WVTK Local & State News January 26, 2012

Some of the highlights from this week’s Middlebury Select-Board meeting include three Police Officers taking the Oath of Office. School Zone Warning Signs with 30 mph Advisory Signs will be posted on Exchange Street between the Exchange Street/US 7 intersection and the western boundary of the property owned by The Bridge School. The Town will monitor speeds in the area to determine if a lower speed limit is warranted. Meanwhile the Board approved the General Fund budget for the Warning for Town Meeting after increasing the amount included for the Parent Child Center by $3,185 and applying more of the Fund Balance to offset expenses in FY13 in order to maintain the same estimated tax rate as in the current fiscal year. The proposed budget is available on the town’s website.

Middlebury police were busy yesterday with a busy thief. Yesterday morning, police cited 20-year-old Adrian Moore for trespassing at Shaw's supermarket around 9:45. Then just after noon Moore matched the description of a thief who had just stolen a jacket from SkiHaus, but he got away. Police caught up with Moore again around 6 p.m. while using GPS to track down an iPad that had just been stolen from the Middlebury Library. He is due in court today.

The Vergennes Union High School Commodore Booster Club honored local business owner Brett Ward at a ceremony during half time of a recent Vergennes Varsity Boys basketball game. Members of the booster club presented Brett and City Limits Night Club a plaque in recognition for eleven years of support of the Vergennes Union High School boosters and athletic programs. In 2011 City Limits contributed $15,000 to the Commodore Booster Club and since 2001 it has contributed a grand total of $203,000.

Ticonderoga residents can now purchase trash disposal cards at the town transfer station on Saturdays. Station attendants will sell the punch cards as a convenience to customers. They can only be purchased by check. Cash and credit cards will not be accepted at the trash transfer station on Vineyard Road. Attendants will not handle cash. The cards are sold at the town clerk’s office during normal business hours during the week. The town clerk’s office is closed on Saturday and some town residents said that creates a hardship since they work during the week and can’t get to the clerk’s office to purchase trash cards. The cards are available for $3, $5, $10 and $20.

It will now cost you more to ride a ferry across Lake Champlain. Lake Champlain Transportation is raising its rates 30 cents for a one-way ticket and the company is eliminating round trip fares. A round-trip ticket used to be several dollars cheaper than purchasing two one-way tickets. A one-way pass for a driver and a car now costs $9.80. This is the first rate increase since 2008.

Vermont State police are investigating a chain of thefts in Poultney. Thieves hit as many as 18 unlocked cars parked near Green Mountain College at night Sunday and Tuesday. Police say thieves were not targeting any one type of car or any specific contents, but stole whatever they could find. Police remind people to keep your doors locked and to never leave valuables in plain sight.

Free income tax preparation is available to local taxpayers through the AARP Tax-Aide program. The local Tax-Aide program prepares and electronically files individual 2011 tax returns. Volunteer counselors, trained and certified by the IRS, assist low- and middle-income taxpayers. People do not have to be retired or a member of AARP for this service. All locations are by appointment only. To schedule an appointment in Port Henry, Schroon Lake or Elizabethtown call; 873-2341 or 1-800-675-2668. Contact the Hague Community Center at 543-6161 to schedule an appointment in Hague or Ticonderoga.

Numerous Vermont state lawmakers got a disturbing email early Wednesday morning that contained a death threat. The email demands $10,000 or else. It's not clear if lawmakers were intentionally targeted in the scam. The email doesn't mention anyone by name or anything political. State police assigned detectives to investigate the scam and try to track where the emails came from. They say this is not a legitimate threat. And there is no danger to lawmakers.

The Vermont Senate is expected to approve commemorative license plates that will raise money to help the state recover from Tropical Storm Irene. Most of the $25 charged for the "Vermont Strong" plates will go to the Vermont Long-Term Disaster Relief Fund for people affected by flooding from Irene. The goal of the project is to raise a million dollars.

It's getting easier to get into a Vermont shelter if you need one. The state is lowering its eligibility requirements, plus communities now have the option to open wet or dry shelters. Governor Peter Shumlin announced the changes Wednesday, saying this gives more people access. He also says the change allocates state funds to house people even if under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He says one-point-five-million originally budgeted for the state hospital is being shifted over to help support the change.

Citing the recent deaths of 3 homeless Vermonters who died of exposure to the cold, Gov. Peter Shumlin is launching some new steps to reduce homelessness in the state. The governor told a news conference on Wednesday he wants to reconstitute the Vermont Council on Homelessness, an interagency group designed to improve coordination between programs. He also pointed to a new rental subsidy program started this month that is aimed at keeping low-income Vermonters from becoming homeless. And he appointed a new person to coordinate housing programs in the Agency of Human Services. Shumlin says 2 of the deaths of homeless people occurred in Burlington and one in Rutland.

Gov. Peter Shumlin is defending the actions he took two years ago as president of the Senate that led to a vote to close the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Shumlin told reporters on Wednesday that he was not in the Senate when the law was passed in 2006 giving the Legislature veto power over continued operations at Vermont Yankee. He says he called for the Senate vote in 2010 after being requested to by Public Service Board Chairman James Volz. Shumlin also said he would leave to Attorney General William Sorrell the decision on whether to appeal last week's federal court order blocking the state's bid to close Vermont Yankee.

A House Democrat this week will unveil legislation requiring an up-or-down vote from the Legislature before the Public Service Board can consider a proposed merger of the state’s two largest electric utilities. While the bill has a slim chance of getting to the House floor, it reflects angst among some lawmakers about the merits of the $700 million deal between Green Mountain Power and Central Vermont Public Service Corp. And even as top administration officials and legislative leaders voice confidence in the regulatory process, some lawmakers say the scope of the proposal demands a more intensive review.

Consultants are looking at reusing the upper floors of the state office complex in Waterbury among a number of options for housing state workers displaced by Irene flooding. The president of Freeman French Freeman, a Burlington-based architectural firm, told a Senate committee on Wednesday that the firm is on schedule to report on the costs and feasibility of 4 proposals by March 2nd.

Vermont lawmakers are considering a 3-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, a controversial technique for natural gas drilling, while the scientific issues are explored further. No natural gas wells currently exist in Vermont, but lawmakers have heard from state environmental officials that there's a shale formation under the Lake Champlain islands that could be a target for the practice.

Former New York Mayor Ed Koch says he's sure the state Legislature will soon unveil new election district lines that further protect majority party incumbents despite pledges lawmakers made in the last campaign to draw non-partisan lines. The majorities are expected to release their proposed district lines this week. If approved by Gov. Andrew Cuomo or the courts, the new districts would be in place for the next 10 years. In 2010, nearly every state lawmaker pledged to reform the process this year.

U.S. Forest Service employees from the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont took to the slopes of local ski areas to share a new Junior Snow Ranger Activity booklet with local elementary school children this week. The children look at personal safety, wildlife, winter ecology, snow science and recreation using the booklets. They also learn about rescue dogs and the continued importance of wildfire prevention during the winter. For students who didn’t make it to the program introduction, the books are available free at Green Mountain National Forest offices in Middlebury, Manchester, Rochester and Rutland. Once completed, children can take their books back to the office, or mail them in, and receive and card, patch, and certificate of completion.

Vermont Lt. Gov. Phil Scott and Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Patrick Berry recognized the winners of Vermont’s 2011 Youth Hunting Memories Contest at the Yankee Classic Sportsman’s Show in Essex Junction last weekend. Each winner received a Beagle Outdoor Wear fanny pack, binoculars, a compass and several Fish and Wildlife Department publications, including the 2012 Calendar. Contest winners were Colby Fox of Wallingford, Jacob Crawford of Jericho and Trevor Houle of Brattleboro.

Teen theater troupe will hold it’s first public performance. The Prevention Team and Moriah Central School will present the first public performance from their teen theater performance group, On Common Ground. The group will perform “I Don’t Have a Problem,” a play about the dangers of gambling written and performed by students. The play will be performed February 2nd at 6PM in the Moriah Central School Auditorium. On Common Ground writes and performs skits about current social issues for teens to promote awareness and to engage their peers in dialogue. The event is free and open to the public.

The Peace Corps says the University of Vermont ranks fifth in the country in the number of former students who are serving as volunteers overseas. The rankings of medium sized universities released Tuesday show that 42 UVM alumni are serving overseas. The figure is up eight over last year and it moved the school from 13th to fifth. The top-producing medium sized college or university is The George Washington University. The overall top producing school is the University of Colorado at Boulder.