WVTK Local & State News August 15, 2011

Afternoon Update:

The Lowe's in Ticonderoga, New York closed Sunday night putting 86 people out of work. 

The Lowe's in Ticonderoga is one of seven locations that closed Sunday night. According to Katie Cody, who works in public relations for Lowe's, the store closed because it was not bringing in enough money to keep the location open. She said that initial sales were well below projections and had not improved over time. Cody says employees were told the store was closing permanently during a meeting at the store Sunday night. She said the employees will receive full pay and benefits for 90 days.

A commission devoted to defending Vermont's laws against being undermined by international trade agreements is unhappy with Gov. Peter Shumlin's efforts to weigh in on trade issues without consulting it. A draft letter circulated Monday at a meeting of the Vermont Commission on International Trade and State Sovereignty says the panel agrees with Shumlin's efforts to defend state programs that seek discounts from drug companies from being undermined by a new trade agreement with Asian countries. The letter asks for Shumlin to coordinate with the commission on trade issues in the future.

Vermont motorists are feeling a little less pain at the pump. The average retail price for a gallon of gas dropped 4.6 cents a gallon last week, to $3.66 as of Sunday. Gasoline price-tracking web site VermontGasPrices.com says that's just off the 4.7 cents per gallon drop nationally. Still, gas costs about 92 cents more per gallon now than it did a year ago in Vermont. The national average for a gallon of gas has dropped 6.7 cents a gallon in the last month.

A Vermont college's nursing program is getting some help from Uncle Sam. Norwich University's graduate school master of science program is getting two grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Advanced Education Nurse Traineeship award, which is for $20,000, provides money for a needs-based graduate student stipend. Last year, the same grant supported 13 students.

State Police are investigating a burglary off of Main Street in Orwell that occurred last Friday morning around 4AM. An unknown subject broke into the business and went through the business. State Police believe this to be connected with several other break-ins along Route 22A in both the City of Vergennes and the Town of Benson. Anyone with any information on any of these burglaries is asked to contact the Vermont State Police New Haven Barracks. (802-388-4919)

A West Haven man is in critical condition after flipping his ATV. Shane Bowen was riding on Old North Lake Road in Benson on Sunday when he reportedly drove off the road and crashed. The 41-year-old suffered a head injury and was rushed to the hospital. He was not wearing a helmet.

Burlington police say two people have been arrested and another is being sought in connection with a murder attempt. 30-year-old Brian Sheldon of Middlebury is charged with attempted murder and 25-year-old Jermee Slaughter of Winooski is charged with assault and robbery. Police say the two men arranged to meet a 26-year-old St. Albans man behind some businesses in Burlington in June to rob him during a drug deal. Sheldon allegedly hit the victim in the head with a blunt object. Police are now trying to locate a teenager who they believe was involved in the incident.

A three-vehicle crash on Route 30 in Cornwall sent two people to the hospital for injuries not believed to be life threatening on Friday. According to police, Alexandra Rooker of Fair Haven was travelling north on Route 30 while James Broderick of Hubbardton and Jacob Abbott of Orwell, were travelling south in separate vehicles. At the intersection with Cider Mill Road, Rooker looked to turn left onto Cider Mill Road, directly in front of Broderick’s car. Broderick and his passenger were transported by Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance to Porter Hospital to be treated for injuries.

A Middlebury health care provider is the first in Vermont to meet all the federal criteria for using electronic health records to improve patient care. And as a result Middlebury Family Health will receive incentive payments from Medicare. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, who has helped secure more than $1 million for the system statewide, joined others in Middlebury on Friday to highlight the program. The system enables the practice to better track which patients are overdue for physicals, mammograms and checkups for chronic health problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum says the schooner Lois McClure will be docked at St. Albans Bay as part of a tour to promote sustainable farming and forestry. The ship will be at St. Albans on Tuesday and Wednesday, with public viewing hours both days. A historic market day to welcome the McClure is scheduled for Tuesday. The rain date is Wednesday.

Former Gov. Jim Douglas has been elected to be a trustee of the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation's Board. John Coolidge, the son of the president, established the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation in 1960. The foundation's offices are located in Plymouth where Calvin Coolidge was born, raised and is now buried.

The Rutland Community and Economic Development Committee said Mark Foley could have one food truck in the parking lot he leases from the city. Foley signed a lease for the lot at West and Cottage streets earlier this year to provide parking for his retail spaces in the Gryphon Building. He said the owners of the Killington Avenue Market & Deli approached him a few weeks ago having just bought a truck and looking for a place to put it. The committee’s recommendation much still be ratified by the full Board of Aldermen, which meets today.

Landowners in Clarendon will see tax rates drop a couple of pennies when they open property tax bills in the next few days. The Clarendon Select Board set the 2012 municipal tax rate at 43 cents per $100 of assessed property value, the same rate as last year. The homestead education tax rate set by the state is $1.27 per $100 of assessed property value, down 2 cents from last year’s $1.30.

A Ticonderoga man was found guilty of sexual abuse Friday afternoon. Richard L. Brown was found guilty of five counts of first-degree sexual abuse after a jury trial in Essex County Court. He was found guilty of abusing a 6-year-old girl on two occasions in 2009. Ticonderoga Town Police arrested Brown May 26th based on a sealed indictment from the Essex County District Attorney's Office. Sentencing has been scheduled for September 22nd. Brown faces a maximum determinate term of 14 years in prison, followed by a period of post-release supervision.

Vermont State Police say a man apparently drowned while fishing at Little River State Park. Police say 59-year-old Daniel Forsey of Essex Junction was with a friend at about 4:30PM Friday when the water began to rise from a dam. It was being released as part of Green Mountain Power's routine power generating process. An autopsy has been scheduled.

It may be hot now, but the frigid days of the winter ahead are on the minds of officials in New England. President Barack Obama's proposal to chop the budget of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program nearly in half looms in a region where 70% of the households heat with oil. Latest figures show more than 350,000 of those households received LIHEAP support. LIHEAP funding could drop in Vermont from $25.6 million to $11.6 million.

A Northeast Kingdom wind farm is taking shape. Several turbines tower into the sky on a ridgeline in Sheffield. A total of 16 turbines will be built. They will be 420-feet tall. First Wind says once the project is complete this fall, the turbines will provide power to about 15,000 homes.

Two law schools that refused for years to allow military recruiters on campus because of objections over the Pentagon's position on gays in the military are now poised to do so. Vermont Law School in South Royalton and the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, MN said no to on-campus recruiting because the military's ban on gays was at odds with their anti-discrimination stances. The law schools were the only ones in America that barred the recruiters. By refusing the recruiters access to students on their campuses, they sacrificed eligibility for federal grants. At Vermont Law School officials estimate that they missed out on about $500,000 annually. But now both independent law schools are moving to admit recruiters because "don't ask don't tell" is being repealed.

New York students will see some big changes they next time they take standardized tests. The state is getting rid of trick questions. Questions with answers such as "none of the above," or "all of the above" will be banned from the exams. Educators hope the revised tests will give a better read on students' academic ability.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced the New York Fresh Connect Farmers Markets program, which launches new farmers markets and expands others around the state. The program is designed to assist New York farmers by increasing the sale of locally grown food in communities. The program will also bring fresh food to underserved communities, improve nutrition education, and help create local jobs.

McDonald's new plan to offer apples in every Happy Meal could lead to big gains for sales of New York-grown apples. Some industry estimates claim McDonald's sold about 220 million of the meals in the United States last year. Of those, around 24 million were likely sold with apple slices, based on the company's statement that only 10 percent of Happy Meal sales saw customers requesting apples when it was optional. The company has been sourcing apples from New York orchards since 2004, when it first introduced apple slices to its menu. Growers will be bracing for a rush of demand from McDonald's this fall.

Horse owners are praising a new law signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that extends the same legal protections and tax-assessment benefits to commercial equine operations that commercial horse-boarding operations currently enjoy. Up until now, farms that provide horse training, trail riding and riding lessons were excluded from agricultural district protections and agricultural tax assessments. But breeding and commercial horse-boarding operations were eligible. The law fixed the disparity by expanding the horse operations eligible for protections.

State officials say the seatbelt compliance rate for New York has reached an all-time high. The preliminary findings of a statewide seatbelt observation study show 91 percent of New Yorkers buckle their seat belts. The University at Albany’s Institute is conducting the survey for Traffic Safety Management and Research.

There are over 100-thousand people in the U.S. waiting for a life saving transplant and Vermont faces a critical shortage of registered organ donors. Less than a year ago, only 289 Vermonters were registered organ donors. That number has since jumped to 2,080. Despite the progress, Vermont still ranks last in the nation and many blame the low donor numbers on the state's confusing system. Being listed as an organ donor on your Vermont driver's license does not automatically add your name to the national registry. If you would like to be an organ donor, visit www.donatelifevt.org to register.

The annual Castleton Colonial Day House Tour will be this Saturday August 20th from 10AM to 4PM. The tour covers 17 sites throughout the village, including private homes, historic sites and public buildings. Castleton Free Library will host an ice cream social from 2 to 4PM and the Federated Church will have a ham dinner with assorted cold salads, beverages and dessert at 5. The dinner costs $8 for adults, $5 for children 12 and younger. House tour tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for seniors.

25-year-old Keegan Bradley has won the PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club. The Woodstock native is a rookie on the PGA Tour this season. Bradley outlasted Jason Dufner in a three-hole playoff to claim the victory in what was his first appearance in one of golf's four major tournaments.