WVTK Local & State News April 16, 2012

With no rain in the forecast, the danger continues that fires could start in our area and grow out of control. Experts say people who want to burn part of their land need to be smart and careful. In Addison, on Friday, flames as high as 25 feet raced across the wildlife area known as Dead Creek. David Sausville who is a state wildlife biologist said the burn was planned out. They prepped fire lines and watched weather conditions. He said twenty-people were needed to carefully watch this fire burn 45 acres and that the fire is a good thing for the wildlife area. Officials are reminding you that you need to ask for a permit before burning on your own land.

You are invited to join the Addison County Chamber Of Commerce this Thursday for the next after hours business mixer, which is being held at Art on Main in Bristol. Mingle with fellow business people in Art On Main’s store, share hors d’oeuvres, drinks, door prizes and a chance to win the Pot of Gold—now valued at $950! Plus, they’ll be helping to celebrate their 10th anniversary. The mixer takes place from 5 – 7PM at 25 Main St. in Bristol. For more information and to RSVP to Sue Hoxie please click HERE.

The One-World Library Project will host “Lessons From Zambia: Volunteering with Mothers Without Borders”, a talk and slideshow by Jo LaFontaine this Thursday from 7-8:30PM at the Lawrence Memorial Library in Bristol. She first went to Zambia in 2008 as part of a team of 25 volunteers for Mothers Without Borders, a national organization formed in response to the global orphan crisis due to AIDS. The volunteers work at the MWB orphanage, bring desperately needed food and medical supplies to remote villages, visit the local hospital and support the families and children in any way they can. For more information just visit www.oneworldlibraryproject.org.

The City Of Rutland is in talks with manufacturer AllEarth Renewables in Williston to install $750,000 worth of solar panels on the old poor farm property off Woodstock Avenue. The panels would generate an estimated 205,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, powering several municipal buildings and netting the city an estimated $2,050 a year. The proposal is before the city’s Community and Economic Development Committee, which has scheduled a hearing for April 25th.

FEMA money is starting to arrive in Rutland. Mayor Christopher Louras said last week that the city had received three checks from the Federal Emergency Management Agency totaling $229,719. That included the federal share and some of the state share of Rutland’s damages from Tropical Storm Irene. The city is also expecting insurance money for damage to the inlet house and associated electronic components and pump stations.

Crown Point Supervisor Charles Harrington would like to see the town have a public beach again. The one that had been located at the Crown Point State Historic site was closed several years ago. At a recent meeting, he told Essex County Board of Supervisors members that many more people are coming to Crown Point State Park, which includes the Historic Site and the State Campground across the road. He wants the state to operate it. The board has also called for creation of a Champlain Bridge Bi-State Park that would include Crown Point State Historic site and the campground, along with the Chimney Point Historic Site in Vermont.

The head of the cemetery commission in Rochester where more than 50 sets of remains were washed out by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene says that seven months after the storm 25 sets of remains are still missing, having been swept downstream by the floodwaters. Saturday marked the first day of Vermont's trout season and people will be in the river. It's possible that anglers or people out will find some of those missing remains for spring walks along the river. Still, repairs to the cemetery are getting under way and cemetery head Sue Flewelling says she hopes to rebury the recovered remains by the anniversary of the storm.

The Internet combined with the explosion of “Smartphones” is changing the state’s tourism marketing strategy. It’s a strategy that is allowing the state to collect a database of consumer information, targeting visitors based on their specific interests. This winter the Department of Tourism and Marketing used South Station in Boston for a marketing campaign to drive would-be visitors to www.pathtovermont.com. It included daily text-to-win giveaways. In all, the state received nearly 6,000 text message entries. Meanwhile the summer campaign is geared toward driving visitors to the state’s travel site, www.VermontVacation.com.

A state lawmaker wants to expand Vermont's bottle-deposit law so it includes all non-dairy containers. The Burlington Free Press reports Republican Senator Joseph Benning's proposal would include all beverage containers except dairy and dairy alternatives such as soymilk. Benning's bill goes to the Senate this week.

After ending last week with a second day of digging, authorities are saying little about the disappearance of Bill and Lorraine Currier from Essex. They were both seen leaving work last June, but vanished without a trace. Last Thursday and Friday, Vermont State Police along with Essex police excavated a site along Route 15, carefully digging up and sifting mounds of dirt at the foundation of an abandoned home. No word as to whether they found anything, or what led them to choose that location.

More than 1,000 people turned out on the Brattleboro town green over the weekend for another protest against the continued operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Gov. Peter Shumlin are calling for the 40-year-old Vernon reactor to be shut down.

A tough issue facing lawmakers as they enter the final weeks of the session is whether Vermont should get rid of a philosophical exemption for parents who don't' want their children vaccinated. The Vermont Senate has passed a bill aimed at removing the exemption, while leaving medical and religious exemptions.

Waterbury and Duxbury are launching an effort they hope will double the number of solar-power projects in the towns. Officials say 52 solar hot water and electricity generating systems already are in use. Local solar dealers say they're ready to step up and help the towns double that number.

A Massachusetts advocacy group opposed to measures that they say would make suicide a medical option is hailing a recent vote by the Vermont Senate to block a bill allowing physician-assisted suicide. The Massachusetts Alliance Against Doctor-Prescribed Suicide says the bill has a high potential for abuse.

The Lamoille County Sheriff's Department is sponsoring a self-defense course for women. The Rape Aggression Defense System or R.A.D. course includes lecture, discussion and self-defense techniques for women of all abilities. The minimum age to participate is 16. Classes start on Thursday, April 26th and run one night a week for five weeks at the Hyde Park Elementary School.

Governor Cuomo announced that nearly $1.8 million in final bids were received from the first round of state vehicle reductions. According to a press release, the Office of General Services (OGS) eBay sale received final bids totaling $1,648,074 for 454 state vehicles for sale on eBay.

Sen. Charles Schumer wants to see the adoption process for retired military dogs get streamlined. Schumer held a homecoming celebration at his office Sunday for Sgt. Rex, a German shepherd wounded in Iraq, and the dog's handler, former Cpl. Megan Leavey, who was injured in the same incident in 2006. Leavey had been trying to adopt Rex for five years but was stymied by bureaucracy until Schumer intervened. The New York senator is pushing a bill that would speed up the adoptions.

Elizabethtown Community Hospital and its auxiliary are offering scholarships for the 2012-2013 academic year, aimed at students planning a career in health care. The Holly Estus Memorial Scholarship for Nursing was created in memory of a dedicated young nurse who worked at Elizabethtown Community Hospital. This year, the fund will award $500 to a student enrolled in a nursing program. Applicants must reside within the Elizabethtown, Keene, Moriah, Westport, Willsboro or AuSable Valley school districts in order to be eligible. Scholarship applications may be downloaded from the hospital's Web site at www.ech.org and must be submitted by May 31st.

North Hudson’s award-winning Jellystone Park opens for its twentieth season on Friday April 27th. Located off 1-87 exit 29 between Lake George and Lake Placid, it is the only Jellystone Park in the Adirondacks. As a great alternative to a cruise or air vacation, Jellystone Park is now taking reservations for their season. Each weekend will be a different themed activity, and all information is listed at www.paradisepines.com.

Youngsters who can cluck, yelp and do the kee-kee run with their turkey calls will show off their skills at an annual contest in Pawlet. This coming Saturday's competition is in memory of the late Bart Jacobs, a Pawlet man who manufactured his own turkey calls. Oxbow Mountain 4-H Shooting Sports is sponsoring the turkey calling contest at the Pawlet Fire House, where first, second and third place prizes will be awarded in age groups 9, 10-14 and 15-18. Registration costs $15 at the competition, which starts at 10 AM on Saturday.

The founder of the rock band Phish led roughly 1,600 cowbell-clanging participants in a challenge to the world record for the largest musical ensemble. Drummer Jon Fishman of the Vermont-based group led what was billed as the "World Record Breaking Event Band" Saturday afternoon. The standing Guinness World Record “certified largest ensemble” was 640 people, who played in September 2009 in Switzerland. The Guinness World Record staff will review the Burlington event to see if it sets a new record.