WVTK Local & State News July 27, 2011

Vermont State Police say a body pulled from Lake Champlain has been positively identified as Rene Viau of Ferrisburgh. He disappeared after the boat he was in went out of control after being rocked by the wakes of other boats. Police say he was standing in the front of the boat without a life jacket when he fell overboard. Police say their investigation continues.

New Hampshire State Police are seeking the public's help in finding a missing 11-year-old Stewartstown girl. Authorities say Celina Cass was last seen at her home in the northern New Hampshire community on Monday at about 9PM. She's described, as being 5 feet, 5 inches tall, weighs about 95 pounds, has hazel eyes and waste-length brown hair. She was last seen wearing: pink shirt, pink pullover, blue shorts and shoes. Anyone with information is asked to call the New Hampshire State Police. (603-846-3333)

The U.S. Postal Service is studying more than a dozen outlets in Vermont for possible closure or conversion. According to a release from the service 3,700 retail offices nationwide are under consideration for closure. The post offices under consideration are in rural areas and make less than $20,000 in revenue per year, according to the U.S. Postal Service. The following Vermont post offices are included in the study for possible closure: Beecher Falls, Cambridgeport, East Ryegate, Florence, Gilman, Granville, Highgate Springs, Lyman, McIndoe Falls, North Thetford, Rupert, Stockbridge, Websterville and West Newbury.

A Ticonderoga man was injured when he pulled into the path of a worker maintenance train Monday afternoon on Kirby Point Road. The Ticonderoga Police Department said Keith Dolbeck was eastbound when he pulled into the crossing around 2:40PM. The train hit his pickup truck on the passenger side. He was transported to Moses Ludington Hospital in Ticonderoga and then airlifted to Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington. Police said he was in stable condition as of Monday night. Ticonderoga police and Canadian Pacific Railway Police are still investigating.

Gov. Peter Shumlin said he knew there were doubters in the audience he addressed at universal health care forum in Rutland on Monday. But he said Vermont has nothing to lose and more than healthy living to gain if a plan to implement the first single-payer system in the union came to pass and he asked doubters of the initiative to help find solutions rather than just pointing out flaws.

Frank Miglorie, the state’s longest-serving college president, will be leaving the College of St. Joseph in Rutland this year after 28 years in the top administrative post. He said that after 41 years at the private, Catholic college as a professor then president it’s time for a change. He said he’s taking a sabbatical then will jump back into higher education part-time. His plan is to move out of the area and away from the winter seasons, selling his house in Rutland Town. The college will launch a national search for a new president by the end of June 2012.

The Castleton municipal offices will be closed Thursday and Friday during the temporary relocation of the offices to Castleton State College. The town hall offices will reopen at the temporary location at Castleton State College’s Old Chapel on Seminary Street on August 1st. The phone numbers will not change. The Castleton Police Department will be relocated to the Fair Haven municipal offices on North Park Place.

Vermont's attorney general is cracking down on landlords whose rental housing isn't in compliance with the state's lead law. William Sorrell said his office has sent letters to 14 Rutland landlords as part of a statewide effort to reduce exposure to lead hazards in Vermont's rental housing. Each has three months to bring his or her property into compliance. Vermont's lead law requires landlords of buildings dating to before 1978 to do annual maintenance, including repairing peeling paint and cleaning common spaces.

A long-idled cheese plant is re-opening for business, providing a major outlet for struggling dairy farmers across northern Vermont and New York. Swan Valley Cheese Company of New Jersey announced yesterday it is ready to reopen the former Lucille and VIA cheese plant in the town's industrial park. Gov. Peter Shumlin joined the Swan Valley CEO to cut the ribbon on the remodeled plant. The plant is expected to process up to a half million pounds of fresh milk daily in the coming weeks.

A hotly debated road construction project through the northeastern Vermont town of Danville resumes this week, nearly two weeks after state officials called a halt to it. That unusual action was taken so state transportation officials could work with contractors to come up with a better traffic management plan for the busy U.S. Route 2 corridor. The Agency of Transportation is promising periodic meetings with area residents to hear any concerns.

Members of the Vermont Electric Cooperative are voting on a controversial $12 million transmission line upgrade proposed in the Northeast Kingdom. More than 33,000 members of the cooperative are eligible to vote on the transmission upgrade, and most are doing so by mail-in ballots.

Authorities say dozens of malnourished dogs were found at a woman's home in Vermont. Of the 68 dogs found at the Bakersfield home of Karen Maple, 54 were taken to shelters because they lacked adequate food or water or proper sanitation or needed medical attention. The rest were deemed healthy. A pony and some cats were also examined but not seized. State police say that shortly after troopers came to her house, she became unmanageable and had to be physically removed from her home. She kicked a trooper in the process. Maple is being held on charges of cruelty to animals, disorderly conduct, simple assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. Bail has not been determined.

A Vermont high school is putting an end to the pajama party. The revised dress code at Bennington's Mount Anthony Union High School now prohibits pajamas and slippers. The Associate Principal tells The Bennington Banner too many students were coming to school wearing nightclothes. He says the slippers are a safety hazard.

The Northern Border Regional Commission has announced a new round of funding for economically strapped Canadian border regions of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The commission plans August 1st to begin accepting applications for the money and to announce how it will award the $1.25 million available by September 30th.

A panel established by Vermont lawmakers to take a critical look at the exemptions contained in the state's public records law is having its first meeting. The state Public Records Legislative Study Committee, which consists of 6 lawmakers, is holding its inaugural meeting today in Montpelier. The meeting included representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Vermont State Employees Association and the Vermont Council of Developmental and Mental Health Services.

Community supported agriculture has been growing in Vermont and elsewhere, and now the state's two U.S. senators are hoping to give it a boost from Washington. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders introduced legislation that would set up a new competitive grant program under the U.S. Department of Agriculture to promote CSA farms, in which consumers buy direct from farmers, paying part of the cost of what they get at the beginning of the growing season. They say Vermont has been a leader in the CSA movement.

Vermont tops the nation when it comes to underage drinking. That's according to a new survey being released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The report is based upon data collected in 2008 and 2009. More than 36 percent of 12-to-20-year-olds admitted drinking alcohol in the month the survey was conducted. Vermont teens are also near the top of the list for marijuana usage. Nearly 11 percent of Vermont teens admitted using the drug. The only state with a higher teen marijuana usage is Alaska.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a law creating a statewide alert system for Alzheimer's patients and other vulnerable adults who wander off and get lost. The system is similar to the nationwide Amber Alert program for missing children. It will use the same mechanism to provide rapid public notification regarding missing adults who suffer from dementia or cognitive impairments that put them at risk.

The 17th annual Addison County Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Golf Tournament was held June 24th at Basin Harbor Club. The Chamber hosts the annual tournament to raise money that funds a $4,000 scholarship, which is awarded to a graduating senior from the Hannaford Career Center. This year's scholarship recipient is Lauren Peck who will be attending Keene State College this fall and majoring in sports management. She has been very involved in athletics at school, participating in field hockey and dance team.

The Ticonderoga Montcalm Street Partnership says that Streetfest continues to grow this year. The event, which features arts and crafts, shopping, food, entertainment and family activities, will be held in downtown Ticonderoga on Saturday. Montcalm Street will be converted into a pedestrian mall open to the public from 10AM to 3PM. More than two dozen crafters and vendors and 23 local merchants have signed up to participate. Should the weather not cooperate, the event will be held Sunday.

You may want to dig up any old lottery tickets you might have lying around. Vermont Lottery officials say there are three winning tickets still out there. One is a $10,000 Powerball winner sold at the Price Chopper in Bennington for the draw on June 1st. The second winner was for the June 17th Mega Millions drawing. A ticket sold at Shaw's in Williston is worth $10,000. The third unclaimed ticket is for the Megabucks Plus. A ticket purchased almost a year ago at the Hannaford in St. Albans is worth $30,000.