WVTK Local & State News September 19, 2011

The boil-water order in West Rutland was lifted around noon Friday. West Rutland Town Manager Mary Ann Goulette said the state gave the town the OK to lift the boil-water order following a series of positive test results conducted at the contaminated well, three different sites and a distribution center. The boil-water order was issued to West Rutland residents after E. coli was found in one of the wells following flooding from Tropical Storm Irene.

When Irene came through nearly 3 weeks ago, it caused the Otter Creek to rise and spill eight feet of water into a Rutland field where 150 tons of pumpkins were ready to be picked. The water not only washed over the pumpkins, it broke them right off the vines and carried most of them away. According to Mark Winslow "They floated down to Middlebury or Lake Champlain.” Luckily for Winslow, half his crop was grown in Pittsford. Although some pumpkins sat under a lot of water they look pretty good. There's a lot of orange color and the shells are pretty hard. However, you have to check the stem, if it's really soft farmers say that means it's infected and eventually the rest of the pumpkin will start to go. Farmers can still sell them, but officials say it's important to ask if the pumpkins were covered with water before you pick them.

A proposed local law regulating general contractors has been put on hold by the Ticonderoga Town Council after some contractors spoke against it at a public hearing. Town Supervisor Debra Malaney said the law was drafted after some contractors complained of others doing shoddy work and not carrying insurance or other certifications. But the law as drafted was felt by some to be too severe. There are no plans to bring the law up again.

Vermont’s 14 hospitals collectively have kept their budgets for next year below a threshold set by the Legislature, but only after excluding the $16 million in tax increases on health care providers that lawmakers and Gov. Peter Shumlin imposed this year to help fill a budget gap. For the fiscal year that begins October 1st, Vermont hospital budgets will grow an average of 3.8 percent when the new taxes aren’t included, which brings the budgets under the target of 4 percent set by a 2009 law.

As Vermont’s electric utilities prepare to install “smart meters” on every home and business tied to the grid, some residents are warning regulators of health and privacy issues that may accompany the new technology. A $70 million grant from the Department of Energy will help pay for putting state-of-the-art meters on exterior house walls across Vermont. The smart meters, as they’re called, will use wireless technology to beam real-time information about a household’s electricity use directly to the utility. The public got its first chance to weigh in on the plan last Thursday. Janet Newton, president of the EMR Policy Institute in Marshfield, said government agencies haven’t adequately researched the potential impacts of radio-frequency radiation emitted by smart meters. CVPS has already crafted an opt-out provision, which was approved recently by the PSB.

Department of Transportation crews are back home in Maine after spending nearly two weeks helping repair infrastructure in Vermont damaged by heavy rains from the remnants of Hurricane Irene. The department sent 149 workers who volunteered to be a part of Vermont's recovery effort. DOT regional manager Mike Burns said that the crews worked 15-hour days for 12 days repairing roadways, inspecting bridges and doing other things asked of them.

Sen. Patrick Leahy is hailing the signing into law by President Barack Obama the first significant reform of America's patent laws since the early 1950s. Leahy says he worked for six years on the legislation, which is designed to make it easier for inventors to get their creations through the patent process and to market. He says the measure is especially important in Vermont, which has the highest number of patents per capita in the nation.

Congressman Peter Welch says GOP leaders in the House are "playing politics" with a federal disaster relief bill that would help many northeastern states, including Vermont. Republican leaders say any additional money for the Federal Emergency Management Agency must be cut from other programs. Welch is strongly opposed to that approach. The measure is expected to be on the House floor for debate in the middle of this week.

Vermont's two U.S. senators are urging a quick vote in the House next week on $6.9 billion in additional federal disaster relief funds for Vermont and other states. The measure up for a House vote this week includes $5.1 billion in funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund, $500 million of which would be available immediately. The rest would go to other departments and agencies that have seen their coffers dwindle in a year when there have been more natural disasters than usual. The Department of Agriculture would receive $266 million for emergency programs.

New York Senator Chuck Schumer is pushing legislation to help farmers wiped out by Irene. He wants to eliminate the interest that farmers are charged on federal disaster loans. The current rate is 3.75 percent. Tropical storms Irene and Lee caused tens of millions of dollars in crop and livestock damage in Vermont and New York alone. The Department of Agriculture has yet to comment on Schumer's proposal.

Police say a 25-year-old man is hospitalized and a 55-year-old man is in jail following a shooting in southern Vermont. Vermont State Police were called at 9:30PM Saturday called to a residence on Route 30 in Townshend where William McGuiness of Townshend had sustained injuries from the shooting. McGuiness was flown to a hospital, where police said he is being treated for his injuries. The suspect, 55-year-old Edward Tetrault of Townshend, was arrested at 3AM Sunday in the nearby town of Grafton. Police say the shooting took place during a domestic altercation. Tetrault is being held without bail on three counts of aggravated domestic assault.

A 69-year-old woman escaped unharmed but her car sustained extensive damages when it collided with a moose on a rural highway in northern Vermont. Vermont State Police say a large moose darted in front of a Jeep driven by Diane Thurber of Orleans at about 8:30PM Saturday on Route 105 in Charleston. Officials say Thurber unsuccessfully attempted to brake and avoid the animal. The animal ran off after the collision.

With fall foliage season at hand, New England general stores are getting ready for their annual influx of leaf-peeping visitors. And the stores will be relying on their usual combination of nostalgia and offbeat services to bring 'em in. With creaky wooden floors, penny-candy counters and merchandise that runs the gamut from snow shovels to wedding dresses, these fixtures of small-town Yankee life have evolved into an eclectic mix that manage to compete in a Wal-Mart era.

Vermont is starting to show its fall colors. In the first of its annual fall foliage reports, Ginger Anderson of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation says weather forecasts for cool nights with adequate moisture and healthy trees portend a good foliage season. Anderson says aerial surveys over the Northeast Kingdom show the reds in maples are developing well, particularly in wetlands. The best bets for early foliage viewers are Route 108 through Smugglers’ Notch as well as routes 242 and 100 near Jay Peak and routes 16 and 5A in the Lake Willoughby area.

A new statewide program is designed to help parents teach kids about money. The Vermont Money Smart Child Initiative has produced a booklet offering tips on how to teach children about managing personal finance. There will also be parent workshops conducted around the state, which will provide exercises exploring spending choices, budgeting, credit and saving. The program is a partnership between the Vermont JumpStart Coalition, the State Treasurer's Office, and People's United Bank.

Fort Ticonderoga hosts its eighth annual Seminar on the American Revolution September 23rd – 25th. The annual seminar focuses on the political, social and military history of Revolutionary America, bringing together a panel of historians from around the country. The Seminar is open to the public. Pre-registration is required. Additional information about the seminar is available on the Fort Ticonderoga website.

Ticonderoga High School track and field coach Walter Thorne continues to be one of the top masters runners in the world. The Ticonderoga man claimed four gold medals and set two records while competing in the World Fire and Police Games in New York City last month. 71-Year-Old Thorne won the 400-meter run with a record time of 1 minute, 11.19 seconds. He also won the 200-meter sprint.

The Salvation Army says it's moving from immediate disaster relief in Vermont to a longer-term effort to provide food, clothing, furniture and spiritual support to people affected by Tropical Storm Irene and its aftermath. The charitable organization is opening a new Vermont flood recovery headquarters at 263 South Main Street in Rutland, in space being donated by John and Shirley Barnhart. The center is seeking donations of nonperishable food items, particularly canned meats, and it is also seeking volunteers.