WVTK Local & State News January 31, 2012

The organizing committee for the “Middlebury Maple Run – The Sweetest Half” is reminding you that today is the last day to register at the discounted rate of $35 for Individual Runners or $55 for a Relay Team. Individual Adult rates increase to $45 as of tomorrow. The proceeds from 2011’s Middlebury Maple Run were donated to several worthwhile charities. This year the Addison County Humane Society will be added to the list of recipients. Scheduled for Sunday, May 6th with a start time of 9AM, the Middlebury Maple Run is becoming one of New England’s “must-do” races and organizers hope to attract at least 1,000 runners for this year’s event. Get more info and register now by clicking HERE!

Health officials in Vermont say Norovirus outbreaks are popping up in the state. The Vermont Department of Health says outbreaks have been reported in Addison and Franklin counties. Hospital ERs are also seeing an increase. The Centers for Disease Control say the highly contagious virus usually includes diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach cramping. It generally lasts one to two days. For more information click HERE.

A suspected landmine found inside a used car at a dealership in Pittsford turned out to be a harmless gas mask component that only happened to closely resemble an anti-personnel mine. State and local police were called to Brandon Auto South on Route 7 at about 9:45 Monday morning when an employee at the used car dealership found a green disc-shaped device covered with words printed in a foreign language under the front seat of a car that the shop's owner recently purchased at auction.

Rutland City’s monthly rate for downtown parking passes will go from $16 to $35 on March 1. Permits will not be valid in the Wales Street lot, which has been designated for downtown residents. Residential parking permits will be available for $20 a month starting March 1. New rates at the meters are also in the future as recalibration of those is expected to take place in February. Also, the fine for meter violations climbs from $6 to $15 starting Feb. 2, doubling if unpaid after 10 days and doubling again after 10 more.

Some cracks have been found in the concrete of new Lake Champlain Bridge. State officials say they are nothing to worry about. The cracks were discovered soon after its November 2011 opening during routine concrete testing. But Carol Breen, a spokeswoman for the State Department of Transportation Region 1, said they are not dangerous. She noted that there is superficial hairline concrete cracking, which routinely occurs on all newly poured concrete bridges. Such hairline cracks are normal and do not affect the safety or structural integrity of the bridge.

On Thursday January 19th around 4:20 in the afternoon Vermont State Police responded to the Ripton General Store for a reported burglary. Numerous items were reported stolen to include cigarettes and money. Anybody with any information is asked to contact the New Haven State Police Barracks.

Central Vermont Public Service just recently brought its tenth CVPS Cow Power project online. There currently is an energy production surplus from its award-winning farm-generation program and they are looking for new customers to take advantage of the program. CVPS is working to support four new cow power projects across the state, both inside and outside its service territory. Several existing CVPS Cow Power farms are also in the midst of expanding their generation capacity. New construction projects include: A 150-kW generator at the Maplehurst Farm in Greensboro; a 475-kW generator at the Four Hills Farm in Bristol; a 200-kW generator at the Riverview Farm in Franklin; a 300-kW generator at Vermont Technical College in Randolph. Since 2005, CVPS Cow Power farms have delivered over 47 million kilowatt-hours of locally produced renewable energy to CVPS customers.

Bristol resident Nancy Wilson will be a panelist at the Vermont Communities in a Digital Age workshop February 16th at Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center. The all-day non-profit event is being organized by the e-Vermont Community Broadband Project that is working across Vermont to help communities solve local issues with 21st century tools. The workshop will highlight some of the projects taking place and bring leaders and learners together to share what they have discovered so far. As librarian at the Lawrence Memorial Library she will be on a panel that looks at the role of public libraries in the 21st Century.

Essex County New York is looking to install up to six microwave antennas on an existing tower on Grandpa’s Knob in Castleton as part of a public safety radio frequency upgrade. The upgraded system, called P25 standard, will be used by New York State Police and Essex County’s public safety agencies. They hope to begin construction and installation in early May.

The Vermont State Colleges Student Association will be holding a system wide rally on the steps of the Vermont State House February 7th at 11AM. Students from across the state will gather to speak about higher education funding, and the need for more in regards to the Vermont State Colleges. Student government presidents from Johnson State College, Lyndon State College, Castleton State College, Vermont Technical College and the Community College of Vermont will lead hundreds of students from their respective institutions in an effort to build visibility and support for the Vermont State Colleges.

The Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce is expanding its partnership with the North Country Small Business Development Center. Services provided by the North Country SBDC will be available at the chamber office on the second Tuesday of each month from 9AM to 3PM through an open house unless otherwise noted. The first open house will be on Tuesday, February 14th, at the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce office on Montcalm St. in downtown Ticonderoga. Learn more at www.northcountrysbdc.org.

Two school districts in Vermont and New Hampshire along the Canadian border are studying the creation of a cross-border school district in the two states that would save money and increase opportunities for students. Representatives of Vermont's Essex North Supervisory Union, based in Canaan, and New Hampshire's School Administrative Unit 7, of Colebrook, have formed a steering committee to discuss a possible merger.

Windham County's sheriff admits to frustration over the psychological conditions his deputies are seeing now that the Vermont State Hospital has been closed following Irene's flooding. Keith Clark has written to Mental Health Commissioner Patrick Flood, saying the system has become a burden on his staff and says patients aren't getting the care they deserve.

Psychiatric nurses at Fletcher Allen say they're concerned about their safety. Since Tropical Storm Irene, they've taken in a number of patients who would have traditionally gone to the state hospital in Waterbury and months after the transition, they say it's not going well. Seven landed at Fletcher Allen's Shepardson inpatient ward after the closure. Others who would have traditionally gone to Waterbury have since found spots in Fletcher Allen's 28 psych beds as well.

A new look for Church Street was unveiled in the Burlington Downtown and Waterfront Plan. Citizens got to take a look at images for the area over the next fifty years, and most liked what they saw. The plan calls for an integration between the waterfront and downtown area, as well as making it greener and environmentally friendly. Some of the plans involve a waterfront ice skating ring, a permanent farmer's market and fixing the waterfront access with stairs connecting Church Street with City Hall Park.

Vermont health officials are showing off the state's new portable pop-up hospital. Officials say the 20-bed hospital and mass care trailer is designed to respond to mass casualty and hospital and public health events and emergencies. The hospital, which has its own source of electricity, running water, heat and air conditioning, can be set up quickly in emergency situations such as the outbreak of an illness that would require more hospital beds or used for routine events like flu clinics. It's 1 of 2 so far in the state.

Business owners who want to speak out about Governor Peter Shumlin's plans for health care reform have a chance to do so this week. Two legislative committees will hold a joint hearing tomorrow night to talk about a bill under consideration to begin implementing the ambitious reform agenda.

A federal judge has dismissed a class action lawsuit filed against Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. In 2010, the SEC launched an inquiry into the Waterbury Company's accounting practices. The Louisiana Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System then filed suit against the Green Mountain Coffee, claiming the Company falsified statements to make it look like it was performing better than it was. U.S. District Judge William Sessions has dismissed the suit, saying the Louisiana investors didn't present any facts indicating a strong inference of fraud.

Law enforcement officials in New York are celebrating some success. Crime is on the decline. Officials say all types of crime dropped in 2011, including violent crimes. 750 homicides were committed in New York in 2011. That's the fewest number of murders reported in more than 35 years. Authorities credit several factors, including better crime analysis and an expanded DNA database for offenders.

The top Democrat in New York's Legislature is pushing legislation to boost the state's minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 and then index it annually to the inflation rate. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, joined Monday by dozens of colleagues from his Democrat-controlled chamber, says census data show nearly half of the U.S. population has fallen into poverty or joined the ranks of the working poor. He says the minimum wage in New York has risen 10 cents in the last six years and increasing it is "a matter of human dignity." A spokesman says Gov. Andrew Cuomo has supported previous proposals to raise the minimum and will review this one.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is seeking public comment on its 5-year plan that would expand hunting and trapping seasons for bobcats. The agency estimates the state has about 5,000 bobcats and the population has been growing. Most bobcats live in the Adirondacks, Catskills and Taconics. They're twice the size of a domestic cat, with bushy jowls and a stub tail. The plan is on the DEC website. Comments will be taken through February 10th.

The Ticonderoga “Best Fourth in the North” committee will host its inaugural Pan Fish Tournament on Sunday, February 12th. The ice fishing tourney will be held at the Ticonderoga ferry landing on Lake Champlain from 9AM to 3PM. The entry fee is $20 a person or a family of three members. Prizes will be 40 percent of the entry fees. If 100 people register the first place prize will be $400. There will also be a $100 prize for the largest fish caught of any species. More information and entry forms can be found online at www.best4thinthenorth.com.