WVTK Local & State News October 6, 2011

“Waiting” For A Cure will take place at Two Brothers Tavern here in Middlebury from 6 – 9 the evening! Local celebrities will serve as the wait staff for the evening and all of their tips will be donated to the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Tonight’s celebrity wait staff includes Katie Levassuer – Miss Vermont 2011, Caroline Bright – Miss Vermont 2010, Sue Hoxie from the Addison County Chamber Of Commerce along with Amanda Leigh and Bruce from the WVTK Wake Up Crew. We understand Hobbes will be working the dishwasher tonight!

An environmental group is urging Vermont Gas Systems to engage the public as it plans a new natural gas pipeline from Chittenden to Addison County. The pipeline got a boost from state regulators recently when they allowed the gas company to set up a special fund to pay for it. Now the group Vermonters for a Clean Environment says Vermont Gas should address potential impacts early in the planning process. The company also says a collaborative approach makes sense. A company spokesman says he's been in touch with Vermonters for a Clean Environment and is willing to work together before the project route is finalized.

Hannaford Career Center students have been conducting a survey around the Middlebury area for a unique classroom project to better understand organic-food buying habits. The two students conducting the survey said that local consumers buy organic food in many places, either from one of several area farmers market during the summer months or from supermarkets and food cooperatives. Organic food and beverage sales represented approximately 4 percent of overall food and beverage sales in 2010.

John Steinbeck’s 1937 “Of Mice and Men” is about the broken dreams of the Great Depression, but it also celebrates the deep importance of human relationships. Middlebury Actors Workshop opened a powerful and beautiful production of “Of Mice and Men,” last week here in Middlebury, which will be presented on Friday, October 14th at 8PM at Rutland’s Paramount Theatre. Founded in 2001, Middlebury Actors Workshop is a collective of local, largely professional actors, directors and technicians. You can get tickets now at www.paramountlive.org.

A newly revised Residential Building Energy Code is now in effect in Vermont. Energy Commissioner Elizabeth Miller says the new code, which became effective October 1st, updates the Vermont standard to be more in line with the current international energy conservation code. Miller says the updated regulations go beyond new construction to include renovation and repair. She urges anyone with questions to contact the Vermont Department of Public Service.

Vermont's comprehensive energy plan is drawing criticism from lobbyists and lawmakers. The nearly four hundred page plan outlines how Governor Peter Shumlin hopes to make the state more energy efficient. His plan is to get 90 percent of the state's power from renewable sources by 2050. James Moore, with the environmental advocacy group VPIRG says the state can do better. He believes the state can reach 80 percent renewable by 2025.

Community members and business owners in Waterbury held a meeting Wednesday afternoon to urge the state to rebuild the state office complex in town. Town officials say having 1,500 workers relocated has already had a significant impact on business. Gov. Peter Shumlin says they've yet to decide if it's reasonable to rebuild in Waterbury. They're looking at the cost to rebuild and ways to mitigate flooding if they do rebuild. The administration is also actively looking for other locations.

The two remaining Norwich University students critically injured in a fatal car crash are improving. Fletcher Allen Health Care officials said Wednesday that 18-year-old Tory Kathro has been discharged from the hospital and 18-year-old Todd Sharlow was in good condition.

The Vermont Health Department and Agriculture Agency are investigating whether a chemical commonly used on farms could impact public health. The move follows claims from an Enosburgh woman who says formaldehyde being used on cows at a nearby farm is making her sick. The Vermont Health Department and Agriculture Agency are looking into the claim. The health department expects to have test results back in the next few weeks.

The medical director of Fletcher Allen Health Care's emergency department has been appointed chief medical officer of the hospital. Dr. Stephen Leffler succeeds Dr. John Brumsted, Fletcher Allen's interim president and chief executive officer. Officials say Leffler, who is president of Fletcher Allen's medical staff, will be responsible for medical staff affairs, the Jeffords Institute for Quality, technology management and ethics as chief medical officer.

Gov. Peter Shumlin says he understands people's frustration with the fact that key decisions aren't being finalized on the recovery from Hurricane Irene's aftermath. But the governor says too much depends on how much federal aid will be available to the state. He says until those figures become clearer, it won't be known how much the state will have to spend on rebuilding roads and bridges and whether it might be necessary to raise taxes. The federal government is expected to pay 100% of the state's costs up to $100 million. But Shumlin says recovery is likely to cost closer to $1 billion. If the federal government pays just 80% of that cost, the state would have to raise $180 million.

Home security systems are becoming more and more attractive in Vermont. That's according to one of the state's ADT representatives, who said sales of the company's new Pulse technology has more than doubled in the last year. The Pulse device lets you access the system from your cell phone and alerts you with a text message or email if there's been an intrusion. Just this week there were back-to-back home burglaries in South Burlington where the owners were asleep but heard the intrusion.

The Northern Border Regional Commission has awarded $200,000 to support two economic development projects in the northern Vermont towns of Lyndon and Brighton. More than $128,000 will go Lyndon State College and the Northeastern Vermont Development Association to increase manufacturing in the area. Official said Wednesday that the funds will be used to create collaboration among Northeast Kingdom manufacturers and expand training programs. The town of Brighton will receive $78,190 to build a 2,100-foot walking path along part of Island Pond Lake that will connect to downtown to enhance tourism and recreation in the community.

A benefit for the Vermont Farm Disaster Relief Fund-“Addison County Shares the Bounty"-will be held this Saturday from 11AM – 5PM at Kingsland Bay State Park in Ferrisburgh. The outdoor event is hosted by Vermont State Parks and the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. Park fees will be waived for the day. The live music gathering will feature some of Addison County’s finest musicians. The Lake Champlain schooner "Lois McClure" and tugboat "C. L. Churchill" will be in port for the public to visit. A farmers market and displays will also be on hand. Refreshments are available for purchase from Euro Restaurant.

Area students got a boost to begin the academic year from the Ticonderoga Federal Credit Union. The supplies were collected at Ticonderoga Federal Credit Union branches in Ticonderoga, Port Henry and Elizabethtown and at ATM locations at the International Paper Ticonderoga mill and Schroon Lake Grand Union Family Market. All donations were distributed to local students and schools in need. TFCU wishes to thank all the community members supporting their second annual supplies drive.

Christmas is in the distance future for most people, but Glen Buell is already making plans for the holiday season. Buell is the Ticonderoga coordinator for the annual Salvation Army Red Kettle drive. He and Tina Martin, the Salvation Army Port Henry coordinator, are lining up help for the traditional charity effort. The 2011 Red Kettle campaign will start the week before Thanksgiving and continue through Christmas Eve in Ticonderoga and Port Henry. Volunteers are needed in both communities on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. People interested in volunteering for the Red Kettle campaign, or throughout the entire year, can call Buell at 597-3222 or Martin at 546-4020.

The Harvest Festival in Rutland marks two anniversaries this year. Art in the Park turns 50 and the festivities also include an observation of the 250th anniversary of the original Rutland charter. Art in the Park runs from 10AM to 5PM Saturday and Sunday in Main Street Park. Harvest Festival takes place downtown and runs from 11AM to 2PM Saturday, featuring free wagon rides around downtown and up to Art in the Park. In the parking pit, Marble City Jazz will perform and the Wonderfeet Children’s Museum will offer children’s activities starting with pumpkin painting.

This weekend's Grace Potter benefit show will be broadcast live on television and the web. Potter and her band will play their Goodnight Irene concert Sunday night at the Flynn Theater in Burlington. The show sold out in a matter of hours. But now people without tickets can watch and listen on Vermont Public Television. VPT will broadcast two hours of the concert from 8-10PM. It can also be seen on VPT's website. Proceeds from ticket sales go to flood relief efforts and viewers will have the chance to make donations over the phone during the concert.

As trees show autumn's gold, orange and red hues, nature lovers aren't the only ones taking note of the dazzling display: Scientists are watching trees and recording the time that leaves change as they seek to determine the impact of climate change. Researchers have recorded earlier budding of plants in the spring. Now they're turning their attention to documenting fall foliage in the U.S. A professor of biology at Boston University says studies in Europe and in Japan already indicate trees are changing color and dropping leaves later because of warmer temperatures. He says it stands to reason that's happening in the U.S., but there's no definitive study.