WVTK Local & State News November 11, 2011

Vermont State Police are searching for two men who broke into a Goshen home and threatened a woman who had been sleeping inside. Police say the two men stole the victim's pickup truck and fled following the incident that began about 10AM Thursday. The woman was not hurt. The vehicle was later found abandoned on Vermont Route 73. The suspects had fled on foot. The suspects are described as white males, both 5-feet-8 inches to 5-feet-10 inches tall. Both were wearing black sweatshirts and black pants. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the state police.

A hospital spokesman says the 35-year-old military veteran who protesters say shot himself at an Occupy Wall Street encampment in Vermont's largest city has died. Mike Noble of the Fletcher Allen Health Care confirmed that a man died after the shooting in City Hall Park. Burlington Police would not confirm that the shooting was a suicide, but the veteran's fellow protesters told reporters at the scene that the man shot himself. Others at the Occupy encampment say the man was a victim of inadequate mental health services being offered to veterans. Authorities haven't released the man's name.

A fire at the top of Walker Mountain in Clarendon was doused Wednesday night with the help of firefighters from 10 communities and neighbors living on the mountain that helped out by donating all-terrain vehicles and a tractor that hauled water to the summit. The cause of the fire was still under investigation on Thursday but fire officials said it appeared embers from a campfire left unattended near the summit started the blaze. While the fire doesn’t appear to have been intentionally set it is a violation of state law to leave a campfire unattended.

Secretary of State Jim Condos spoke with a group of local officials and others on Monday here in Middlebury. He said, “The best government not only does its business in the open, but also allows its citizens to participate.” On his 12-stop “Vermont Transparency Tour,” he also urged boards to limit executive sessions, and officials to cooperate with requests for documents and information. Condos focused on the state’s open records law, which the Legislature changed earlier this year, and its open meeting law.

Middlebury select-board members learned earlier this week that the fiscal year 2013 municipal budget could require a 5-cent hike in the local tax rate, even before crunching the initial numbers on the new spending plan. The potential tax increase is associated with four financial outlays that could add over $348,000 to the town-spending plan that will cover July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013.

Addison County Transit Resources is proposing a new bus route along the Route 116 corridor that would take passengers from Bristol to Burlington, with stops in Starksboro and Hinesburg. The executive director of ACTR, James Moulton, said the new service could start as soon as April, pending funding.

The final stage of a two-year, $4.7 million project that improved the water distribution system in Pittsford, connected the Pittsford and Florence systems and installed new meters is nearing completion. The project contractors will complete work in the village within the next two weeks. The town is also working to complete a $1.9 million sewer project that looks to keep storm-water and groundwater out of the sewer.

The Pittsford Police Department is expanding its vehicle fleet with a new, all-wheel drive Dodge Durango. The town’s Select Board approved the purchase of the vehicle from a New Jersey dealership that specializes in detailing vehicles with most of the necessary police equipment. The town will pay approximately $27,000 for the 2012 Dodge Durango from the town’s cruiser replacement fund. The new vehicle is expected to arrive in January.

A public vote in Charlotte on a solar energy project was canceled. A special town meeting was scheduled for yesterday for residents to consider whether to authorize the project on Thompson's point. The project needs to be underway by January in order to qualify for a federal green energy tax credit. Critic’s say in the rush to get that credit, the town is sacrificing a piece of open land in a conservation district. Now, the whole decision is on hold because the town attorney says the vote was not properly warned, and the meeting was canceled.

Governor Peter Shumlin is joining 15 governors and mayors in calling for repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which they say discriminates against same-sex couples. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10 to 8 along party lines today to repeal the law, with Senator Patrick Leahy leading the effort to do so. But it's unclear whether the effort to scrap the Clinton-era law will succeed.

The annual Farm Show, which Barre has hosted for the past 50 years, is moving to the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction. The loss of the show, held each January, is the third hit the Barre Civic Center has taken recently. Last month, the Barre Rotary Club announced it would no longer hold the annual Barre Rotary Spring Exposition and Home Show. In January the center lost a revenue generator when the Frost Heaves folded.

The stock price for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters continues to fall after Wednesday's earnings shortfall. The Waterbury Company actually had a fantastic year with net sales of over $2.6 billion. That's 95 percent of last year. But the company fell short of its earning goals and investors are taking flight. The stock price was down 37 percent from Wednesday to about $41 at midday. The popularity of its K-cup line and big deals with Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts have fueled the growth.

Vermont lawmakers were briefed on the Comprehensive Energy Plan by the Shumlin administration in Montpelier yesterday. Hours before that briefing, opponents gathered in the Statehouse to discuss concerns for Vermont's energy future. Gov. Peter Shumlin wants to change the way Vermont produces energy by turning to resources like sun, wind and water. Opponents say that plan does not appropriately balance the costs and benefits to Vermont's economic climate. The Shumlin administration's draft plan assumes Vermont Yankee will not be a part of the state's energy future, something opponents of the plan would also like to see change.

The Vermont Attorney General's office says police were justified in fatally shooting a mentally ill man during a 2006 confrontation, even if he did not grab his gun. The office filed court paperwork in response to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Joseph Fortunati of Corinth. The Fortunatis said police gave differing accounts about whether Fortunati had a gun, and if he did so, whether he aimed it. Police say Fortunati ignored repeated commands to surrender and that officers believed they were in danger.

New York state officials have ordered 11 companies to refund $114.5 million to holders of health insurance policies covering more than 570,000 people who were overcharged for premiums last year. Under state law, insurers are required to spend 82 cents of every dollar collected in premiums on providing medical care. If they fall short they are required to refund the difference to policyholders.

New York state officials have identified what they say is an unprecedented number of schools that need improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind program. They say 1,325 elementary and high schools must bolster academic performance under the law. A school that fails to do better may ultimately be closed, but almost all succeed. The state has 4,685 public schools. More than 1,100 of the schools receive additional aid to provide extra help for low-income students and students in 416 will be allowed to choose other public schools.

The town of Moriah and Champlain Area Trails are nearing completion of the new Cheney Mountain Trail. Nineteen people came out November 5th to hike and finish opening up the trail. Cheney Mountain Trail will be a new resource for residents and visitors in Moriah. It starts by the town’s former landfill and follows an old logging road to the summit for spectacular views. For more information just visit www.champlainareatrails.com.

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is releasing a redesigned custom license plate that is available to U.S. veterans with vehicles registered in New York State. The updated veteran plate features the U.S. flag in the background, and the word "Veteran" appears to the left of the plate number. It is available for both passenger and commercial vehicles.

The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife is urging deer hunters to wear orange in the woods. Vermont Hunter Education coordinator Chris Saunders says that in the past ten years, almost half of the state's hunting accidents might have been prevented with hunter orange. The state says the most common cause of hunting-related shootings involves visibility problems, and both underscore the need for hunters to see and be seen during the fall firearms deer season. Vermont's 16-day rifle deer hunting season opens Saturday.