WVTK Local & State News November 30, 2011

A special Vergennes Community Action Meeting to discuss the impact of illegal drugs on the Vergennes community and what residents can do about it, will be held this evening at 7 in St. Peters Parish Hall located on South Maple St. The meeting, sponsored by the Vergennes Police Department, will provide awareness to the current situation in the city involving illegal narcotics. It will also identify measures residents can take to minimize and prevent their further impact.

The National Weather Service says this autumn in Vermont is expected to be the third- or fourth-warmest on record. And that might lead to a warmer winter. The Burlington Free Press reports a review of the 10 warmest autumns in Burlington shows that in eight of those cases, the following winter was warmer than normal. The other two winters had temperatures close to normal. National Weather Service records show that five of the winters that followed the warm autumns were among the 10 mildest on record.

Hundreds turned out to greet what's become a holiday tradition in the North Country. For the 13th year, Canadian Pacific Railroad has decorated one of its freight trains with tens of thousands of festive Christmas lights. The "Holiday Train" makes stops across Northern New York and Quebec, putting on a live show of Christmas songs and donating money to local food banks. The Holiday Train made stops this week in Ticonderoga, Port Henry and Plattsburgh. Over the years CP Rail has raised more than 5.5 million dollars and collected more than 2-million pounds of food donations for local food shelves.

Plans are underway to fight the opiate drug problem in Rutland. Health experts say they need another option to help hundreds of people there fighting an addiction to powerful pain relievers. About 400 people in Rutland are being treated for a prescription drug addiction. Rutland is the only major city in Vermont without a methadone clinic nearby. Rutland Mental Health hopes to have a program running in six months. The state and the feds will pay the up to $2-million yearly cost. The Vermont Health Department says it has already put aside money for its share.

Part of an art display was stolen in downtown Rutland. Police and city officials are asking for help locating a missing parking meter, not just any parking meter, but a bronze statue of a meter that stood in Depot Park. It was part of a sculpture created by a longtime Rutland resident more than 20 years ago. It displayed a dog resisting an invisible leash that was tied to the meter. It disappeared sometime this week. Police say there has been an increase in copper thefts in Rutland lately. A reward may be offered in this case.

Two bank offices in Rutland are slated to close early next year, though officials at each company say no jobs should be lost. The Citizens Bank office located in Price Chopper is scheduled to close in January, while the TD Bank on South Main Street will follow suit in February. TD Bank spokesman Jimmy Hernandez said the five employees at the South Main Street branch would all move to the bank’s Merchants Row location. A representative of Citizens Bank said the Price Chopper location would be consolidated to the branch at the corner of West Street and Merchants Row. With online and mobile banking on the fewer people are coming to the brick-and-mortar bank offices.

The city of Burlington wants drivers to slow down. The city is dropping its speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph today. The Burlington Free Press says some sections of the city will keep their higher or lower speed limits. The slowdown will improve the safety of drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians while decreasing air pollution.

The Vermont Agency of Human Services is going to get an $18 million federal grant to help implement the next phase of the federal health care reform known as the Affordable Care Act. The money from the federal Department of Health and Human Services that was awarded to Vermont is part of $220 million in grants being sent to 13 states.

Senator Patrick Leahy says the time has come for the U.S. Supreme Court to televise its proceedings. Leahy is sponsoring legislation that would allow the chief justice to permit cameras in the court. He's been a strong supporter of the so-called "Sunshine in the Courtroom" Act. Congress can't require the Supreme Court to televise its proceedings. So the legislation strongly encourages Chief Justice John Roberts to take this step. Leahy says the court's review of the Affordable Care Act, the health care law passed by Congress last year, is the perfect time to start the new policy.

Tree farms in New Hampshire and Vermont are donating at least 400 Christmas trees to military families around the world. The donations are part of a nationwide effort called Trees For Troops. This year, the organization is hoping to deliver its 100,000th tree since the program started in 2005.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the state-run website for job seekers now lists 52,000 openings statewide. According to Cuomo's office the "Jobs Express" site has had more than 200,000 visits since it was launched four weeks ago and has added 10,000 more listings of job openings. Those positions are listed on the state website, which has added tools to permit variations on searches for job openings listed among 10 regions.

Roger Phinney, executive director of the Eastern New York Marine Trades Association and marina owners from the region are supporting the new Marine Academy being established at Ticonderoga High School in its newly constructed, state-of-the-art technology center. Slated to open next September, the Marine Academy will be operated by Champlain Valley Tech and be available to students from Glens Falls to Plattsburgh. It’s a two-year program that will be limited to 13 students and marina owners can’t wait until the first class graduates.

Every year in December, it’s a special time in downtown Middlebury. This year is filled with seasonal family activities at a variety of locations including the Middlebury Community House, Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, Vermont Folklife Center, and Middlebury College's Mahaney Center for the Arts and Mead Chapel. On the three Saturdays before Christmas Day Santa will be in Middlebury from 10AM to noon at a variety of locations. You can make WVTK your soundtrack, as we’ll present yet another “Very Merry Middlebury Weekend” – continuous Christmas favorites get underway with Amanda Leigh this Friday afternoon at 3pm!

A new public service announcement is going to be airing on television over the holiday season, with State Auditor Tom Salmon telling people not to drink and drive. It's a lesson he knows well, because that's what happened to him two years ago. He says the DUI arrest was a life-changing event for him, and he wants to focus more attention on preventing it from happening to others. Over the holiday weekend, Vermont State Police arrested 33 suspected drunk drivers; nearly double the amount of arrests from last Thanksgiving.

Vermont's comprehensive energy plan, workshops on wind power, smart grid technology and other issues will be on tap at a conference at the Lake Morey Inn in Fairlee. The event, which runs from 8:30 to 4 on Saturday, will feature talks by Public Service Commissioner Elizabeth Miller and Natural Resources Secretary Deb Markowitz. The program is being geared to anyone with an interest in energy issues, with special emphasis on members of local energy committees. The conference will include 14 workshops on issues ranging from energy efficiency to renewable energy.

Search crews are combing the woods near Lake Placid looking for a missing hunter. A neighbor last saw Russ Beede early Saturday morning. The 63 year old was hunting just outside the village. Helicopters, canine units, and dozens of people on the ground will continue the search today.