WVTK Local & State News October 13, 2011

A small section of Vermont Route 30 in Hubbardton will be closed so repairs can be made to culvert that was heavily damaged by the remnants of Hurricane Irene. The Vermont Agency of Transportation says the repairs will take two days and are considered temporary to allow travel on Route 30 through the winter. Permanent repairs will be made after winter. Work will start today and be completed by tomorrow evening. The road will be closed to all traffic during this time.

United Technologies Corp. has agreed to buy Goodrich Corp. for $16.5 billion. United Technologies had pursued Goodrich in order to include its lucrative aircraft landing gear and jet-turbine casings in its technology mix. Goodrich has an aerospace technology facility in Vergennes. United Technologies include Pratt & Whitney jet engines and Sikorsky helicopters. United Technologies’ Hamilton Sundstrand aviation equipment will be merged with Goodrich into a new entity called UTC Aerospace Systems. The entity will be based in Charlotte, NC the current home of Goodrich. United executives did not say if Goodrich facilities will be left as is or if consolidations will be made.

Vermont Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott will be workin' on the railroad. He plans to join crews from Vermont Rail Systems today in installing new ties along the Clarendon-Pittsford rail line, which runs from Rutland to Whitehall, New York. Scott has been crisscrossing the state since he took office in January, working one day a week at a range of jobs.

Six weeks after the remnants of Hurricane Irene flooded Vermont, Rochester residents are still searching for remains of people whose graves were ripped up by floodwaters. The most recent set of about 50 people's remains to be discovered was found about five miles downstream from Woodlawn Cemetery. Cemetery Commissioner Sue Flewelling says repairing the cemetery could cost $1 million.

Occupy Wall Street protesters plan an action in downtown Rutland this Saturday. The protest, co-organized by the leftist Vermont Workers Center, is being called the Occupy Rutland Rally. One of the organizers said the protest rally is about economic justice and putting an end to corporate greed. The rally will be in support of the national “Put People First” campaign. Starting at 10:45 Saturday, the protest rally will be confined to the corner of Center Street and Merchants Row in downtown Rutland near the Wal-Mart shopping plaza.

The Rutland School Board made a counter offer earlier this week to a $50,000 deal made on the Watkins building by The Housing Trust of Rutland County. According to School Board Chairman Peter Mello, the Trust offered $50,000 to purchase the vacant old schoolhouse in the city's northwest neighborhood but the appraised value of the building is $209,000. The Board made a counteroffer of $100,000 and there’s no word yet from the Trust.

On Thursday October 20th at 1PM, there will be a brief rally at Castleton State College addressing the lack of funding that Vermont State Colleges receive from the state. The rally will be held outside of Jeffords, weather permitting, or will otherwise be inside in the lecture hall. Castleton professor Linda Olson said the intent of the rally is to make people realize that the government in not funding higher education. Vermont currently rates 50th out of 50th in terms of state funding.

One Essex County official from Moriah says putting together the new county budget will be "a train wreck." The county is starting budget workshops this week already $16 million in the hole. That $16 million is the difference between the current county budget's bottom line and the one predicted for next year.

The merger of the Clinton County and Essex County Ombudsman Programs is a good thing for their clientele and administratively. Ombudsmen are advocates for clients in nursing homes, adult-care facilities, assisted-living and family-type homes. They visit with residents to discuss any issues they are having and work to effectively resolve them. The merger was effective July 1st. Their goal is to better the quality of life for long-term care residents.

Be prepared to spend more money this winter to stay warm. A new study says people in the Northeast could pay record prices to heat their homes. Every year the U.S. Energy Information Administration comes out with an outlook for heating prices. The bottom line is it predicts people in the Northeast could pay a record $3.71 a gallon for home heating oil. Remember that even small changes you can do yourself including sealing up your house and installing a smart thermostat go a long way with high fuel prices. For more information about improving the efficiency of your home, especially if it was damaged during Tropical Storm Irene, visit Efficiency Vermont.

Vermont towns hit hardest by Tropical Storm Irene are seeing an increasing number of people applying for tax reductions called, "tax abatements." The process helps take some of the burden off those who are trying to rebuild but it could also have a big impact on the statewide tax rate. Vermont's Joint Fiscal Office estimates that because of the tax reductions public school funding could take a two to four million dollar hit. The Vermont League of Cities and Towns is encouraging the Shumlin administration to increase the statewide property tax so that no, one, community is further burdened. It is an option that would need legislative approval come January.

Sen. Charles Schumer says the cost of home heating fuel is expected to rise as much as 30 percent this winter. He also says action in Washington could reduce the heat subsidy that needy New York seniors get. The Democrat says New York could lose tens of millions of dollars under a new bill in the House of Representatives. If adopted, the cost-cutting move would provide New York with $343 million for the heating subsidy plan.

An official says Vermont's Green Mountain Power could hold a Lowell couple financially responsible for any delays in the construction project caused by protesters camping within the range of debris that could be spread by construction blasting that is part of the project. A Green Mountain Power spokeswoman says that on Wednesday the Agency of Natural Resources rescinded a stop-work order that was issued last week after changes were made to the storm water system on the mountain.

We know where the blanks are. We just can't fill them in yet. That from Vermont Transportation Secretary Brian Searles describes where state officials stand as they await congressional action on federal funding for recovery from Tropical Storm Irene. He says that depending on what the state's share of Irene recovery costs is, it could disrupt construction projects by his agency for the next five to 10 years. Already, officials are talking about delaying bridge replacement projects planned for next spring on Interstate 89 in Milton and Interstate 91 in Windsor.

New Hampshire's first in the nation primary may happen in the middle of the holiday season. The eight GOP candidates for president debated at Dartmouth College Tuesday night. Now, New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner says a December 6th or the 13th primary is possible. He says he is waiting to see if Nevada changes its mind and pushes back its caucuses from January 14th. Iowa's caucuses are tentatively set for January 3rd. New Hampshire law says the primaries have to be at least seven days before any other similar contest.

It was a traffic stop that sparked protests and a review of Vermont State police racial profiling policies. Now the State Police Advisory Commission says a trooper did nothing wrong when he detained two illegal immigrants who were passengers in a car pulled over for speeding. The commission cleared Trooper Jared Hatch after reviewing the stop, deciding he followed proper procedures when he asked for identification from the two Mexican men. The report says his questioning of the men was not motivated by race.

More than 320 Vermont law enforcement officers from 27 agencies across the state will be getting bulletproof vests courtesy of a $66,000 federal grant. Nationwide since 1998, the Department of Justice's Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program has helped to provide nearly one million bulletproof vests to law enforcement officers, including more than 3,000 vests for Vermont officers. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy says the latest grants will help buy 323 vests. The grants pay at least 50 percent of the costs of the vests.

Backpacks are no longer allowed into the University of Vermont's Harris Millis dining hall. The problem is not only missing food, but also missing equipment. One manager there says some students were bringing in Tupperware containers and filling them up with food to take out, and then salt and pepper shakers, silverware, fruit and juice started vanishing. The ban's been in place for about three weeks and while it's unpopular with the students, the food service says the savings in food costs are staggering.

Ghosts, goblins and zombies are just a few of the haunted creatures expected to appear at Benson’s annual Haunted Hayride this weekend. Rain or shine, some of Halloween’s favorite customers will be on hand to scare visitors planning to take a hayride down Old North Stage Road in Benson. Hayrides are scheduled for 7PM Friday and Saturday and will run until 10PM. Other activities throughout the event include a tag sale at the church in Benson, a craft sale at the Benson Community Hall and the eighth-graders will be selling food. The annual Haunted Hayride is the second fundraiser for the Benson Volunteer Fire Department every year.