WVTK Local & State News September 22, 2011 (Afternoon Update)

Governor Peter Shumlin says a Vermont National Guard member has died of an apparent heart attack while helping residents recover from Tropical Storm Irene. 46-year-old Master Sgt. Shawn Stocker passed away Tuesday. Shumlin's office says Stocker was leaving the Proctorsville Fire Department for a worksite in Cavendish when he was stricken.

State officials are once again warning the public about phone scams. They have recently seen a rise in phone scam reports. Here are the big 3 to watch for ... One tells people they've won a prize, but must pay taxes and shipping to receive it. Another involves an offer for a free security system, but only if the target gives out personal information and pays a deposit. And a third common scam involves phony debt collectors who threaten legal action, if the targeted person doesn't make an immediate loan payment.

Vermont State Police say an armed man involved in a car crash tried to get away in a fire truck that responded to the accident. Police say 30-year-old Trevor Burton of Warren was a passenger in Wednesday's car crash in Lincoln. They say he got into the fire truck with his pit bull terrier and threatened to drive off, but firefighters talked him out of it. Police say Burton handed the magazine to his handgun to a trooper and left the truck, but his dog bit the trooper's finger.

Law enforcement officers in New York are cracking down on texting with driving. It’s been illegal since 2009 but last month it became a primary offence, meaning police can now stop a driver just for texting behind the wheel. Last month, law enforcement officers wrote more than twice as many tickets for texting than in any other month.

Taxpayers in Clarendon will have an extra month to pay their property tax bills. The Clarendon Select Board has agreed to extend the property tax deadline from October 14 to November 18. The decision was made at a recent board meeting after hearing from residents impacted by Tropical Storm Irene that more time was needed to pay tax bills.

Although it's been a few weeks since Tropical Storm Irene, homeless shelters around the state are busier than ever. The Rutland City Rescue Mission says it's doubled the amount of meals served in its soup kitchen, and the shelter for homeless is filled with people whose homes are damaged and have nowhere to go. Vermont 211 says the number of after-hours emergency calls reached an all-time high in the month of August, with more than 160 calls of people needing information about where to go and what to do.