WVTK Local & State News September 20, 2011

A fire completely destroyed a firefighter's home in Starksboro. The blaze broke out sometime yesterday afternoon while Captain Eric Cota was outside mowing his lawn and his wife was picking up their children at school. She returned just before 4 and found the home engulfed in flames. No people were injured in the fire.

A Castleton State College student remains hospitalized this morning after an accident along Lake Bomoseen. On Sunday afternoon, during a party at the lake, a deck collapsed, sending at least 8 people to the ground. Only 4 were injured in the fall. Witnesses say the second story structure separated from the house and toppled over.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to help residents get back on their feet after Irene. The Governor has extended due dates for property taxes and is waiving fees to have state documents replaced. The governor has also created a new program called New York Works. The new program will provide temporary work to unemployed residents for the next 3 months. Workers will assist in rebuilding and reconstruction efforts, and will make 15 dollars an hour.

Even though the Granville / Hancock area was the hardest hit area of Addison County by Tropical Storm Irene and there is still a lot of cleanup work to do, a new business has opened its doors. A crowd showed up last Thursday for the Grand Opening of the Granville General Store.

Back on September 7th at a special meeting, residents in Panton voted against borrowing $40,000 to fix the cupola of the Town Hall. The cupola work would have been part of a larger project to repair the leaky roof. Now Panton selectmen believe they may have found a way to remove the cupola, and keep it, while allowing the building’s roof is fixed.

A Wilder man will be back in court today to answer to charges that he hired someone to kill his 2 close friends. Police say Louis Fucci wanted his ex-business partner and ex-girlfriend dead, but the man he hired to carry out the killings went instead to authorities. Prosecutors say he paid the intended killer $9,000 dollars, and some of the conversations Fucci had with the man were recorded. Fucci is expected to enter his plea in court today.

The Vermont Health Department is offering homeowners who are cleaning up from Irene tips on how to get rid of mold. The Health Department says to dry all wet materials immediately and dispose of any moldy materials that can't be cleaned, especially porous items such as wallboard, insulation, carpet and ceiling tiles. Non-porous items made of wood, steel, plastic, ceramic, glass or concrete can be cleaned with detergent and water or a weak bleach solution.

The Salvation Army says it needs volunteers to help at its flood recovery center in Rutland. The center says they also need non-perishable food items, particularly canned meats and beef stew, peanut butter and jelly in plastic containers, pasta and Italian sauce, bottled water and hygiene items. To find out more about volunteering, please call the volunteer coordinator at the Flood Recovery Center at (802) 773-1739.