a field south of his property.

Senator Bernie Sanders says The Associated Press raised disturbing allegations about the safety of aging U.S. nuclear power plants and wants his state's Vermont Yankee facility shut down. Sanders says the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and plant operator Entergy have ignored the will of Vermonters.

Officials from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be in Brattleboro for a public hearing on the agency's annual review of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. The NRC gave the Vernon reactors good marks in a review issued in March, and now is inviting public comment at a session set for tonight at Brattleboro Union High School.

A veteran critic of the nuclear industry is urging opponents of Vermont Yankee to practice in a civil manner when federal regulators brief the public this week. The anti-nuclear activist also wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to be more open about the potential problems facing Vermont's only nuclear power plant.

The Burlington City Council has postponed a vote on a new budget. Council members said they still have questions surrounding the airport and the parks and rec department. There are also questions as to whether flood damage will factor into revenues and spending. A vote on the city's spending plan will now be held next week.

Vermont State Police say they're looking for a missing angel. Police say the marble angel was stolen from the Poultney Cemetery sometime between Memorial Day 2010 and Memorial Day last month. The angel is valued at $3,000.

It appears as though the head of Vermont's largest hospital may be heading out west. In a letter sent to Fletcher Allen employees, Roger Stone, the chairman of the board of trustees, said that Dr. Melinda Estes is "is in discussions with a hospital system in the Midwest regarding the possibility of becoming their next CEO". Stone did not elaborate where in the Midwest she was interviewing. She has been the CEO of Fletcher Allen for 8 years.

The Burlington Parks Department approved a proposal by the Vermont National Guard Charitable Foundation to host an air-show on the Burlington Waterfront in 2013. The organizers say it will honor Vermont veterans who recently fought in Afghanistan. They are trying to secure a national team, such as the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds, to headline the event.

"Green Fire," a documentary about legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold, will have a showing in Vermont. The free screening is set for 7:30PM Friday at the University of Vermont's Davis Center, in Burlington.