WVTK Local & State News April 12, 2012

Teachers of the Rutland Southwest Supervisory Union reach a tentative agreement to end a 6 day strike. According to a press release, the deal came after 12 hours of talks with a federal mediator. Details will be released once the agreement is finalized by teachers and the school boards in Poultney, Wells, Middletown Springs and Tinmouth.

The Middlebury Select Board nominated candidates to a number of appointed boards and commissions on Tuesday night and will make the appointments at its next meeting. The Board appointed Town Manager Bill Finger as the Town's representative to the Addison County Solid Waste Management District and as the Town's Service Officer. There are several openings on the Recreation Advisory Board and no applicants for these positions. Interested individuals should contact the Town Manager's Office.

John Tenny was appointed Tuesday as a representative of the Town on the Middlebury’s Business Development Advisory Board. Select Board Member Nick Artim, the Town's other representative on the Board, was appointed at the last Select Board meeting. Middlebury College recommended, and the Select Board appointed, Patrick Norton and David Donahue to serve on the Advisory Board as the College's representatives. These initial four members of the Advisory Board will meet in the next couple of weeks to develop a recommendation to the Select Board for a candidate for appointment to the fifth position on the Advisory Board. If you are interested in serving on the Business Development Advisory Board you should submit a letter of interest and a brief summary of your qualifications and experience to the Town Manager not later than Friday, April 20th.

At Tuesday’s Select-Board meeting the Board approved the signature of the proposed contract with Bread Loaf for the construction portion of the contract and authorized the Town Manager to execute any documents necessary to purchase the Community Cottage property for the expansion and rehabilitation of Fire Station #1 on Seymour Street. Permits for the project are in hand and work on the Seymour Street Station will begin in late April. The roadwork on Seymour Street will be take place this summer.

A reminder that the Middlebury Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on proposed Flood-Fluvial Erosion Hazard Regulations at the East Middlebury Methodist Church this Monday the 16th at 7:00PM.

Nick Artim reported this week on a recent meeting of the Economic Development Initiative Committee and briefly reviewed the history of the effort to work with the College to consider development of the Town and College owned parcels between the Ilsley Library and the Otter Creek, to the immediate north of the Cross Street Bridge. The Board will hold a public information meeting to solicit input on the potential development of this important piece of property in the center of the downtown. A slide presentation on the project given at a public meeting in early 2011 is available on the Town's website.

Middlebury storyteller Malcolm Parker pleaded guilty yesterday to federal charges stemming from a federal case of defrauding investors for the movie “Birth of Innocence.” Parker and business partner Lou Soteriou were charged earlier this year with a decade-long scheme that defrauded hundreds of investors out of millions of dollars. While Soteriou has denied those charges, Parker pleaded guilty after accepting a plea deal from prosecutors. Parker, who has been free pending his court date, remained free after his plea. He is scheduled to be sentenced in July.

Former Addison County schoolteacher Will J. Parini was sentenced yesterday to almost three years in jail for downloading hundreds of images of child pornography onto his computer. The judge said she decided to sentence him to 35 months in jail to send a message to anyone else thinking about pursuing pornographic images of children. He has been behind bars since he pleaded guilty to a single count of possession of child pornography six months ago. He has already surrendered his teaching license, according to court records.

There was some good news for towns and cities in New York's North Country still struggling to recover from Irene yesterday. Governor Andrew Cuomo says the state will pick up the tab not covered by the federal government. 61-million dollars will go to 25 New York counties to relieve local costs from last year’s storms. The state is able to cover those costs through money lawmakers set aside last fall. More importantly, that money will enable cash-strapped communities to begin recovery efforts immediately.

Four years after it abruptly closed, the Ticonderoga Dunkin' Donuts will be open for business again. The 11-41 Wicker St. franchise will open under new ownership tentatively May 20th. The new proprietor operates nine Dunkin' Donuts franchises in the Burlington area and two in New Hampshire. Hiring for the 30 or so full- and part-time employees the store needs will start in early May and they'll announce it in advance. The old store, which was the only Dunkin' Donuts in southern Essex County, closed on April 2, 2008, with the then-owners citing financial problems as the cause.

The special backup batteries for the Essex County 911 center are dying and replacing them in the $150,000 system is expected to cost about $26,000. County Manager Daniel Palmer said the batteries are critical to the 911 operation. Although the County Public Safety Building, where the 911 center is located, has a generator, there is a lag after a power failure before it kicks on. The purchase gets a final vote at the board's May meeting.

A Ticonderoga woman faces various charges after allegedly possessing stolen, forged checks. Amber R. Crowe was arrested by Ticonderoga police April 2nd and charged her with two counts of second-degree possession of a forged instrument and two counts of petit larceny.

Plans are underway to replace a historic covered bridge that fell victim to the wrath of Tropical Storm Irene. A video of the Bartonsville Bridge crashing downstream went viral on the Internet last summer. An engineer now says the final replacement plans are nearly finished, with the new bridge costing about one-point-six-million dollars to replace. A bid for the project is expected to be awarded in May, with construction taking until the end of the year.

Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos is helping the state's business community protect itself from identity theft. On Wednesday, Condos announced a new online resource designed to serve as a critical resource to help business owners understand and protect themselves from business identity theft. The resource can be found at the website www.BusinessIDTheft.org.

Concerns over volatile milk prices brought legislators and members of Vermont's farming community together yesterday morning. Last year, Vermont dairy farmers earned about $1.81 per gallon for their milk. Leaders in the state's dairy community say that amount could drop to roughly $1.51 this year. The dramatic decline comes as production and feed costs are staying flat or are on the rise. Participants acknowledged that there was little state leaders could do to help with the fluctuating milk price numbers. But they continue to support federal efforts to support an economic safety net for farmers. That current safety net known as the milk income loss subsidy program is scheduled to expire later this year.

The owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant are telling federal regulators they don't have to update a report on the plant's decommissioning fund, because they have no plans to close the Vernon reactor within the next five years. Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules require that plants expecting they might have to close within five years file regular reports with the NRC on how much money they have in a fund set aside for decommissioning and dismantling the reactor.

A Vermont inmate is facing charges of sending threatening letters to Gov. Peter Shumlin. Vermont State Police say 21-year-old Dakota Gardner of Springfield has been cited to appear in court on three counts of disorderly conduct. Police said yesterday that they were notified on Jan. 26 of a threatening letter that had been sent to Shumlin's office from an inmate at the Springfield prison. Police say they discovered that Gardner had sent several letters threatening violence against Shumlin and his family while he was in prison after a 2009 arrest in Brattleboro for aggravated assault.

The Addison County Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce a change in ownership of Almost Home Market in Bristol. The new owners are Beth Marr and Gary Smith, residents of Vergennes and Bristol, respectively. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Sunday, April 8th to celebrate Almost Home’s new ownership. Gary, a long-time Bristol resident, is an excellent chef, gardener and wine buyer. Beth is a southern transplant, now living in Vergennes, and brings 20+ years of wedding planning and conference sales experience influenced by her flair for southern hospitality. Both Beth and Gary have worked in the hospitality arena for more than 20 years and both are in love with great food.

The United Way of Addison County will hold its annual UWAC Community Celebration on Wednesday, May 2nd at 5:30PM in the New Haven Town Hall. The main focus of this free, family friendly event is thanking and honoring the people who help our friends and neighbors achieve better lives. UWAC will present awards to individuals and businesses that have gone above and beyond to support the community and the United Way Campaign. The high point of the evening is the presentation of Youth Service Volunteer Awards given to volunteers’ age 21 and younger. You may nominate youth volunteers by downloading the nomination form from their website www.UnitedWayAddisonCounty.org.

Champlain Area Trails is holding two Earth Day Projects on Saturday, April 21st and invites everyone to participate. The morning project starts at 9AM at the Cheney Mountain Trail in Moriah and the afternoon project begins at 1PM at the new Woods and Swale Trail in Westport. For more details, visit www.champlainareatrails.com, call 962-2287 or email champlaintrails@gmail.com.

The 29th annual Vermont Travel Industry Conference will be held today and tomorrow at the Killington Grand Hotel. The conference will feature sessions, a keynote speaker, a silent auction, which runs both days, a luncheon, and an interactive dinner. The conference begins at noon today. Sessions will be held throughout the day to help answer businesses’ questions and help cultivate ideas to bring tourism to Vermont and specific businesses.