WVTK Local & State News February 2, 2012

A man wanted for indecent assault on a minor child in England 15 years ago has been arrested in Vergennes. The U.S. Marshals Service says 35-year-old Duane J. Peacock was arrested at an apartment complex last week. He’s accused of four counts of indecent assault on a minor child. According to court records while he was living in Bristol in 2009, Peacock told a constable from Great Britain by phone that he didn’t plan to return to England. British police then sought an arrest warrant through the U.S. State Department.

Due to marginal snow conditions, Women’s Ski Day at the Rikert Nordic Center will not be held on Sunday, February 5th as planned. A drier-than-normal January and an equally un-winter like forecast for February has prompted the organizers of the first-time Vermont ski event for women to be canceled. Women’s Ski Day in Vermont was to feature coaching in ski technique along with waxing clinics and a yoga workshop. Proceeds from the event were to benefit the Stride Foundation, which is a Ferrisburgh based non-profit devoted to empowering girls and women through mentoring and sports. Organizers are now looking ahead to 2013’s event.

The state Agency of Transportation is hoping a pavement rehabilitation and flood mitigation project will lead to less road closures during typical flood events along the Otter Creek on Route 73. Transportation officials will be working to raise portions of the road’s grade between Brandon and Sudbury to prevent water from the Otter Creek overflowing onto Route 73. Currently the transportation agency has projected a construction season to begin in the spring 2013, but delays could happen depending on how preliminary engineering and the right-of-way acquisition process pan out.

Commuter bus service is coming to Route 116 between Burlington and Middlebury via Hinesburg this April. Chittenden County Transportation Authority and Addison County Transit Resources received a grant from the State of Vermont Agency of Transportation to offer new public transportation service for Route 116 communities and businesses. The Route 116 Commuter is an innovative model of service for Hinesburg combining bus service from both directions, Burlington and Middlebury. Public hearings to discuss specific route and schedule details and obtain public comments will be held in late this month and early March in South Burlington, Hinesburg, Bristol and Middlebury. For hearing dates and more information just visit cctaride.org, actr-vt.org and Hinesburgrides.org

Weybridge Elementary School will host the annual Weybridge Book Fair on Wednesday, February 29th and Thursday, March 1st from 8:30AM - 6PM. The fair will feature a variety of used fiction and non-fiction for adults and children. This event will benefit the school’s library. Donated books can be dropped off at the school prior to February 28th.

New Haven State Police are investigating a report of fraud. An elderly woman received a phone call from a male pretending to work as an Attorney for the US Embassy who was stating that a family member was in trouble and needed money wired internationally. The phone number was traced to a cell phone out of the Province of Quebec, Canada. Troopers are asking that community members take caution when dealing with these types of phone calls and to contact State Police immediately. Any persons with related information please contact Trooper Armstrong at the New Haven State Police Barracks. (802-388-4919)

Killington didn't approve the warning for town meeting yesterday as scheduled because officials are waiting on a legal opinion about one question on the ballot submitted by voters. Another meeting to consider the warning for the town meeting ballot is scheduled for Friday at 9:30AM.

Members of the Vermont Air National Guard are leaving for a 17-day mission in Hawaii. About 200 members as well as F-16 jets will support air defense training for the Hawaii Air National Guard. The Vermont Air Guard members will fly to Hawaii today.

Farmers in parts of the Northeast and Midwest who had to cope with lots of flooding last summer and fall say they're grateful that a warm and largely snowless winter has helped them heal their land. For farmers such as David and Denise Lloyd, of Middleburgh, NY the weather has helped as they plowed under hundreds of acres of feed corn that had been just ready for cutting. In Vermont, Beth Kennett says the mild weather helped with the cleanup and has let them plant some winter rye, which prevents erosion and enriches the soil.

The last three months of 2011 turned out to be a banner quarter for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Net income during that quarter was more than 40-times what the company earned one year earlier. Net income amounted to 104-point-four-million dollars, while the same quarter a year earlier was two-point-four-million. The Keurig and its single-cup brewing system holds a 35-percent unit share of all coffee makers, and about 90-percent of Green Mountain Coffee's net sales came from the sale of four-million Keurig brewers.

The Mount Snow ski resort is suing NBC. The southern Vermont ski resort is demanding two-million dollars from the TV network, claiming it improperly cancelled last year's Winter Dew Tour and instead having it at Killington. This is the second year the Winter Dew Tour has gone instead to Killington. Mount Snow said it had the contract to host snowboarding and skiing competition through the year.

If you want to stay safe on the slopes, a new study shows you might want to stick to skiing rather than snowboarding. Burlington doctor Robert Johnson analyzed injury reports at Sugarbush Resort from 1988 through 2006. According to his study, a slightly larger percentage of snowboarders were injured during that time period than skiers, but skiers often suffered more serious injuries. 17 percent of all skiing injuries were ACL sprains. Wrist injuries accounted for 28 percent of all snowboarding injuries. The results of the study are published in the American Journal of Sports medicine.

Vermont employers offered a range of views to lawmakers on the future of the state's health care reform, but most of those that testified last night at a public hearing appeared to favor a go-slow approach. Some small business owners talked about feeling crushed by rapid increases in the cost of health insurance. Others urged that as lawmakers design the universal, publicly funded health care system envisioned in a law passed last year, they allow employers maximum flexibility in what benefits will be covered. And some complained that they were being asked to support a measure whose costs and services remain undetermined.

Nearly one in 110 kids is diagnosed with it and yet private health insurance companies in Vermont are not required to cover treatments for autism. But on Wednesday, Vermont Senator Anthony Pollina showed his support for two pieces of legislation, which would change that. They would require insurance companies to cover autism treatments for kids older than age six. Opponents of the legislation might argue that it would raise Vermont's health care premiums across the board. But, Pollina says the 29 States that have already passed similar laws have only seen a roughly 15 cent increase in health care premiums per month in the first year.

Some 8,700 retired Vermont teachers and state and municipal employees received 1099 forms with numbers printed in the wrong boxes. The error is causing confusion for people as they try to fill out their tax returns, so the treasurer's office is sending out letters explaining the error and will issue new 1099 forms for all of the affected people.

The Vermont House has approved a legislative redistricting plan that accounts for growth in Chittenden County's population and shrinkage in southern Vermont. The plan calls for adding one House seat to Burlington, bringing its representation in the 150-member chamber to 10. It eliminates a seat in Rutland County, one that now serves the Mount Holly-Shrewsbury area.

In the wake of the Vermont Yankee ruling, there is still plenty of political pressure being applied in Montpelier. Gov. Peter Shumlin met with advocates of the nuclear plant behind closed doors Wednesday, but he won't disclose what they discussed. The governor says it's important not to speak out about the case until a decision on an appeal has been made. Opponents of the nuclear plant are pushing for an appeal of the judge's ruling, while also suggesting the case against Yankee can still be won in separate proceedings before the state public service board.

Three Vt. House committees have passed a proposal for the Vermont State Hospital that includes 25 beds, not 16 as the governor had requested. Gov. Peter Shumlin is pushing for 16 beds because the federal government will give Vermont $10 million a year for a facility that size, any larger and Vermont is out of luck. State hospital workers say the 54-bed facility was too small as it was; they say patients spent many nights in emergency rooms waiting for space. Still, the governor says he's counting on the Senate to amend the 25 plan and trim it down to 16.

Small electric utilities in Vermont are worried that their concerns will be overwhelmed if the state's two largest power companies merge and gain control over the transmission network. Attention is again focused on VELCO, the company that manages the statewide electric grid. Some are concerned that smaller utilities will get overruled in decisions about the transmission network if VELCO ownership is concentrated in one merged company that sells power to 70 percent of the state's ratepayers. VELCO Vice President Kerrick Johnson says that VELCO is an open organization that operates under strict federal and state oversight. He says the money that VELCO makes is returned to ratepayers.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared Wednesday that the "Battle of Albany" is on. Taking on the state's traditionally powerful teachers unions, Cuomo threatened to impose tougher job evaluations February 16th if the unions continue to, as he put it, block progress. The evaluations taking into account student performance were required by law two years ago. Lack of labor agreements now threatens more than $1 billion in school funding. Turning to the state Legislature, Cuomo said legislative election districts proposed for the next 10 years are "wholly unacceptable." He indicated he won't sign a revised redistricting proposal without anything short of an overhaul.

Despite a poor economy, Fort Ticonderoga saw an increase in contributions in 2011. Assisted by a new program, the Fort Ticonderoga Fund, donations to the 100-year-old fort and museum jumped 12 percent last year to $600,327. The number of donors also increased by 14 percent. The Fort Ticonderoga Association established the Fund in 2011. It marked the first time the organization had a structured annual giving program. Information on Fort Ticonderoga and a schedule of activities are always available online at www.Fort-Ticonderoga.org.

WinterFest will return to Ticonderoga Saturday, February 11th. It will be the third annual day of outdoor recreation. WinterFest 2012 will be held from 11AM to 2PM in and around Ticonderoga’s Bicentennial Park. It will feature sledding, ice-skating, broomball, snowshoeing, snowmobile rides and a fun run. There will also be refreshments available as well as raffles for donated prizes. WinterFest is free to all, but you are encouraged to bring a donation for the Ticonderoga Food Pantry. For details just visit www.ticonderogany.com or the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.

Groundhogs have proven themselves fairly unreliable when it comes to predicting the weather, but there's a pretty good chance you could see some bad behavior by the rodents this morning. Legend has it that if the groundhog sees his shadow on February 2nd, winter will last for six more weeks. But government forecasters have found no correlation between predictions and the length of winter weather. Aside from the bad predictions, there have been a few ugly moments involving groundhog misbehavior on the big day. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg had a firsthand experience in 2009 when Staten Island Chuck chomped on the mayor's left index finger as he tried to coax Chuck outside. Even Pennsylvania's legendary Punxsutawney Phil has been known to greet his handlers with an early morning nip on Groundhog's Day.