WVTK Local & State News August 9, 2011

A reminder, that James Road is closed in Weybridge for Field Days week. If you travel James Road you’ll to find an alternate route for the week. Also, stay up to date on all of the Addison County Fair & Field Days events by clicking HERE!

The towns of Crown Point and Addison will be the official sponsors of the Lake Champlain Bridge celebration. The new Lake Champlain Bridge is scheduled to open October 9th. The governors of New York and Vermont are expected to be on hand for a ribbon cutting. The following weekend, October 15th and 16th, a series of events to celebrate the new span across the lake are being planned. Learn how you can become part of this history-making event by clicking HERE!

Flood victims who did not qualify for federal assistance are being urged to consider appealing the decision. People who saw private property damage from this springs flash flooding and high water on Lake Champlain are eligible for grants and other assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Some who applied were turned down, but the agency says some applicants may have been declined because of minor mistakes or omissions in their applications. FEMA suggests reviewing your rejection letter and filing an appeal to get your application reconsidered.

An abundance of rainfall delayed corn planting by several weeks during the spring and the lost time may mean a reduced harvest this year. Record-breaking rainfall totals this spring delayed the corn-planting schedule on countless farms across Addison County and the rest of Vermont. But now farmers need the rain. A relatively hot and dry summer has left the corn starved for moisture. This growing season has been unusually variable across the state. Some fields have seen decent success and others have seen none at all.

Although his tenure as Addison Central Supervisory Union superintendent will last only one year, Gail Conley expects to make progress this year. He has been currently working to learn the territory of the district and his staff’s skills and duties, and how to lay the best learning foundation possible for the students before the school year starts. He’s already met with virtually all of the administrative staff and board members representing the nine ACSU schools. Meanwhile applicants for the full time superintendent position will likely be interviewed in January or early February, with the selection of a finalist ready to start by July 2012.

The Addison Central Supervisory Union has hired a consultant to serve as its financial officer as they continue to seek a new business manager. The district has hired former Essex North Superintendent Wayne Murray to serve as the district’s financial officer on a part-time basis while the search for a new business manager continues.

Several local people traveled to Washington, D.C. in July to attend the Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action. The event was organized in opposition to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Local residents decided to attended because of statistics released this spring that said 72 percent of Vermont schools, including 13 of 25 schools in Addison County and Brandon, failed to make enough government-mandated progress.

Police have been spending a lot of time investigating break-ins, burglaries and thefts in the western towns of Rutland County this summer. Break-ins at summer homes and residences aren’t uncommon, but the size and circumstances surrounding some burglaries near Lake Bomoseen this year have been unusual.

People will celebrate farmers’ markets in Vermont this week across the state. Sunday marked the start of the 12th annual National Famers' Market Week. Farmers' markets are becoming more and more popular in the U.S. In 2000, there were 2,800 markets. Now there are more than 7,000. That same trend is happening in the Green Mountain State. In the last 10 years, famers' markets have more than doubled Vermont giving the state 90 markets. Vermont will have festivities all over the state to honor farmers' markets. Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin and Rep. Peter Welch will be in Rutland today to celebrate local markets.

Vermont State Police say a Winooski man is facing a host of charges after leading police on a chase through Ferrisburgh last month that ended when his car crashed and police say they discovered thousands of dollars' worth of stolen property in it. 22-year-old Daryk Beaulieu was processed for drunken driving. Authorities say they also determined that the vehicle had been stolen in Hinesburg and that it contained property stolen from unlocked vehicles in Charlotte, Hinesburg and Ferrisburgh as well as drugs and multiple weapons.

A Rockingham man has been sentenced to time served after admitting he threatened to kill President Barack Obama. The U.S. attorney's office says 44-year-old Christopher King was sentenced yesterday to a 2-year term of supervised released after pleading guilty to one count of threatening to kill the president. King had spent two months in federal custody after being arrested in October of 2010. Court records say he posted the threat on Twitter and his Internet blog, which contained assertions that the United States government committed the September 11th terror attacks.

Ticonderoga will reduce services to residents next year. But the big question is, what will be cut? To gather public input, the Ti town board will schedule a public information meeting to discuss the 2012 town budget. No date has been set. The town board started budget talks July 21st. Local municipalities can exceed the 2 percent local tax cap with a two-third vote of the board. In Ticonderoga's case, that means four of five town board members would have to agree to the increase.

The Westport Central School District is updating its roster of disabled students ranging in age from birth to 21. The district is required to maintain that list, including disabling conditions, so it can serve disabled students residing in the district. The list provides the School Board with information to plan staffing and funding to serve the disabled population. Parents who suspect their child may have a disabling condition may call the District Office (at 962-8244) between 8AM and 4PM.

The Westport Central School Board will meet at 5:30PM Thursday in the library. Agenda items will include appointments and policy review. All meetings are open to the public.

Town, school and fire officials in Westport are debating what to do since voters shot down a plan to build a facility they would share. The center would have included space for the Westport town offices and court, Public Works garage, Westport Fire District station and Westport Central School District bus garage. The estimated cost to renovate or replace the existing facilities would exceed $9 million, not including land purchases, officials said. The proposed center, which would have been owned by the town, would have cost taxpayers a maximum of $6 million.

One of the Navy SEALs killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan over the weekend had Vermont ties. Brian Bill was one of 22 SEALs and eight other American servicemen who died when insurgents shot down their Chinook helicopter. Bill was a 2001 graduate of Norwich University in Northfield. School officials offered their condolences Monday and called Bill an extraordinary man.

Budget analysts in Vermont say the new federal debt ceiling law will likely mean the state will have tens of millions of dollars less to spend on education, health care, law enforcement and transportation programs. But officials say it will be some time before the details will be known.

A price-monitoring website says average retail gasoline prices in Vermont are plunging. VermontGasPrices.com says the average of $3.59-9 is down 15.8 cents from a week ago. But gas prices are still 84.3 cents per gallon higher than the same day a year ago, and 9.7 cents higher than a month ago.

A Vermont college is getting high marks for its architecture, and from an authoritative source, Architectural Digest. The magazine included Bennington College on a list of 10 college campuses with the best architecture last week.

A steel beam from the World Trade Center will highlight a Vermont town's memorial to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. The Bennington Banner reports the beam will be set in marble at the planned memorial in Memorial Fountain Park in Bennington, along with a memorial bench to those killed in the attack.

11-year-old Celina Cass was remembered in a community celebration of her short life. About 300 friends, acquaintances and family members packed into a school gymnasium last night, toasting Celina Cass' memory in words, song and poetry. Samples of her artwork, photographs, stuffed animals and other keepsakes sat on tables and her coach and a classmate remembered her spirit.

Verizon employees in northern New York started walking the picket line Monday, joining a strike involving unionized workers all along the East Coast. A contract for 45-thousand employees expired at midnight Saturday after the company and the workers were unable to come to terms on issues including health care costs and pensions. The dispute does not affect the company's wireless division.

Astronomers will enjoy the moonlight in Vermont this weekend in Hubbardton. The Green Mountain Alliance of Amateur Astronomers will hold a full moon program called By the Light of the Silvery Moon on Saturday night at the Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site. The free event is open to the public. Astronomers will watch the full moon rise over the Taconic Mountains. They'll bring telescopes to share the details of the space and the moon. The public can also bring binoculars, blankets, and flashlights. If the weather is bad, the event will take place on Sunday. Attendees are encouraged to call ahead to 802-273-2282 to confirm the program is taking place.

Gov. Peter Shumlin is scheduled to speak at Winter in August today. The event, which takes place from 5 to 8PM in Rutland’s Center Street Alley, is an annual tribute to the ski industry held by the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce. The event features food vendors from around Rutland County. Tickets, which are $10, will be available at the Washington and Center streets entrances to the alley.