WVTK Local & State News September 27, 2011

The Lake Champlain Bridge project is nearing completion and the bridge should reopen before the end of the year. But a firm date for reopening is not set. John Grady, regional construction engineer with the New York State Department of Transportation, said with the several delays due to obstructions from the old bridge, the new bridge’s completion is delayed. He said the target date was October 9th, but are confident they will open this year. Meanwhile, There will be a barbecue and music fundraiser at the Crown Point State Historic Site from noon to 4PM on October 16th. It will include a barbecue dinner by the Crown Point Barbeque Co. with pulled pork, chicken, baked beans, coleslaw and macaroni and cheese. The event will help raise funds for the community group to produce and promote the grand reopening celebration next year. The cost is $15 per person.

Emergency personnel from the Middlebury Fire Department rescued an angler stranded on a rock below Middlebury Falls on Sunday. Robert Gerber of Holtsville, NY was stranded in rushing water below the falls in Otter Creek. While he was fishing, a flume gate was opened upstream causing an increase in water that cut him off from shore. It is unknown why the flume opened without prior warning. The Middlebury Fire Department Technical rescue Team rescued him from the river. He was not injured.

A record number of farmers are seeking flood recovery help from the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont. NOFA officials said they are experiencing unprecedented levels of interest in their Farmer Emergency Fund. According to the organization farmers seeking assistance are organic farmers. NOFA member farmers whose land and crops were destroyed by the statewide flooding are eligible for the help. For more information about donating or applying for funds, please visit nofavt.org or call 802-434-4122.

Vermont farms will be eligible for federal disaster aid to recover from damage from the remnants of Hurricane Irene and spring flooding. Gov. Peter Shumlin announced the federal disaster declaration yesterday. He says he hopes farmers who lost crops and equipment in the spring and summer storms will move quickly to seek emergency loan assistance from the Farm Service Agency. The governor says farmers in all 14 counties have eight months to apply for the federal loans, which will be available immediately with an interest rate of below four percent.

Many cities and towns ordered heavy machinery into rivers after the floods to shore up banks and reroute streams. That's what Middlebury did, even though the town was relatively unscathed. Residents and state officials now worry that rechanneling the Middlebury River might exacerbate future flooding. The Middlebury select board met last night to talk about the issue again.

An Addison Central Supervisory Union committee will study the feasibility of offering a second-language program to students throughout the school district. Most students in the Union currently do not have access to second language instruction until grade 8. However Weybridge Elementary currently operates a successful Spanish program. Officials at Mary Hogan Elementary in Middlebury are also now exploring the prospect of offering a second language. The panel will hold its first meeting tomorrow at 3:15PM in the conference room at the Addison Central Supervisory Union building.

Residents in Addison County and the surrounding areas who were affected by the floods from Tropical Storm Irene will find it a little easier to seek disaster assistance this week when federal emergency management officials open a mobile disaster recovery center in Middlebury today through Thursday. The center will be parked in the lot of VFW Post 7823 off Exchange Street. It will be open today from Noon to 6PM, and tomorrow and Thursday from 8AM to 6PM.

The operation schedules for the two Disaster Recovery Centers in Essex County has changed so both will now be closed Sundays. The centers at Moriah fire station and the Jay Community Center in AuSable Forks will still be open 8AM to 8PM Monday through Saturday.

A threat of violence allegedly phoned in by a woman calling from inside Rutland City Hall prompted the evacuation of the building yesterday afternoon. Police said at about 2:30PM. 19-year-old Faith D. Stone dialed 911 and threatened to kill herself and perhaps others as well. She was unarmed when she was arrested. After the call, police evacuated the building and moved the staff inside the police station. City Hall was closed for less than half an hour.

Police investigate Wallingford burglary. State police are looking for a man who broke into a convenience store on Route 103 in Wallingford early Monday morning. At about 4:30AM police said a man wearing blue jeans and a light brown T-shirt smashed through the glass door at Mac’s Market and stole several items. Police said the man they are looking for stands at about 6-feet-tall. Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to call police at 773-9101.

The president of eCorp English said her company’s Middlebury launch has been slowed by low cash flow and a major loan agreement that fell apart. A recent infusion of new money and the unveiling of its new software product should put eCorp back on schedule to becoming a major employer in the area. Founder and President said the company is not going “belly up” nor are they leaving Middlebury.

The Addison Central Supervisory Union’s former business manager is suing her past employer claiming, among other things, that she was bullied by the district’s top executive and then placed on administrative leave after she complained about his behavior. Sharon Stearns, who served as the Union’s business manager for nine years prior to resigning last spring, filed her four-count civil suit in Rutland County Superior Court on September 13th.

Town officials in Bristol are busy tallying up the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, exploring plans for more infrastructure repairs and discussing how much help they could get from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Now that all the roads are back open the town is working with FEMA to put in all of their costs. But the exact total figure is still unknown.

Members of the Rutland Board of Aldermen said the options presented to them for Wales and Evelyn streets last week were “interesting” but needed more study. The Community and Economic Development Committee reviewed a traffic study that outlined three options for re-aligning Evelyn Street to improve traffic flow and make more room for the farmers’ market. The study also looked at either changing the direction of Wales Street or making it two-way.

The Ways and Means Committee of the Essex County Board of Supervisors has selected Linda Beers as the new director of the Public Health Department. The committee voted unanimously to move the recommendation to the full board meeting October 3rd. The committee also forwarded the new county smoking policy to a vote by the full board, which would be placed into effect November 17th if passed.

Organizers of a rally that drew more than 1,000 people to Montpelier this past weekend are vowing to keep up the pressures for changes in policy designed to combat climate change. Moving Planet Vermont leaders say they'll continue to push for legislation and policy changes that would put Vermont in the forefront of the fight against climate change. They say they support pushing greater reliance on renewable energy, more use of locally grown foods, support for efficient homes and buildings.

A Townsend teacher will become Vermont's next teacher of the year. The state Education Department will announce the winner today at Leland & Gray Middle and High School. The 2012 teacher of the year alternate and finalist also will be recognized.

A librarian at Vermont Technical College has been elected to a top state labor leadership post. Ben Johnson is a member of the Vermont State College Faculty Federation and head of United Professions AFT of Vermont. The AFL-CIO says Johnson is now the labor umbrella group's youngest state president.

Lawyers for Entergy Corporation and the state are expected to file their last pitches in writing to the federal judge weighing the future of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Entergy says a license renewal from federal regulators should trump state action to close the plant.

Officials at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant say they are working to repair a pump motor that failed, forcing the plant to reduce power and reconfigure its operations in order to avoid shutting down. Larry Smith, spokesman for plant owner Entergy Nuclear, says 1 of 2 large pumps that re-circulate water through the reactor failed Sunday night, and that the plant automatically began reducing power.

Middlebury College’s Sound Investment Jazz Ensemble will present a joint concert with the Amherst College Jazz Ensemble on Monday, October 10th at 8PM in the Mahaney Center for the Arts Concert Hall in Middlebury. The evening will be a celebration of the 50th anniversary of an historic jazz event. On July 6, 1961, the Count Basie Orchestra and the Duke Ellington Orchestra met in a New York City recording studio and cut the album entitled “First Time! The Count Meets the Duke”. It remains one of the few collaborative band albums ever produced.’ The performance is free and open to the public. For more information visit www.middlebury.edu/arts.

The Vermont Symphony Orchestra is helping with flood relief. The VSO is hitting the road this week for the annual fall foliage festival. Officials are encouraging people to bring non-perishable food items to donate to the Vermont food bank or bring a contribution for the Vermont farm disaster relief fund. For more information visit VSO Dot org.