WVTK Local & State News August 22, 2011 (Afternoon Update)

The Brandon Select Board will be discussing various items tonight including considering a hazard mitigation plan. The meeting is at the Brandon Fire Station at 7PM. Along with a hazard mitigation plan; the board will also consider the proclamation for National Preparedness Month coming up in September, a road closure for a special event and an appointment to Trustee of Public Funds. A copy of the complete agenda can be found HERE.

On September 13th Weybridge residents will gather for the first of several upcoming community forums to share their views on how the local elementary school should be governed and managed in the future as the school enrollment continues to decline. The meeting will be the first in a series of discussions in all seven Addison Central Supervisory Union towns on whether the district should consider consolidating its governance structure and or more effectively share resources due to growing expenses and fewer students.

Ferrisburgh selectmen and Eastern Development Corp. have struck a deal for the sale of the town’s 34.9-acre parcel at the junction of Routes 7 and 22A. The company has not disclosed the exact nature of its plans, but the select-board is optimistic based on discussions with Eastern Development, that the town and neighboring Vergennes will be happy. Selectmen hope to use sale proceeds to complete a $150,000 purchase of a home and 2 acres next to the Grange Hall.

Gearing up for elections next year, Vermont Democrats say they've hired a new field director to help the party prepare for 2012. Ryan McLaren, a lifelong Vermonter and former aide to Gov. Peter Shumlin, will oversee the party reorganization process this fall. Party Executive Director Jesse Bragg says McLaren's field experience will be key for Democratic campaigns next year.

Gasoline prices in Vermont are continuing to go down. In the last week the average price for gasoline in the state fell 3.9 cents to $3.62 a gallon. Nationally, the average price decreased 1.4 cents to $3.58. Over the last month the national average price of gas dropped by 10.4 cents. The website Vermontgasprices.com says that even though the price of gas is declining, the average price is still 89.2 cents higher than it was a year ago.

Vermont's efforts to strengthen management of court records are getting a big boost from the federal government. The Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, a division of the secretary of state's office, has received a grant of more than $118,000 to preserve records from three county courthouses dating from 1794 through 1945. Officials say they hope eventually to spread the effort beyond court records for Orleans, Lamoille and Caledonia counties to include courthouses statewide.

Scientists at the Dartmouth College Medical School are going to use an $11 million grant to work with their colleagues throughout northern New England, including the University Of Vermont, to study the way genetics and the environment work together to trigger and prevent disease. The grant from the National Institutes of health will help Dartmouth establish a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence. The center will recruit and train young biologists who will do the research into the interaction between genes and the environment in causing or preventing diseases.

Police arrest a Vermont teen after he confessed to starting the fire that damaged the P&S Furniture building two weeks ago in Barre. The 15-year-old male told police he was lighting fires on a couch outside of the warehouse, when the fire got out of control and spread to the building. Police say the juvenile told them he had no involvement in the other fires that recently happened in Barre.