WVTK Local & State News July 29, 2011

Dozens of investigators from a variety of state and federal agencies are working out of the school in the northern New Hampshire community of Stewartstown in their efforts to find a missing 11-year-old girl. Police went door-to-door in Stewartstown yesterday asking residents for any information they might have about the disappearance of Celina Cass and townspeople are continuing to pass out flyers with pictures of the girl who was last seen when she went to bed Monday night. Police have said that there's no indication she ran away and there were no signs of a struggle.

A truck rolled onto its roof near Route 7 in Charlotte yesterday afternoon. Around 2:40PM multiple fire departments arrived at the scene along with State Police. Police say only the driver was in the truck. The driver went up a driveway off of Rt. 7, lost control of his truck and rolled down an embankment. Route 7 southbound was down to one lane while they removed the truck from the side of the road. The driver was taken to Fletcher Allen Hospital for precautionary reasons.

This year's flooding events have seen clear signs of stream erosion from Lewis Creek and the New Haven River to the shores of Lake Champlain and Lake Bomoseen. Vermont Organics Nursery's Streambank Restoration Program is helping to restore and stabilize areas affected by flooding. Damaged areas are repaired, and land is stabilized against further damage and soil erosion using eco-friendly materials. Homeowners with stream problems in Addison and Rutland counties can tap the expertise of the Streambank Restoration Program by calling Vermont Organics Nursery. (802-528-8512)

The Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department’s plan to upgrade its two fire stations received some good news this week. The town’s development review board OK’d the plan and the select-board set September 27th as the first of two community-wide votes on the project. If ultimately approved by voters on Town Meeting Day, the project would add 8,100 square feet of space onto the southern end of the Seymour Street fire station and demolition of the East Middlebury station, which would be replaced by a basic, 2,000-square-foot, wood-framed building.

Patricia J. Hannaford Career Center teachers will return to work this fall with a new, three-year contract that requires them to pay a greater proportion of their health care premiums but assures them some modest wage increases. The full Career Center board formally ratified the agreement on July 20th and by the 22 teachers back in June. The 13 career and technical education programs at the center draws students from the 17 towns in the Addison Central, Addison Northeast and Addison Northwest supervisory unions.

The Ticonderoga and Crown Point school districts have agreed to consider a possible merger. The two school boards have asked the Department of State for an application for grant money to conduct a study of the issue. Nothing other than grant funding for a study has been discussed at this point. If grant funding for a study is secured, the study will review the tax base, programs, enrollment, transportation, number of employees and other aspects of each district. It could take a year to complete.

The Rev. Elisabeth Smith’s lengthy career has taken her to churches stretching from South Carolina to Massachusetts. She is now the new pastor at the Middlebury United Methodist Church. Smith officially began her new duties July 3rd. She replaces the Rev. Jill Colley Robinson, who recently took over leadership of the Lebanon, NH United Methodist Church after eight years in Middlebury.

Downtown Bristol has been a state Designated Downtown district since 2006. Every five years, the Bristol Downtown Community Partnership is required to apply for a renewal of the town’s designation. At the beginning of the week Bristol Town Administrator Bill Bryant and Carol Wells, director of the Bristol Downtown Community Partnership and a select-board member, made the trek to Montpelier to apply for Bristol’s downtown title in person.

Addison County firefighters hosted the 2011 Vermont State Firefighters Association annual convention last weekend and took a majority of statewide awards this year. Five area firefighters, three from Bristol and two from Middlebury, received awards at the VSFA’s annual awards ceremony which was held at the Middlebury American Legion Hall on Saturday.

13 Vermont teens took part in a special 4-H program known as Citizenship Washington Focus a few weeks ago. For many it marked the first visit to the nation's capital. And aside from first seeing the many visual wonders of the capital it was a unique opportunity to study the workings of the United States federal government up close. The July visit to Washington, sponsored by the University of Vermont Extension, opened a door for teens on the political process and the responsibilities of informed citizenship. The following 4-H delegates from Addison County took part in this year's CWF program: Jonas Hastings, Bridport; Elizabeth Hill, Bristol; Rachel Howlett, Bridport; Kelli Jerome, Leicester.

From July 11th through July 15th, Vermont State Police officials worked closely with key members of the Iraqi federal police force in a series of classroom and field training activities in Vermont. The VSP and Iraqi law enforcement officials also worked closely with the International Association of Chiefs of Police Education program to make this local educational effort a reality. The over-arching program provides Iraqi police officers with an opportunity to acquire enhanced professional skills.

Vermont State Police are seeking information leading to the arrest of people responsible for growing 95 marijuana plants authorities cut down in Mount Holly. Police say the plants taken in Thursday's roundup were growing in several plots with several plants each, and that the plants had an estimated street value of $285,000. Anyone with information is being asked to call the State Police in Rutland. (802-773-9101)

Senator Bernie Sanders is hailing an agreement to be announced between the Obama administration and U.S. automakers that will increase the average fuel economy of American cars to 54.5 mpg by 2025. Sanders calls it a huge step forward for saving consumers money and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. He says it will also help generate new jobs.

There were some scary moments yesterday in the eastern Vermont town of Newbury when a propane truck rolled over. The driver of the truck told authorities he was trying to avoid a deer. He wasn't injured, and none of the highly flammable propane fuel leaked from the vehicle's tank.

A Vermont-based manufacturer of protective military eyewear is expanding into helmets. Essex Junction-based Revision's Soldier Systems division has won a $2 million, 3-year contract to support the design, development and demonstration of the U.S. Army's next-generation head protection gear.

The state of Vermont won't issue the environmental permits Green Mountain Power needs to start work on the Lowell Mountain wind project in time to begin construction next week. GMP had hoped to begin work August 1st so the 21 turbines in the project can be operating by the end of next year. The area where the turbines will be installed includes small streams that could be filled in or altered by road building and construction and the Agency of Natural Resources is still reviewing GMP's request for a water quality permit.

Hiking the nearly 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail already is grueling, and the U.S. Postal Service may make it even tougher. A plan to close rural post offices could shutter several outposts long used by hikers to receive food and gear as they walk the trail from Georgia to Maine. No final decisions on the closures have been made. Mike Healy is a 26-year-old Chicago resident currently hiking the trail. He said that post offices are a lifeline.

Gov. Peter Shumlin toured Vermont Wood Pellet's factory in Clarendon yesterday. Shumlin says smaller facilities like Vermont Wood Pellet have seen success on the biomass front. It's the larger-scale companies that have more problems to power through. Not only do the large-scale plants have more problems to work through, they're also more expensive. The Green Mountain College plant cost $5.8 million to build and won't be paid off for at least 18 years. The plant in Middlebury cost more than double that at $12 million. Officials say they expect it will take at least 20 years for the plant to turn a profit.

Last week, Citizens Bank began collecting new school supplies for its Gear for Grades initiative, which is an effort to help local children go back to school with the gear they need to learn. New pencils, folders, glue, notebooks and other supplies can be donated at any Citizens Bank branch in Middlebury and elsewhere through August 6th.

An educational program held at Fort Ticonderoga in July is being credited with infusing $100,000 into the town's economy. According to For Ti Executive Director Beth Hill, An estimated $100,000 of the total $160,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant received by Fort Ticonderoga this year will be injected into the local economy. Fort Ticonderoga hosted two weeklong workshops for teachers. The teachers stayed in local hotels, ate in local restaurants and shopped in local stores.

Lori Kelly-Bailey, co-producer and director of the film "Mineville," brought her movie to Moriah Central School July 17th to raise money for the school's women's choir, which is raising money to visit Disney World in Orlando. The choir has been selected to perform next year as part of the Disney Performing Arts Program. It was the third screening of "Mineville" at the school. Students earned $4 for each movie ticket sold. They also sold baked goods and popcorn. The Moriah choir must raise about $28,000 to cover the costs of the trip. Other fund raising events are being planned. The choir will also accept donations. Donations can be sent to Moriah Central School.