WVTK Local & State News September 30, 2011

The Town of Middlebury has announced that a dead bird found on September 16th tested positive for West Nile Virus. According to Deputy Health Officer Tom Scanlon the Vermont Department of Health notified him that the bird tested positive for West Nile Virus. Everyone, particularly those working outside, should take all necessary precautions and protect themselves from mosquitoes, which are responsible for the spread of this disease, until the end of the current mosquito season.

Many local fundraisers have helped recovery efforts from Tropical Storm Irene. Cornwall’s Bingham Memorial School helped raise funds for the town of Hancock. In the past week, Bristol residents organized a talent show, Shoreham’s Champlain Orchards held a two-day concert event, Middlebury Union High School students had a penny war, which is a contest where students compete using coins that are all donated to a cause and Middlebury Fitness sponsored three workout classes. Each fund-raiser showed that regardless of age or fund-raising experience, anybody can help raise much-needed money for Vermonters recovering from Irene. And always remember that every little bit of financial assistance helps.

This week Middlebury residents voted in favor of a $250,000 bond issue that will pay for final design and engineering work for a proposed major overhaul of the Seymour Street and East Middlebury fire stations. Tuesday’s successful vote was a precursor to what will be a final, $4.625 million bond referendum for the project. That project would consist of a new fire station in East Middlebury and a substantial expansion and renovation of the department’s Seymour Street headquarters.

Residents of the Bristol Police District voted this week to move their annual meeting from its traditional May date to instead coincide with the March town meeting. The change also means that voters will be moving from a meeting format, where they can debate and change the proposed annual budget on the floor, to one where the budget is warned and voted up or down by Australian ballot without the opportunity to tweak it at the meeting.

The city of Vergennes has been awarded a federal Community Oriented Policing Services Grant worth just over $133,000 that will fund a sixth full-time member of the city’s police department for the next three years. City Manager Mel Hawley said a condition of the grant is that Vergennes must agree to retain the position for at least one more year, meaning that the city force will expand for at least four years.

Plans are underway here in Middlebury for a development head. Middlebury selectmen received an update on an ad hoc committee’s effort to define a proposed new town position of “director of business development.” The person holding that post would be charged with creating, recruiting and retaining high-quality jobs in Middlebury. It would require approval from town voters as soon as next March.

An investigation continues into a reported assault at Rutland's Pine Hill Park, but everyone from the park's users to the detective working the case said they believe there's no reason to stay away from the area. Since September 6th when an Otter Valley High School student was taken to the hospital after an incident prior to a regional cross-country meet, police have been investigating an attack the girl described. The investigation continues with Police planning to interview a few more high school and middle school students who were at Pine Hill Park for the meet.

After six years in charge of the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, Executive Director Jan Albers will be stepping down as of today. The museum is home to some of Addison County’s most treasured historical documents. She said that the average stay for a museum director is five years and she’s already been there for six.

Port Henry residents will pay more for water beginning in November. The village’s “water law,” which was adopted in April, takes effect. Besides increasing water rates, it also adds provisions for village water service. Discounts for large-volume water users have been eliminated; all users will be billed the same rate per thousand gallons of water usage. The increase in rates is necessary because of increased expenses. A copy of the current rate schedule is available at the village office.

The village of Port Henry has adopted a local law requiring all dwellings to have a certificate of occupancy. The new law requires the Port Henry code enforcement officer to issue a certificate of occupancy before anyone moves into a residence. It applies to all owned, rented, residential or commercial, single family or mixed occupancy dwellings, buildings and mobile homes. It includes pre-existing and newly constructed homes. Before a person moves into a home the law required the village codes officer to inspect and certify the building meets all village and state buildings codes. There is a $25 fee for the inspection and certificate of occupancy.

A plan to have New York State take over all Medicaid costs has local government leaders feeling hopeful. Medicaid costs New York $7.3 billion each year, with half of that coming from counties. The bill is so high that it eats up more than 50 percent of most county budgets. New York is one of only two states that share Medicaid costs with local governments. A bill in the State Senate is calling for a state takeover of the program to be phased in over eight years.

The Ticonderoga High School Spanish program is celebrating its seventh year collaboration with SUNY-Albany. The program, called SUNY at the High School, allows juniors and seniors to take college level Spanish courses while still enrolled at the high school. Most area colleges require a year of foreign language as part of the undergraduate degree program. The students receive high school and college credit at the same time, while realizing tuition savings by completing the courses while still in high school.

Vermont students still aren't making the grade when it comes to standardized tests. Science results from the 2011 New England Common Assessment Exams are in. 31 percent of high school students were proficient in science. That is up two percentage points from last year. Only 29 percent of eighth graders passed the exam. Fourth graders did test higher. 54 percent of students at that level are proficient in science. That's up from 53 percent in 2010.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is warning of a severe winter health emergency if federal spending for home heating assistance isn't restored. The Obama administration cut its request for heating assistance funding from $5.1 billion to $2.6 billion, based on projections last spring that energy prices would fall. But Sanders says that hasn't happened, and the result is that many people living in colder regions this winter may have to go without needed assistance in paying for heating. He says that in Vermont, heating oil prices are projected to be about 25% higher this year than last winter and could soon top $4 a gallon.

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney is picking up support from Republican leaders in Vermont. Romney's campaign released a list of about 70 state office holders, legislators, state committee members, town and county chairs and others who he said have signed up to support his campaign for the 2012 Republican nomination. Topping the list were state Auditor of Accounts Tom Salmon and Sen. Bill Doyle. Lt. Gov. Phil Scott so far isn't on his list.

The Select Board in the southern Vermont town of Dover has voted to spend $100,000 to promote tourism and help local businesses still feeling the effects of Tropical Storm Irene. Town officials say they want to combat impressions that the area is shut down due to the devastating floods. The Mount Snow resort is involved, where marketing director Vinnie Lewis says the recovery has been swift and the town is open for business.

The Amtrak train "the Vermonter" will be back up and running this weekend. The train has been out of service as crews made upgrades to the route thanks to a $50 million federal grant. Damage from Tropical Storm Irene delayed work the project. But officials say the re-opening of the route was only pushed back 2 weeks. The Vermonter runs from Saint Albans to Washington, D.C.

A Canadian Company is one step closer to controlling more than 70 percent of Vermont's power. Yesterday, shareholders for Central Vermont Public Service Corp. overwhelmingly approved the sale of the utility to Gaz Metro. The Quebec-based company also owns Green Mountain Power. The goal of the $702 million dollar sale is to merge CVPS and Green Mountain Power into one Vermont super-utility. CVPS CEO Larry Reilly says, the merger will mean lower rates for customers. The final transaction depends on approval by Federal regulators and the Vermont Public Service Board.

Governor Peter Shumlin says a new round of $10,000 grants to Vermont farmers devastated by Tropical Storm Irene will help them rebuild. Shumlin presented the first check from the Farm Disaster Fund yesterday to an organic dairy farmer in Waitsfield whose fields were flooded a month ago. The farmer, Doug Turner, says he will use the money to restore riverbanks that were eroded during Irene.

A company with a manufacturing plant in Randolph has won more than $9 million worth of contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense. Sen. Patrick Leahy says Applied Research Associates, which makes ground sensors used in guarding the perimeter of remote army bases, has been awarded two contracts - one for $6.5 million and the other for $2.8 million. Leahy said most of this work under the two contracts would be completed in Vermont.

A Winooski police officer has pleaded guilty to drunken driving and has been sentenced to one year of probation. Court papers say officer Jason Nokes was found unresponsive in the driver's seat of his truck on August 5th in the median of Interstate 89. Nokes, who was off-duty at the time, has been on paid administrative leave since he was arrested.

Wal-Mart could get a major competitor in Williston where Target is exploring the idea of building a new store. Representatives from Target have met with a number of town leaders in Williston. The discussions are being described as preliminary, but shoppers and people living near the possible site are already weighing the pros and cons. In recent weeks, town leaders have met with reps from the big-box retailer to discuss the possibility of building a 135-thousand square foot store just off Route 2 near the Best Buy and Shaw’s.

Federal officials say New England's air quality is better so far in 2011 than last year. The Environmental Protection Agency says preliminary data shows ozone levels were unhealthy in New England on 16 days between April and September this year. There were 29 during the same timeframe in 2010. Connecticut had the largest drop. Massachusetts' total of 10 was down from 14 last year. Rhode Island had six unhealthy days. Maine had three, down from eight. New Hampshire's dropped from eight to two, and Vermont - which had none last year - was the only state with an increase, logging one unhealthy air day this year.

The Whiting Community Church will celebrate its bicentennial this weekend. The community will celebrate the local church's 200th birthday with a carnival, pig roast, family games, historic tours, pie bake-off and fireworks from Noon - 7PM on Saturday. A special anniversary celebration and service will be held at 10:30AM on Sunday. All events are free to the public.

The first statewide Foliage “Open Studio Weekend” kicks off tomorrow with artists from across the state opening up their studios to visitors. A similar event, sponsored by the Vermont Crafts Council, was first held during Memorial Day Weekend in May. The Brandon Artists Guild will feature about 50 Vermont artists including paintings, sculptures, and a variety of crafts. The Vermont Crafts Council maps for the event are available at the Brandon Artists Guild at 7 Center Street in downtown Brandon. The Foliage “Open Studio Weekend” runs from 10AM to 5PM Saturday and Sunday.

The Addison Chamber of Commerce will host a presentation and community discussion on the smart grid on Wednesday, October 12th at 8AM, at the Ilsley Library in Middlebury. The public is invited to attend this free event, which will include time for questions and discussions. A representative from Central Vermont Public Service and Green Mountain Power will talk about upgrades that are bringing greater reliability and operational efficiencies to the electric grid. They will also describe the timeline for installing smart meters on local homes and businesses, which will lead to new opportunities for customers to reduce their carbon footprint and save money on electricity.