WVTK Local & State News July 13, 2011

Each evening through Saturday, Route 7, North Pleasant Street, will be closed from the Middlebury Inn to Elm Street from 10:00 PM to 10:00 AM. This is necessary as part of the Stewart Lane Infrastructure Project. All traffic will be diverted onto Seymore, Exchange Streets and back to Route 7. Local traffic only will be permitted on Elm Street.

In Essex County NY, Westport Crews will be performing minor repairs along Route 22 just north of Westport this week. Also, Crews will be working on ditching along Route 9 between Schroon Lake and North Hudson. Flaggers will control traffic in both work zones.

Vermont's two largest utilities have announced their plans for a merger. Central Vermont Public Service has accepted the more than $700 million cash offer from the owner of Green Mountain Power. On Tuesday, executives from both utilities promised customer savings, efficiencies and better service. When CVPS and GMP combine the new utility will cover two thirds of the state. However, the sale isn't official just yet. It still needs the stamp of approval from the Vermont Public Service Board. How the deal will affect power rates is still unclear.

Governor Peter Shumlin says he's gratified that the Central Vermont Public Service Corporation has agreed to be sold to Gaz Metro Limited Partnership, clearing the way for a merger with Green Mountain Power. Shumlin says the consolidation of Vermont's two largest utilities promises significant savings for Vermonters.

Vermont State Police say a 12-year-old boy has drowned in a popular swimming hole in Bolton. The Burlington Free Press identified the boy as Bentley Davis Seifer, great-grandson of former Vermont Gov. Deane Davis. Police were called to the Bolton potholes on the Joiner Brook at 1:07PM. to search for the boy. His body was recovered around 4:30PM. State police say strong currents caught the boy. His parents told the Free Press that their son was swimming with a friend, who tried to save him. Last week two men were rescued from the Huntington Gorge in Richmond after they could not get out of the rapid water.

The Rutland Police Commission voted Monday to oppose any future plans to open a medical marijuana dispensary in the city. The four present members of the five-member commission, which oversees the city Police Department, voted unanimously to send a letter to the city’s Board of Aldermen urging them to enact ordinances and zoning changes that would block any attempts to open a dispensary in Rutland. A new law, which passed at the start of the month, authorizes up to four nonprofit dispensaries to operate in the state.

More than 100 people have applied to be members of the state's new Health Care Board. That's the group that will oversee virtually every aspect of health care in Vermont in the coming years. And Governor Shumlin's chief health care advisor says she's applied to be the head of the panel. The 5 person Board will oversee hospital budgets and insurance rates, it will try to implement various cost containment plans and it will design future benefit packages.

Vermont's logging industry has been hit hard by wet weather. Many loggers have had to scale back operations because the ground is just too wet to operate their equipment. The industry in the northeast has been struggling for several years with the downturn in the housing market and the closing of saw mills.

The Air National Guard air show will take off again in Burlington. Mayor Bob Kiss is endorsing plans for a 2013 air show on the waterfront. He has opposed air shows since the last one, five years ago. Many residents complained about noise. The mayor's endorsement comes with conditions, including that the Air National Guard plan for a carbon offset for the two-day event.

A woman charged with embezzling $173,000 over five years from the town of Bethel where she worked as a cashier for a solid waste facility has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Thirty-7-year-old Tonya Drury was released on conditions pending a trial, which has not been scheduled. The office of the U.S. attorney for Vermont says the embezzlement took place when Bethel was receiving more than $10,000 each year from the federal government in the form of grants and loans.

Vermont Congressman Peter Welch has come up on the losing end in the Republican-controlled U.S. House in his effort to preserve funding for energy efficiency programs. He offered an amendment Tuesday to restore funding to energy efficiency, but it was voted down 123 to 300. Welch says an energy and water appropriations bill cuts funding for energy efficiency by 27%. Affected programs include fuel-efficient vehicle technologies, bio-refinery research and development and home weatherization assistance.

The Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities & Health Care Administration - known as BISHCA - has set August 4th for hearings on hospital budget proposals around the state. The hearing will be hosted from 1:30PM to 5PM, both at the Vermont Department of Labor in Montpelier and by video link to sites around the state. To help interested parties prepare for the hearing, BISHCA will post on its web site copies of the hospitals' budget summaries as well as copies of each hospital's budget narrative.

Texting and driving is now illegal in New York. It became law Tuesday when Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that will allow police to stop and ticket drivers they see texting on the road, even when that's the only apparent violation. Previously, police could only cite a driver for the traffic violation of distracted driving if they were stopped primarily for another offense, such as speeding. The bill specifically bans texting on hand-held and fixed phones and other devices and includes composing, sending, reading, browsing, saving or retrieving electronic data such as email, text messages and Web pages. Exemptions include calls for emergency services. Emergency personnel such as police and firefighters are also exempt while doing their jobs.

A new law adds directors of children's overnight or summer day camps to the list of those required to report suspected child abuse or maltreatment to the state. Camp directors were already required to report incidents at their camps, but they could face civil liability for contacting authorities on behalf of a child when it concerns suspected abuse or maltreatment elsewhere. The new law gives them immunity for good-faith reporting of abuse or maltreatment.

If one person drops out, there won't be enough election workers for this year's Essex County elections. According to the County Republican Election Commissioner they have just enough trained election inspectors to run the 2011 elections. One solution would be to allow county employees who previously were election inspectors to serve again if needed.

The Essex County Fair Exhibitor's Handbook is now online at www.essexcountyfair.org. The document includes complete information for entering the fair, including entry blanks for the departments that requiring them. Click on "Handbook" on the homepage and find all departments in PDF format. The homepage also has a link for those who want to enter the Essex County Fair Idol Contest. Printed copies of the handbook are available at the fair office in Westport.

The Green Mountain Club has broken ground on a major new hiking trail in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. The new "Split Rock" trail on Middle Mountain in Avery's Gore, population zero, is part of the club's effort to provide greater access to the Kingdom's beautiful mountains to Vermonters and visitors. The new trail begins off the Gore Trail and eventually will go from there along the Bluff Ridge to Island Pond, a total of 17 miles. The first section of the trail is expected to open in about two weeks.