WVTK Local & State News October 13, 2011 (Afternoon Update)

A small section of Vermont Route 30 in Hubbardton is closed so repairs can be made to culvert that was heavily damaged by the remnants of Hurricane Irene. Work will be completed by tomorrow evening. The road is closed to all traffic at this time.

A family has been left homeless after a fire destroyed their house in Bristol. It happened Wednesday night on Route 116. Fire officials say no one was home at the time and nobody was injured. Investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the blaze.

The Middlebury select-board unanimously agreed to lease an acre of town property to a nonprofit group to house a small solar farm for the next 25 years. The lease was struck with a “Acorn Energy One Solar LLC” for an acre of land located north and a little west of the Middlebury police station. The property is slated to host a 650-panel, 150-kilowatt solar array that is expected to generate around 172,500 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. That is enough to provide electricity to 30 average homes.

The Vermont Supreme Court will convene for the first time in modern history in Addison County. The five justices will hear six cases and offer local citizens a first-hand glimpse into the workings of the state’s highest Court. The one-day visit next Tuesday is in line with the VSC’s annual custom of occasionally presiding in venues outside of its usual courtroom in Montpelier. The VSC makes a working visit each spring to the Vermont Law School and a visit each fall to a county courthouse, which has taken place for the past 25 years.

Officials say it could be another month before Vermont authorities determine the cause of death of a woman who died while trying to rob a Vergennes convenience store. The office of Vermont's Chief Medical Examiner is still waiting for results of toxicology tests. Police were called to a Vergennes convenience store on September 28th after receiving a report of a robbery and she was found unresponsive after the store clerk had restrained her while waiting for police. She was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

The Green Mountain Club welcomed the news that the U.S. Forest Service has reopened the last stretch of the Long Trail closed in Vermont. Due to damage from tropical storm Irene, three miles of trail in Shrewsbury remained closed for a month, weeks after the rest of the Long Trail reopened following the forest closure.

The Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce is growing. The business advocacy group has added 20 new members since March and 37 since Matt Courtright became executive director a year ago. The Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce is a private, not-for-profit representing over 160 members and 500 businesses. It has served the area 85 years. The Ti chamber serves, markets and promotes Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Hague, Moriah, Putnam and surrounding areas. TACC is also part of the Lake Champlain Region Visitor Center through the Essex County Regional Office Of Sustainable Tourism.

Amid widespread outrage over new debit card fees charged by Bank of America and other big banks, Peter Welch and House colleagues called on Attorney General Eric Holder today to investigate whether big banks are coordinating their fee strategies in violation of federal anti-trust laws. In a letter to Holder, Welch and his colleagues highlighted public statements by banks and banking associations that point to possible efforts to coordinate fee increases.

A landowner whose property abuts the site of a major wind power project being built in northern Vermont says he's trying to get tough on the project's developer. Don Nelson says when Green Mountain Power offered $1.25 million this week for his 600-acre property; he raised the price to $2 million. Meanwhile, Nelson says he welcomes people who've been camping on his land inside a blast safety zone; an act that GMP says is interfering with progress on the project.

Vermont's Shelburne Museum is launching a $14 million capital campaign to build a new center for art and education that will allow the museum to stay open year round. Officials announced plans for the 16,000-square-foot center on Thursday. The center will include galleries, an auditorium and classroom space and will accommodate a year-round calendar of exhibitions and programs for youth and adult audiences. Currently, the museum's 39-building campus is open from mid-May to the end of October.

The new Tractor Supply store in Ticonderoga will open Saturday. The store is in the former Dockside Landing Boat Center at 9 Commercial Drive. There will be 13 full- and part-time employees. The store has 25,000 square feet, including a sales floor and support service space. There is also fenced exterior space that offers a display area for merchandise such as fencing, sprayers and livestock equipment. The company plans grand-opening festivities later this month.