WVTK Local & State News November 21, 2011

State police say a Rutland man pursued early Sunday morning for allegedly stealing gasoline in Killington took his own life using a gun when the chase ended in Bridgewater. Police are investigating the death of 27-year-old James Miles who they say took his own life when police cornered him on a dead-end road. State Police and Killington constables began pursuing Miles after a Killington constable reportedly saw him at about 12:30AM leave the area of the Green Mountain National Golf Course where a theft of gasoline had been reported. The pursuit led along Route 100 into Pittsfield.

A tragic accident occurred yesterday morning on the Northway. 59-year-old Thomas Lafountain and his 65-year-old sister, Mary Morrissey, both from Mechanicsville, were traveling north on the Adirondack Northway in the town of Schroon. Lafountain received minor injuries. But his sister was pronounced dead at the scene. The condition of the person driving the other vehicle is unknown. Police are still looking for that driver and vehicle. Anyone that was traveling along the Northway in the Schroon area around 7:30 Sunday morning is urged to call the New York State Police.

Vermont’s medical examiner says the cause of death during a Champlain Farms convenience store robbery in Vergennes was a homicide. Under Vermont law homicide simply means that 34-year-old Yemalla Sprauve was killed by another person. It doesn't necessarily mean a crime occurred. If police and prosecutors decide the clerk did nothing wrong and he was acting within the law defending himself, then they don't even have to bring charges. Vergennes police say the Vermont Attorney General's Office is working with the Addison County state's attorney to determine if any charges would be brought against the store clerk.

The new Canadian-owned company created by the merger of Green Mountain Power and Central Vermont Public Service will be called “Green Mountain Power”. It will adopt CVPS’s three sub-brands and a new logo that connects the traditions and history of both companies. The name change was made public November 18th. Pending the sale of CVPS to Gaz Metro, a leading Quebec energy company and GMP’s parent, CVPS and GMP are expected to merge in 2012.

Parts of our region prepared for a blizzard Sunday. Close to 100 volunteers spent a few hours Sunday morning assembling nearly 1,000 blizzard bags. Each year CVAA delivers Blizzard Bags to seniors receiving Meals on Wheels. The bags contain four shelf stable meals for seniors to have in their home to use when daily Meals on Wheels delivery is canceled. CVAA serves more than 10,000 seniors in Chittenden, Addison, Franklin and Grand Isle Counties.

Essex County lawmakers are telling Sheriff Richard Cutting they want to bring overtime at the County Jail under control. The Sheriff appeared before the County Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee recently to ask for an additional $100,000 from the county's contingency fund to pay for overtime. The money will be covered by inmate boarding revenue.

Whether or not the creature called Champ is really swimming around in Lake Champlain will be explored soon on CBS News's Early Show. CBS Early Show Producer Brian Bingham was in Port Henry this weekend to shoot Champ footage for the Local Legends segment of the morning program. Among those interviewed were Dee Carroll, the Westport Marina co-owner who's seen Champ he also visited Lorraine Franklin's Champ Trading Post located in West Addison. The Early Show Champ segment will air in the next few days.

A police drug sweep resulted in 13 arrests that included eight local people last week in Essex County. The police action began with four arrests November 10th, another November 14th and eight more November 18th. Seven people were arrested and arraigned on narcotics charges Friday in a drug sweep in Essex County. Police said the arrests centered on the possession and/or sale of controlled substances, which in most cases were prescription drugs.

Plans to make the former Moses Ludington Hospital a senior citizen housing complex will move forward. Liberty Affordable Housing Inc. and Inter-Lakes Health have announced they have received funding for the $7 million project that will turn the now-vacant facility into 31 one-bedroom units for low-income seniors. It will be called Moses Circle Senior Apartments. Construction is scheduled to begin in May 2012.

Workers at the closed Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury say they've largely been ignored as the state debates the future of its mental health system in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene. About a dozen psychiatrists, nurses, social workers and others who worked at the hospital gathered last week to say they think they should be moved back into Waterbury temporarily, and that the state should move as quickly as possible to build a new psychiatric hospital in north-central Vermont. They say the state hospital provided a unique range of services needed by Vermonters suffering from the most severe mental illnesses.

AmeriCorps volunteers are going to be staying in Vermont a bit longer to help with the continuing cleanup from Tropical Storm Irene. AmeriCorps officials say 40 volunteers from the federal program have contributed more than 6,290 hours so far since the storm triggered widespread flooding in the state August 28th. Ten AmeriCorps volunteers are now planning to stay in Vermont through mid-December.

Two men from New York City are behind bars in Vermont following their arrest on drug-trafficking charges. Police say 30-year-old Arkim Willis and 18-year-old Frank Jenkins, both of Brooklyn, were charged Friday at a hotel in Rutland. When police entered the hotel room while responding to theft report, they found 287 packaged bags of heroin and a larger bag of heroin weighing 24 grams, with a combined street value of more than $31,000.

A University of Vermont researcher got to present findings at a national conference from a study showing that even small lifestyle changes can improve cardiovascular health. Dr. Mary Cushman of the University of Vermont College of Medicine traveled to the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions conference in Orlando this past week to present her findings.

Vermont's Green Mountain Club has a new wood-burning heat and hot water system on a staff building at its Waterbury Center headquarters. The system is part of a 100% renewable energy system at the club's headquarters. The club installed the system with the help of a $67,000 grant secured by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy. The Vermont Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation administered the grant.

Young hunters in Vermont will get a chance to win prizes by sharing their hunting experiences. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is seeking essays or artwork from young hunters describing their time on a hunt. Entrants are encouraged to describe why hunting is important to them and include a story of 1 of their hunting experiences. They may also send in hunting photos. The contests will be divided into three age groups. Winners in each category will get a set of prizes from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and Beagle Outdoor Wear. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 31. Winners will be announced on Jan. 21 at the Yankee Classic Sportsman's Show in Essex Junction.

Vermont officials have retired the special Google map that reported which roads and bridges around the state were closed due to damage from Irene. Flooding triggered by Irene damaged more than 500 miles of state road and 200 bridges. The state Agency of Transportation says it was a big help when Google offered to create a special map that could be updated regularly to tell people where the closures were.

Rutland area residents will be able to leave the sorting of their recyclables to Casella Waste Systems’ new Zero-Sort recycling center, unveiled Friday afternoon. The $3.75 million facility will receive glass, newspapers, cardboard, mixed paper, and all types of plastic containers mixed together. Zero-Sort containers will also be distributed around downtown Rutland in a collaboration between the Downtown Rutland Partnership, City of Rutland’s Department of Public Works union and Casella.

Despite warm fall temperatures staff at about 10 ski resorts are doing their best to turn "Black Friday" white. The lifts are stalled and the slopes at Smugglers' Notch resort are green, but staff say by Thanksgiving they hope to give skiers and riders one more thing to be thankful for. The Ski Vermont President said Killington's October open, and the batch of openings due next week are carrying last year's strong momentum into this ski season.

Condé Nast Traveler readers have selected the Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa as one of the “Top 50 Ski Hotels” in North America. Mirror Lake Inn and the Whiteface Lodge are the only ski resorts in New York to make the list, and it is the fourth time the Inn has received this honor.