WVTK Local & State News July 7, 2011

A line of thunderstorms in Vermont caused damage and knocked out electricity for more than 7,000 homes and businesses yesterday afternoon. The thunderstorms stretched from Jay to Middlebury. Chittenden and Franklin counties were hardest hit by power outages. All told, Green Mountain Power said 3,939 customers were in the dark, Central Vermont Public Service had 1,526 outages and Vermont Electric Company had 1,790. The storms sparked several fires. In Essex Junction, a community building next to Holy Family Catholic Church caught fire, but the church established in 1883 did not appear to be in danger.

The line of severe thunderstorms also hit New York Wednesday afternoon, knocking down trees and power lines in Clinton and Essex counties. In Essex County, power lines were down in Jay and Moriah, according to dispatchers.

A man who sold a gun for drugs and the man who bought the firearm were both sentenced to terms of probation on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Burlington. Judge William Sessions sentenced Aaron Brush, and Justin Birchmore both of Addison County, to two years of probation and fined them each $3,000 for possessing a .45-caliber handgun that passed between them. Also on Tuesday, Dustin Simmons of Middlebury was sentenced to two years of probation, two months of home confinement, a $3,000 fine and 100 hours of community service for lying when he filled out a federal form to purchase a 9-millimeter handgun.

When flash floods and lakeside flooding swept through Vermont it caused millions of dollars in damage. While some areas are back to normal, others are not and officials are still asking the public to report any destruction. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has set up shop in Burlington. More than 100 people are working to get people help. So far, FEMA says they have distributed more than $900,000 in aid through grants or loans. The President has declared seven counties disaster areas, meaning people living in those areas could qualify for financial help.

Residents of Granville celebrated the opening of a new municipal office building in the community's former one-room schoolhouse yesterday. Representatives of the three members of Vermont's congressional delegation were on hand Wednesday to celebrate the former school building's new life as a town hall. Marcelle Leahy, the wife of Sen. Patrick Leahy, said at the groundbreaking that even though the building will no longer be used as a school, it would continue to be a big part of the community.

In a 2½-hour musical, the Brandon Town Players look to commemorate the 70th anniversary of World War II, celebrate Brandon’s 250th anniversary and Brandon Town Hall’s 150th anniversary. The players will hit the stage in the timeless musical “Kilroy was Here” for a two-weekend run at the Brandon Town Hall starting Friday. Tickets are $15 at the door and $13 in advance and they can be purchased at Carr’s Florist and Gifts and at Briggs Carriage Bookstore in Brandon or by calling director Dennis Marden. Tickets for all veterans and military personal are $10.

A downed tree across Spear Street in Charlotte led to a head-on accident that sent two drivers to the hospital yesterday and shut down the road for over an hour. Police say a driver headed south stopped at the tree that was partially covering the road when a woman coming the other direction struck him head-on. The cars had no passengers. Both drivers were sent to the hospital in Burlington. The woman not wearing her seatbelt had more serious injuries. Police say excessive speed for the conditions probably played a role in the accident.

Vermont's attorney general says prosecutors won't charge executives at nuclear plant owner Entergy Corp. with lying under oath. Entergy executives have said they did not intentionally mislead anyone when they erroneously said Vermont Yankee didn't have underground piping that might leak a radioactive substance.

Rutland's top business group is trying to judge the competing bids for Central Vermont Public Service Corporation. The Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce says its top concerns are low rates and reliable power. But CEO Tom Donahue says the chamber also worries how Rutland's business community would be affected by the separate bids from Fortis and Gaz Metro. The chamber of commerce has already concluded that the Fortis proposal would be good for Rutland because the company would maintain the CVPS headquarters in Rutland and retain most of its staff. There are concerns with the Gaz Metro bid because Rutland would no longer be the utility's headquarters, and some of its employees would be let go.

Sen. Bernie Sanders says he's telling the White House more than 100,000 people want at least half of any federal deficit reduction package to rely on revenue from the wealthiest Americans and the most profitable corporations. Sanders said that on Tuesday he delivered to the White House a letter signed by more than 100,000 Americans, including 4,000 people from Vermont. Sanders' letter also called on the president not to yield to Republican demands to lower deficits by trillions of dollars only by slashing Medicare and Medicaid and cutting programs that help working families.

New York State Police is warning of a spam email. The New York State Police Computer Crime Unit has started an investigation of hoax email that request the recipient open an attached zip file to supposedly to get a copy of a Uniform Traffic Ticket. Police believe the zip file contains an unknown virus that is currently being analyzed by the State Police Computer Forensics Lab. This email is not from the State Police or the Department of Motor Vehicles. State Police said the hoax emails are circulating heavily nationwide, primarily through Yahoo email accounts. The title may be: "Uniform Traffic Ticket."

The Essex County Two-Percent Cap Committee will be swinging into action in coming weeks. County Board of Supervisors Chair Randy Douglas said that if the state's new 2-percent property-tax cap is enforced, there may be major cuts coming to the county budget for 2012. He appointed the task force Tuesday and charged it with making recommendations to the board on how to best implement the state's new cap.

The Vermont Air National Guard says it'll be ramping up training over the next two weeks. Lt. Col. Lloyd Goodrow says aircraft from Arizona, Virginia and Quebec will soon be arriving at Burlington International Airport to support training with the Green Mountain Boys. The visiting aircraft will join Vermont National Guard F-16 fighters for training in military airspace over New York and New Hampshire.

Have you seen an odd-looking vehicle rolling through the Burlington area? It's probably the Google Street View Car. The vehicle has been making its way around Chittenden County over the last few days. The car has a camera with 15 lenses attached to the top that creates images that are 360 degrees. Those images then become part of "street view" in Google maps.