WVTK Local & State News September 15, 2011

On September 14th State Police in New Haven fielded a theft of copper tubing report from a residence on the Goshen-Ripton Road in Goshen. Approximately 50-60 feet of soft copper tubing was stolen. This occurred between 7 September and 14 September 2011. Anyone with information in regards to this stolen copper is encouraged to contact the State Police in New Haven. 802.388.4919

The state of Vermont has expanded its request for federal aid for home and business owners to three more counties following Tropical Storm Irene. Gov. Peter Shumlin said Wednesday that damage in Lamoille, Franklin and Orleans counties met the threshold for federal assistance. The federal government has already approved individual assistance for Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Orange, Rutland, Washington, Windham and Windsor counties. Every county in the state has received a public assistance declaration, which means federal assistance will be provided for repairs of roads, bridges and public infrastructure. The individual assistance would help home and business owners.

FEMA has approved more than $10 million in grants to help Vermonters fix their flood-damaged homes. FEMA officials say people who are living in temporary housing can use the grant money to cover their rent payments. To apply for a grant, you need to register with FEMA. To do that, you can call 800-621-FEMA (3326), or you can do it online.

Residents and business affected by Hurricane Irene are urged to visit one of the Disaster Recovery Centers in Essex County. The centers are located at the Jay Municipal Center in Ausable Forks and the Moriah Fire Department. The DRCs have information and services and are open seven days a week from 8AM – 8PM.

To pay for cleanup from Tropical Storm Irene, Essex County lawmakers say they'll have to start borrowing money. A bond-anticipation note will probably be needed soon to cover the damages. In the meantime, they'll use the county's unexpended fund balance to cover the repairs, expected to be in the millions of dollars, and then replenish the fund balance when the bonds are issued. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to cover the costs.

Rutland City police are looking for a pair of teenaged girls who were with an injured Otter Valley Union High School student when she came out of the woods following a reported attack last week in Pine Hill Park. A week after the incident, no other attacks have been reported at the park and police Detective Ken Mosher said police have made no arrests. The detective said he was also preparing to interview a teenage boy who saw the girl as she walked out of the park. He is also looking for two unidentified teenage girls who were with the Otter Valley student after the attack. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact police.

Vermont State Police are investigating the report of 5 camp breaks in the town of Orwell on Singing Cedars Road. The camps were entered through forced entry. One of the camps had personal property stolen from it. It is unknown if any of the other camps had property stolen as the owners do not live in the area. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Haven State Police Barracks. (1-802-388-4919)

Police in Addison say a man was caught driving more than twice the speed limit on his motorcycle. They say 21-Year-Old Samuel Trudo of Addison, was going 133 mph on Route 22A Tuesday afternoon. Police caught up with him just over the Panton/Vergennes town line. Trudo faces excessive speed charges and will appear in court next month.

Middlebury College will seek to deepen understanding of the recent protests in the Middle East during its Clifford Symposium that runs from September 22nd to 24th. The symposium will feature a notable group of diverse speakers including scholars, journalists, writers, poets, artists and human rights activists, offering analysis and personal reflection during the three-day event. All events are free and open to the public.

Several Vermont anglers are upset with a plan to remove flood debris from the Middlebury River. The anglers feel debris removal work will disturb fish habitat following the Tropical Storm Irene flood. Some members of the New Haven River Anglers club complained to the Middlebury Selectboard on Monday about its plans to partially removal organic debris from a choked section of river located along Three Mile Bridge Road near the VAST snowmobile bridge.

U.S. News & World Report again ranks several Vermont colleges among the best in the country. The University of Vermont comes in at number 82 for "Best National Universities", tied with five other schools. That's up from last year when UVM was tied for 94th. Middlebury College is ranked number 5 in the category of "Best National Liberal Arts Colleges." St. Michael's College comes in tied for 99th on that same list. And Champlain College receives a ranking of 13th in the category of "Best Regional Colleges in the North", which includes 10 northeast states.

The Rutland Redevelopment Authority got a new executive director and a new chairman Tuesday. The RRA’s board officially hired Brennan Duffy, director of recruitment for the Vermont Department of Economic Development. The hiring was the last official act of Chairman Mark Foley Jr., who announced some time ago he was moving out of the city and would step down once the hiring process was complete. The board unanimously voted to make board member David Cooper the new chairman Tuesday.

The city of Burlington wants to lower the speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph on many city streets. The Public Works Director says the proposal is about safety and making streets more useable for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. The public will get a chance to weigh in on the plan on the evening of September 28th at City Hall.

The Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is gearing up for its annual banned book-reading event. In it, prominent Vermont writers read aloud from books that have been challenged, censored or banned through the years. The event dubbed "An Evening Without" and held in conjunction with the American Library Association's annual Banned Books Week, will be held at 7PM September 25th at the Big Picture Theater in Waitsfield.

Military jets are flying across northern New York skies on training missions this week. New York state military officials say two F-15s from the 104th Fighter Wing based at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, MA conducted scramble drills over designated military air space in the North Country on Wednesday morning. In addition, F-16s from the 158th Fighter Wing in Burlington are conducting night flights over the region through Friday both this week and next. The fighters are flying over the range at Fort Drum.

A woman from Essex County, NY will try to survive the hit CBS show "Survivor." Sophie Clarke, 22, of Willsboro, will be stuck on a tropical island in Samoa with 17 other contestants. The former soccer star, prom princess and valedictorian says she has prepared herself by lifting weights and reading survival books. The med student found she'd been cast the day after graduating from Middlebury College.

World’s Fair is a go despite flooding just a short time ago. The biggest message fair organizers want to get out to people is that the roads are open around Tunbridge and you can get there. It's being advertised too. When going to the World's Fair website you're greeted with a "We're Open" message that reads 'While the fairgrounds got soaked and muddy, there was no damage, and Vermont Routes 14 and 110 from Interstate 89 are open.' For more info click HERE.

The seventh annual Footrace at Fort Ticonderoga will be contested Saturday, September 24th. The event is a scenic, cross-country 5K course. It features varied terrain of grass and gravel near the shores of Lake Champlain, on the historic Fort Ticonderoga peninsula, finishing on the parade ground inside the walls of the fort. The race will begin at 10AM. Race day check-in and late registration will be 8:30-9:45AM. Pre-race entry fee is $15 for students and $17 for adults. Entry is $20 on race day. T-shirts are guaranteed to the first 100 registrants. Entry forms are available on line at www.footraceatfortti.com.

Hotels across New York State experienced a strong Labor Day weekend and busy summer, according to a survey by a nonprofit trade organization. The New York State Hospitality and Tourism Association, with 1,300 members, reported 70 percent of respondents to a recent survey reported business was as good as or better than last year. That was despite high gas prices and extreme weather conditions leading up to Labor Day.

All of Vermont's public schools are open for the year, but some schools affected by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene have to improvise. At the Moretown Elementary School classrooms have been set up in tents, while the building is cleaned. Officials hope to be back in the building next week. In Chittenden, 33 students who attend the Barstow Elementary School have to walk through the woods to get around a section of washed out Route 4. And in Rochester, one of the towns completely cut off during the flood, educators are planning to collect student reflections on the flooding for a book and a play that will be staged next spring.

A federal trial on Entergy Corp.'s dispute with Vermont over its refusal to extend the life of a nuclear power plant has ended. New Orleans-based Entergy says Vermont lawmakers wrongly considered safety in blocking an extension for the Vermont Yankee plant in Vernon. The NRC has approved a 20-year extension for the plant. But Vermont also gives its Legislature such authority over power plants, the only state to do so. A federal judge is expected to rule this fall.

More sections of the Green Mountain National Forest are re-opening, as crews work to evaluate conditions of roads, trails and recreational facilities following Tropical Storm Irene. The 16,000-acre Moosalamoo National Recreation Area and other areas at Bromley, Mount Snow, and Sugarbush have all re-opened. But other parts of the Forest remain closed. The Forest Service has sent a 22-person chainsaw crew to check and clear the Appalachian and Long Trails. Initial damage assessments indicate that many washed out roads and trail especially in northern sections. Officials expect the majority of trail clearing and initial damage assessment to be completed by the end of the week.

Phish played a benefit concert last night for those affected by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene. The band drew about 12,000 fans, at $75 and up per ticket, to the Champlain Valley Exposition fairgrounds in Essex Junction, opening a three-hour set with "Chalk Dust Torture." First, Gov. Peter Shumlin made a brief appearance on the stage, talking about how resilient Vermont residents have been through the disaster.