WVTK Local & State News November 22, 2011

The Weather Channel Says: Sunny – High Near 40. (Meanwhile the NWS has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Chittenden, Rutland, Addison and Essex County, NY from Midnight Tonight through Midnight Wednesday.)

The autopsy report for Gerald “Dusty” Woodburn from Salisbury is not yet complete and is pending further examination. Woodburn died last Thursday after Vermont State Police troopers responded to his home on Lake Dunmore Road in Salisbury for a domestic disturbance. It is not yet determined if the single shot fired from an officers duty weapon made contact with Woodburn. Once the investigation is completed the case will be reviewed by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, as is customary in an officer-related shooting.

Nearly 24 hours after a deadly hit and run crash on the Adirondack Northway in Schroon, police believe they have located the vehicle that fled the scene. It was found early Monday afternoon just north of New York City. Police say they recovered a large amount of evidence from the crash site and now hopes that will help them solve the case. Detectives are travelling south and plan to search the car for evidence Tuesday. They are also trying to determine who was driving it at the time of the crash Sunday.

The Willsboro Central School Board of education will hold a regular meeting at 6PM today in the conference room. The agenda includes personnel, business and finance and a resolution for installment payments for school taxes.

Vermont Hard Cider Co. has filed plans to build a new 87,000 plus square-foot bottling plant on Exchange Street, between the Bridge School and Maple Landmark Woodcraft. The company is considering adding 20 new employees to its workforce in conjunction with the new facility. The Middlebury Development Review Board has scheduled an initial public hearing to review the application on Monday, December 12th at 7PM in the municipal building conference room.

The Addison Central Supervisory Union school board has officially launched its search for a new superintendent. They have agreed on a salary range, length of contract, the makeup of a screening committee for candidates, and a basic timetable for selection of a finalist. The position is expected to be filled by next summer. Gail Conley is serving as interim superintendent this year while officials look for a new top administrator.

Middlebury police investigated complaints about a man distributing racist literature to passersby and storeowners in the Marble Works shopping complex last Wednesday. The investigating police officer said a local man had been passing out stickers that evening bearing three different racist messages.

A recent string of Bristol burglaries has many townspeople worried. Police Chief Kevin Gibbs said the unusual increase in burglaries is perhaps double what it was last year. He pointed to a rising demand for heroin in Bristol and a short-staffed police department as reasons contributing to this increase.

Vergennes aldermen agreed last week to make a second loan from a city-administered revolving loan fund to Shear Properties. The $70,788 agreement with Shear Properties is essentially a loan consolidation. The arrangement will allow the owners to pay off the balance of their 2008 loan from the city, two small bank loans and some other debts all while lowering monthly payments by about $350. Shear Properties will pay the city back over 10 years at a 4 percent interest rate.

Despite increased costs for insurance and retirement, the 2012 Town of Elizabethtown budget will show a 6 percent tax-levy decrease. The $822,740 levy will result in a tax rate to be billed at $5.36 per $1,000 of assessed property value, which is down from $5.70 in the 2011 budget. So a property with an assessed value of $100,000 would pay $536, which is $34 less than this year. There will be no increases in the cost of services such as public water.

Middlebury author Stanford Pritchard has just released “Restaurant,” a novel that takes a look at a summer resort town through a series of individual stories that are naturally interrelated. It’s light and fun and captures that feeling of tourist-town locals getting through it all very nicely. “Restaurant” is available at Vermont bookstores and online at Amazon.com.

The head of the Vermont National Guard says the opening of 2 new armories that will be used jointly by the National Guard and the Army Reserve are the wave of the future. Adjutant General Michael Dubie says the new armory in White River Junction will combine functions that had been performed out of 6 separate state and federal facilities in the southeastern part of the state. He says the new Rutland armory will combine separate guard and reserve armories into one facility.

A former chairman of the University of Vermont's board of trustees is leading an effort to as he calls it to achieve prosperity for current and future generations in Vermont. Bruce Lisman announced Monday the formation of the group called "Campaign for Vermont." He says the organization is designed to unite Vermonters from a broad spectrum of political perspectives and to set a new direction for our future.

Vermont's congressional delegation has joined the fight to save a remote border crossing in Franklin County. Last year, the federal government announced plans to renovate and expand the Morses Line facility, which would require taking farmland from the Rainville family. The family objected, and Senator Leahy convinced the feds to abandon the expansion. Homeland Security then announced it would shut down the crossing altogether. Now Customs and Border Protection is reconsidering the plan. All three members of the state's congressional delegation have submitted a letter saying the crossing should remain open.

Did the leader of Vermont's largest teachers' union overstep his boundaries and threaten the chairman of the South Burlington School Board? That's what the Vermont Labor Relations Board is going to determine, after gathering testimony yesterday. School Board Chair Richard Cassidy told them he received an e-mail from Vermont-National Education Association Executive Director Joel Cook which he interpreted as a warning that his private business would be targeted if he did not change his public stance on contract negotiations. Cook's attorney would not comment publicly on the testimony. A decision by the labor relations board could take a couple of months.

Teen births declined in the United States last year but increased slightly in Vermont. Nationally the number of babies born to teen mothers dropped from 3.79 percent in 2009 to 3.43 percent in 2010. Vermont's teen birth rate is half that of the nation as a whole, but did climb slightly over the last year from 1.73 percent in 2009 to 1.78 percent in 2010.

Former Vermont State Rep. John Murphy is being remembered for his commitment to the working people of the state. Murphy died Saturday in Ludlow. He was 88. Murphy served 30 years in the Legislature, stepping down in 1998. Former Vermont House Speaker Ralph Wright tells the Burlington Free Press Murphy was "the face of labor in the state of Vermont for nearly four decades."

A group of Ticonderoga residents enjoyed fresh, homemade bread with their Thanksgiving dinner this year. Ticonderoga Elementary School students, with help from the King Arthur Flour Company, learned how to bake bread during an assembly last Friday. Students were then given the necessary ingredients and asked to bake two loaves of bread at home, one for their family and another to be donated to residents of Lord Howe Estates and Montcalm Manor. St. Mary’s School and Putnam Central School students also took part in the program.

More and more people are choosing an easier way to shop this holiday season and that often means gift cards and online shopping. But experts warn, what you save in convenience you make up for in hidden fees and loopholes. Spending on gift cards is expected to reach nearly $28 billion this year. But, before you join the fad, experts say inspect what you are buying. Plus, many cards have hidden fees. Those fees can vary from card to card. And there are expiration dates on many cards. For online shoppers, if you want to make sure your credit card information is safe, just make sure the check out page on the Web site starts with https. They suggest you use a credit card instead of a debit card because it has increased security measures. WVTK encourages you to shop LOCAL this season and consider a gift card or certificate from the many wonderful businesses right here at home.