WVTK Local & State News August 5, 2011

Addison County Fair & Field Days begins next Tuesday the 9th and you are being advised now that James Road will be closed in Weybridge for Field Days week. At this time officials are working on getting a temporary sign on the south end of Cider Mill Road letting folks know. If you travel James Road frequently you can make plans now to find an alternate route for next week.

The 63rd Addison County Fair & Field Days will feature a host of new entertainers and events joining the long list of activities returning from years past. This year the Morgan horse will be featured in the Morgan Horse Extravaganza, to be held on Wednesday from 5:30 to 7PM in the Donald C. Hunt Horse Arena. There will be 18 Morgan horses on hand to demonstrate the many talents of the breed. For a link to the complete schedule just click HERE!

An engineer says the center arch of the new Lake Champlain bridge from Vermont to New York should be lifted into place by the end of the month. The 402-foot center span of the bridge is being built at a New York marina two miles north of the bridge site. John Grady of the New York Department of Transportation says workers are finishing the cable support system of the arch. Once that is done, the arch will be loaded onto two barges and moved to the bridge site where it will be lifted into place.

Poison Parsnip, Which looks like Queen Anne’s Lace with yellow flowers, continues to spread in Addison County. The plant can cause second-degree burns after contact with skin and exposure to the sun. It is recommended that if you come in contact with Poison Parsnip you go and wash your hands as soon as possible because it’s a light activated chemical that will create serious blisters. Many local experts note that wild parsnip seems to be rapidly taking over. For more information on dealing with poison parsnip, Vermont Plant Pathologist Tim Schmalz is available at 802-241-3544.

According to local stakeholders Middlebury would be well served in hiring an economic development director to actively recruit new businesses to town. That’s the conclusion of a Middlebury College student hired by the town of Middlebury this summer to research its economic development policy and determine whether it would be wise to hire a director to spearhead commercial, retail and industrial growth. Middlebury College sophomore Ryan Kim has spent more than 200 hours doing research. He interviewed 27 local stakeholders, including businesspeople, town officials, investors, and marketing professionals.

After receiving a host of awards for high-quality milk and conservation farming practices, Cheryl and J.D. DeVos of Kimball Brook Farm in Ferrisburgh have a top prize to add to their trophy case. They are the winners of the Vermont Dairy Farm of the Year award for 2011.

In its most recent attempt to control costs, the United States Postal Service has singled out a host of post offices across the nation for potential closure. One of those on the list is the Addison County Town of Granville along with 13 others in Vermont. After spending the next few months soliciting public feedback in each of the 3,600 locations under the microscope nationwide, the USPS will decide which post offices it will close. The Town of Granville is expected to rally support to keep their Post Office open.

Earlier this week Waltham selectmen pegged the town’s municipal tax rate at 40 cents, which is a 2-cent hike in the rate to Waltham taxpayers for funding town road and office expenses. Combined with Waltham’s drop in its residential rate for school taxes by 14.94 cents, homeowners will be looking at lower tax bills over the next year.

The Essex Town Board has scheduled two public hearings in August on proposed changes to the town zoning law to bring it more into sync with the Adirondack Park Agency. The first public hearing will be held August 9th at the Essex Town Hall at 7PM. The second will be held August 23rd at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall also at 7PM.

The ski area in Killington has had a series of copper wire thefts. Vermont State Police say $6,000 of copper wire was stolen between the 29th and 31st of July. State police are continuing its investigation. Anyone with information regarding this theft is asked to call the Rutland State Police Barracks. (802) 773-9101.

Celina Cass' stepfather has checked himself into a mental health facility. The 11-year-old lived with her stepfather, Wendell Noyes, and her mother. Much of the investigation so far has centered on the home. Noyes has not been named a suspect in the case, but police removed his truck on Wednesday.

Charges have been upgraded for a Vermont man who police say was involved in a shooting in Hinesburg on Wednesday. Dean Heffernan of Bristol, pleaded not guilty to first-degree attempted murder at Vermont Superior Court in Burlington yesterday. Heffernan was originally charged with aggravated assault and possession of narcotics. Katherine Heffernan has been cited to appear in court on August 29 on a charge of possession of narcotics. Dean Heffernan is being held without bail and will be back in court in September.

Vermont authorities have expanded their search for an Essex couple missing since early June. Police are now looking in a 20-mile radius of the couple's home after they discovered 40 unaccounted for mile on the couple's car. Bill and Lorraine Currier were last seen on June 8th. The Burlington Free Press reports that on Thursday, teams of officers from various police departments searched areas up to 100 yards off of roads but did not find anything new.

A Vermont judge has granted final approval to a settlement that would require dairy processor Dean Foods Co. to pay more than 9,000 Northeast farmers and their attorneys $30 million to settle antitrust allegations. The settlement stems from a class-action lawsuit that accused Dallas-based Dean Foods of monopolizing the market for raw milk in the Northeast, driving down prices paid to dairy farmers. Dean does not admit any wrongdoing.

A former town treasurer in Ira who embezzled more than $400,000 will have to wait to learn his fate. Donald Hewitt was supposed to be sentenced on Monday in federal court in Brattleboro, but his sentencing has been postponed because his public defender accepted a job as a state court judge. Hewitt faces up to 20 years in prison. The hearing has not been rescheduled.

Airports in Rutland and West Lebanon, New Hampshire, both benefit from a federal subsidy program that's been the subject of a bitter dispute in Washington over the past two weeks. The quarrel has been temporarily resolved and the airline that serves both communities says their service is strong and growing. The program subsidizes commercial air service to rural airports. A bill passed by the House would eliminate the subsidy for 13 airports. But Rutland and Lebanon were spared.

Some Vermont Republicans are criticizing Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin for saying he wouldn't eat fish caught in the Connecticut River near the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Republican Rep. Oliver Olsen and party Chairwoman Pat McDonald both say Shumlin's comments will hurt tourism in Vermont by discouraging people from fishing in the Connecticut.

The numbers are in, and this year’s Bristol Three-Day Stampede is one for the records. The 21st Bristol Cystic Fibrosis Foundation fund-raiser has generated more than $102,000 in donations, smashing the previous record of $100,000 set in 2009. According to the event co-founder donations continue to come in and could potentially bring the grand total close to $103,000.

Getting a 'higher education' in Vermont took on a deeper meaning yesterday as the Consortium of Vermont Colleges and Ski Vermont announce a partnership expected to boost both tourism and enrollment at Vermont's many public and private institutions of higher education. Ski Vermont and CVC will coordinate Internet, digital and social marketing efforts, work collaboratively to generate earned media, cross promote in printed material, and share access to consumer events and trade shows throughout the northeast and in key international markets.

Middlebury and Hinesburg are well represented at the annual Dragonheart Vermont's Lake Champlain Dragon Boat Festival held at the Burlington waterfront. The boat teams, including Danforth Pewter, Citizens Bank and NRG Wind, return for the watery action again at the 2011 festival to be held this Sunday. The Dragon Boat festival has grown in size over the years. This year's event will draw the largest group of participants with 2,000 registered paddlers for the cancer-fighting fundraising event.

Mill River Union High School juniors Rachel Montross and Leslie Hixon have been selected to perform with Spirit of America Productions at the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The students will spend a week in New York City preparing for a cheer routine comprised of 600 cheerleaders from around the United States.