WVTK Local & State News March 16, 2012

Teachers in the Addison-Rutland Supervisory Union voted overwhelmingly to strike yesterday afternoon. They say they want to compromise, but will be forced to walk off the job. The teachers of Orwell, Benson, Fair Haven and Castleton voted 118-12 to move to strike Wed., March 21 if the board does not rescind what teachers are calling a pay cut, but what the board calls a pay freeze. Right now the teachers are working without a contract. Originally, when the last contract ended they still received their annual step increase in pay, but earlier this month the board imposed a pay freeze at the rate of the last negotiated contract, which is about $100 less per paycheck than they are currently receiving.

A reminder for New York State residents that a statewide burn ban goes into effect today and runs through May 14th. The state Department of Environmental Conservation said the lack of green vegetation, abundance of available fuels such as dry grass and leaves, warm temperatures and wind make spring a high-risk season for wildfires. Find more information and frequently asked questions at dec.ny.gov.

Rutland City workers repaired a broken Main Street water line yesterday, but Mayor Christopher Louras warned that the city might have more trouble with the pipe in the future. The line broke Wednesday, sending water into the air and cutting off service to a portion of Woodstock Avenue. Repairs were complete late yesterday morning once the city got its hands on a special coupling designed to fit the more than 130-year-old pipe.

The Addison County Chamber Of Commerce wants to let you know that two of Vermont's U.S. legislators are holding public meetings. You can join congressman Peter Welch for a lively question and answer session today at Noon at The Lodge at Otter Creek in Middlebury. Light refreshments will be provided. Then Senator Bernie Sanders will be hosting a town meeting this weekend. The meeting takes place on Sunday at 11AM. Refreshments will be available starting at 10:30. The meeting with Senator Sanders will take place at Holley Hall on South Street on Bristol. RSVP is requested, but not required: 800-339-9834 or www.sanders.senate.gov.

The American Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days gets underway on Monday in Addison County! Daffodils will be available to purchase throughout the week of March 19th in several locations in Orwell, Middlebury and Vergennes. Locations include Buxton’s Store and Orwell Gas N Go in Orwell; Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op, Cole’s Flowers and Blossom Basket in Middlebury; also Shaw’s Supermarket in Vergennes. Dollars raised through the Daffodil Days Campaign will help the American Cancer Society fund vital cancer research.

For the first time, the Ralph Myhre Golf Course at Middlebury College will be open today, which is a month earlier than it has in its history. According to college officials, the driving range will open tomorrow. The projected temperature Sunday is 72! A long line is expected for the first tee time of the season.

What started out as a temporary job for Proctor’s interim town administrator has become a full-time job. The select board voted this week to offer the town administrator job to Stanley Wilbur who took over as interim administrator at the end of August.

Students in the Ticonderoga Central School District want to be heard during the budget process. The District is struggling to close a $1.7 million budget gap for 2012-13. The Ti High Student Voice, the student government, has formed a budget committee. Its members have met with Superintendent John McDonald and plan on attending board meetings throughout the budget process. The students who are all juniors are concerned about the way cuts could affect their futures. The top concerns are extracurricular activities and college prep courses.

Essex County lawmakers debated the feasibility this week of telling mental-health patients their services would be cut off for non-payment. County Office of Mental Health Director Steve Valley asked for permission to write off $5,400 in unpaid bills for about 30 clients. He said the money represents fees for counseling and physician services that were never paid. The committee voted 7 to 1 to write off the debt.

A leader of a prominent local political organization has requested that the Lake George Town board take action soon to enact a law to make synthetic marijuana, herbal incense and other similar substances illegal. Joanne Gavin, a founder of the Lake George Citizens Group, gave a lengthy presentation earlier this week on the dangers of the substances, which are now freely sold through “head shops” and tobacco stores. She noted that such herbal smoking blends or “posh,” known by various trade names like “Wicked X,” can cause hallucinations, seizures, psychotic behavior, comas and has been blamed for prompting a variety of criminal actions. Lake George Town Supervisor Dennis Dickinson indicated support for such a ban.

More than 13,000 petitions were dropped off at the Public Service Board by the AARP on behalf of CVPS ratepayers yesterday. The Public Service Board ruled back in 2001 that CVPS utility rates would go up to prevent the company from going bankrupt. The deal stated if CVPS were ever sold or merged, ratepayers would be owed $21 million. Green Mountain Power now says the CVPS-GMP merger will deliver $144 million in savings to ratepayers and will create a $21 million investment in efficiency programs, but the AARP says that's not giving the money back to customers' pockets. The Public Service Board will take testimony on the case next week. It has until July to make a decision.

Police have arrested a Portland, Oregon man who allegedly sent dozens of threatening letters to members of Congress. 39-year-old Christopher Lee Carlson faces federal charges for threatening to use biological weapons on U.S. senators. The mass mailings were sent to lawmakers across the country, including Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy. That letter prompted an evacuation of Leahy's Burlington office building. The mailings contained a white, powdery substance, which ended up being benign.

A top state official is questioning the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's oversight of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Public Service Commissioner Elizabeth Miller wrote to the head of the NRC's Northeast region yesterday to say she's concerned about what she called a pattern of human errors at the Vernon reactor during the past 15 months.

The chairman of a Vermont-based company looking to handle waste from shale gas drilling has told investors that hydraulic fracturing in New York State likely won't begin until 2013. New York development of the Marcellus Shale has been on hold since 2008, when the state began its environmental review of high-volume fracking.

Two big pieces of Vermont's rebuilding efforts after Tropical Storm Irene appear to be falling into place. Governor Peter Shumlin announced yesterday he wants a new 25-bed state psychiatric hospital to replace the flooded Waterbury State Hospital. He also announced he wants a scaled-down rebuild of the state office complex in Waterbury that will allow about 900 state employees to work there, down from the roughly 1500 who were based there before it was closed by flooding.

Governor Peter Shumlin supports a Senate bill that would allow undocumented migrant farm-workers to get a Vermont driver's license. The governor says the workers are essential for the state's dairy industry and that they should be free to move around the community. If Vermont passes the bill, it would join New Mexico and Washington State in allowing undocumented workers to obtain drivers' licenses.

The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant has been forced to reduce power because a key component is causing problems. And the state says Yankee technicians made a mistake and left a metal plate inside the component as they were trying to troubleshoot the issue last week. That incident prompted the Shumlin Administration to ask federal regulators about a recent series of human errors at the plant.

A 22-year-old Vermont man wanted in connection with burglary and other charges in Burlington has turned himself in to police. Russell Worthen turned himself in to St. Albans police yesterday. Authorities say he was on supervised release when he was accused of burglarizing several apartments in the last two months. He was arraigned on Thursday.
State Police say they have made an arrest in a bank robbery in Waitsfield. Police say 39-year-old James H. Baker of Northfield was arrested Wednesday. He's suspected of robbing the TD Bank on March 8th.

Addison County’s Premiere music quartet, Zephyr, will perform tomorrow at 7:00 PM in the Music Café at Brandon Music. This Americana music quartet brings together influences of folk, bluegrass, blues, gospel, country and the singer-songwriter tradition. Members of the band include Matthew Dickerson, Susan Nop, Kathleen Smith, and Dutton Smith. Zephyr has been performing together for two years. Tickets are $15 per person, and the concert is a benefit for the new non-profit Compass Music and Arts Center in Brandon. For more information on the concert and CMAC visit www.brandon-music.net.