WVTK Local & State News September 23, 2011

Several Vermont law enforcement agencies have been investigating numerous phone scams. At this time, there are several reported incidents, they tend to fall into one of three types of scams: lottery/winnings, home security, or debt collector/money fraud. The targeted victim’s profile varies by scam, but the victims all report the fraudulent caller as having a heavy accent and, in several incidents, threatening and hostile. Due to the increasing frequency and similarities of these scams, the public should be aware of the issue and report any incidents they feel are inappropriate to their local Law enforcement agency.

The Green Mountain National Forest, including the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area, has re-opened to all Vermonters and visitors as of September 16th. However, the damage to roads, bridges and trails in the Rochester and Middlebury Ranger Districts is extensive. Areas popular with tourists, Texas Falls and the Robert Frost trail, remain closed.

Renters who lost their home or personal property as a result of Tropical Storm Irene in Clinton and Essex counties are among those who may be eligible for assistance. Funds are available from the New York State Office of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Next Tuesday Middlebury residents will be asked to approve a $250,000 bond to complete final design and engineering plans for a substantial rebuild of the town’s fire stations on Seymour Street and in East Middlebury. The vote is a lead-in to a second, $4.625 million bond referendum to finance construction of the project, which will include extensive renovations and a four-bay addition to the Seymour Street station. Also part of the second bond vote is a new smaller East Middlebury station that would be able to store two trucks and have a sprinkler system.

Bristol residents voiced concerns over a proposed town plan update at a public hearing earlier this week. They asked the planning commission to add more information to the plan about extraction in the conservation area and some wording in crucial sections of the document while raising other issues that could impede the plan’s adoption.

A new format is being looked into for the annual Bristol police meeting. Residents of the Bristol Police District will have an opportunity on Monday evening at 7 in Holley Hall to decide the future time and format of the annual district meetings, where the police budget is approved or denied.

Green Mountain Power has applied to the Vermont Public Service Board for permission to install a wind turbine on the northeast corner of the Northlands Job Corps campus. GMP will ask the PSB for a Certificate of Public Good for a turbine that will stand about 120 feet tall with rotor blades about 65 feet long.

Champlain Orchards in Shoreham is hosting two days of live music this weekend to benefit Vermont farmers affected by Tropical Storm Irene. The orchard owner knows there is a need among Vermont’s agricultural community. Champlain Orchards itself lost more than 300 trees, snapped off by the wind and rain during Irene. They estimated the cost of orchard storm damage was $100,000.

Preliminary conclusions drawn from a review of the work in the Middlebury River in East Middlebury after Tropical Storm Irene show that the town of Middlebury did not exceed the recommendations of state environmental officials, except in one instance. Where they did go beyond a state engineer’s directions, town officials said they would restore damaged habitat.

Residents in the town of Hubbardton voted to allocate $75,000 in funds to purchase a property in town during a special Select Board meeting. Following an extensive discussion, town residents voted to approve the reallocation of $70,000 in the General Fund reserve allocated to the Salt/Sang Shed Project, if needed, to the purchase of the leased property at 66 Hortonia Road where the Hubbardton town garage and the Pleasentview Cemetery are located. An additional $5,000 was allocated to finalize the purchase.

Killington has hired a new interim assistant town manager, but they aren’t saying who or for how much just yet. According to soon-to-be interim Town Manager Seth Webb a letter of agreement for employment has yet to be signed. A formal announcement is expected to be made today, including how much the manager will be paid.

Searchers looking for a Vermont man missing since Hurricane Irene have found a body in the woods of hard-hit Rutland. State police said Thursday they didn't know yet if the body was that of 24-year-old Michael G. Garofano. He disappeared August 28 with his father, 55-year-old Rutland water plant operator Michael J. Garofano. If the body is his, the U.S. death toll from Irene would rise to 47 people in 13 states.

New Hampshire authorities say the death of an 11-year-old girl whose body was found in a river last month was a homicide. Investigators say they also know how what caused Celina Cass' death. But they aren't making it public, because they say doing so could harm the integrity of the investigation. Cass was reported missing July 26. A reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest. The attorney general's office said Thursday that the cause of death was determined through information gleaned from the investigation and toxicology tests.

Gov. Peter Shumlin says a Vermont National Guard member has died of an apparent heart attack while helping residents recover from Tropical Storm Irene. 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.

Vermont officials are working on a way to reduce the cost of disposing of mobile homes destroyed by Tropical Storm Irene. Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott talked about the plan yesterday with Lawrence Miller, who is secretary of commerce and community development. They are working to reduce costs by requesting bulk pricing proposals from Vermont contracting firms. The project will begin in Berlin, where 70 homes were damaged in Weston's Mobile Home Park. Nearly 150 mobile home owners in more than a dozen parks around the state are facing the problem.

The deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be in Vermont next week to meet with farmers recovering from the flooding caused by Irene. Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan will be in the state on Monday and Tuesday. First she and state Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Ross will tour recovery efforts at several farms in southern Vermont. On Tuesday, she'll visit the Brattleboro Food Co-op, which is building a new facility that will allow it to expand its sales.

Divers are braving the dark depths of Lake Champlain to see if there's still fuel on a tugboat that sank in 1963. The William H. McAllister once hauled barges between Vermont and New York. It was wrecked by a reef a half-century ago. Federal officials and environmentalists worry that it could still be holding up to 14,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Records have never been clear, and it's unknown whether any fuel is still aboard. But the officials fear that the diesel fuel, if released, could hurt fish and wildlife. Divers now are trying to find the fuel tanks.

Police in New York are getting tough on texters. Law enforcement officers wrote more than twice as many texting while driving tickets in August than they had in any other month. It's been illegal to text while driving in New York since 2009. But last month it became a primary offense, meaning police could stop a driver solely for texting. Officials say 1,082 drivers were ticketed in August, well above the average of 427 citations per month. Now, 35 states consider texting while driving a primary offense.

Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott will be taking to a track in a racecar to promote Vermont tourism. Scott says he decided to race at the New Hampshire International Speedway this weekend to showcase that Vermont is resilient and open for business in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene. The bright green stock car Scott will be racing includes an outline of the state of Vermont on the hood. The words "We Are Vermont Strong" are written across it. The race is scheduled for Saturday.