WVTK Local & State News April 17, 2012

An FBI spokesman says there's little new that can be released in the investigation of a double homicide at a Coast Guard air station on Kodiak Island. Eric Gonzalez said Monday agents are not releasing details because it could affect the integrity of the investigation. The FBI is the lead agency in the shooting deaths of 41-year-old Petty Officer 1st Class James Hopkins and 51-year-old Richard Belisle. Hopkins was an electronics technician from Vergennes. Belisle was a retired Coast Guard chief petty officer that worked at the base as a civilian employee. Gonzales says he can't comment on whether investigators have recovered a weapon or why law enforcement officials continue to say there is no direct threat to the community even though no suspect is in custody.

The executive director of the Vermont Folklife Center is leaving to accept a position at Western Kentucky University. Brent Bjorkman is stepping down at the end of April to be Public Folklorist/associate research professor at the university's Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology. His wife, Ann Ferrell, is an assistant professor of Folk Studies there and he had completed his graduate work at the university. Bjorkman has been executive director of the Vermont group for five years.

A family of six lost their house yesterday around 6:30PM from a fire on Hollister Road in Florence. No one was hurt in the blaze and firefighters were able to save the other buildings, including owner Travis Bovey’s garage where he runs an automotive repair business. The Pittsford Fire Chief said he contacted the American Red Cross to provide the family assistance. The closest fire hydrant to the home was more than two miles away, prompting the Pittsford chief to call for firefighters and tanker trucks from departments in Proctor, Rutland Town and Chittenden. The cause of the fire remains unclear. No one was inside the house when the fire began, however the fire didn’t appear suspicious.

The local project manager for the waterline and road project on Route 7 in Brandon provided an update to town officials on Monday on what they are working on within the next several months to move the project forward. They plan to expedite the waterline project for downtown Brandon in hopes of completing it during this year’s construction season. The waterline project would reroute the village’s waterline to run through the Brandon Inn, behind the buildings and reconnect to the Neshobe River near West Seminary Street. Town Manager Keith Arlund said their goal is to complete the rerouting of the waterline before the reconstruction of Route 7. A public forum to further discuss the project and update the larger Brandon community will be at 7PM on April 30th at the Brandon Congregational Church.

This Saturday morning beginning at 9 the Vergennes Lions, in partnership with Boy Scout Troop 539, will kick off “Happy Cans.” This is a curbside pickup concept for redeemable cans and bottles. They’ll cover the entire Vergennes area including the City of Vergennes, Waltham, Ferrisburgh, Panton, Addison, New Haven, and Bristol. This is a great way to get rid of those growing piles of empty containers and to do a good turn for the community. Put your redeemable containers ONLY at the curb in front of your house by 9AM Saturday. The Lions - Boy Scout team will pick them up, turn them in for redemption, and then split the proceeds.

Middlebury’s popular 5K Otter Creek Mud Run was held last Saturday. The race started and finished at the Otter Creek Child Center. Over 90 runners came out to run in the second Mud Run. This year the course started and finished at Otter Creek Child Center. Proceeds from the Mud Run will support Otter Creek Child Center, a year round, full day, non-profit early care and education center, in Middlebury. Otter Creek Child Center has been serving children and families in and around Addison County since 1984.

The Westport Town Council is looking at some options that might solve its highway-garage problem. Space and drainage are among the issues that prompted the town to try twice to join forces with the Westport Fire District and Westport Central School to build a structure that would have housed a DPW garage, fire station, multi-agency fueling center and town offices. One short-term solution could be a small submersible pump that would put the discharge into a holding tank, to later be taken to a treatment facility.

The Ticonderoga First 250 Years Committee is looking for someone to design, develop and host a website that will promote its activities. The committee wants to receive proposals to create a website maintained by the developer or committee through the end of 2014. The goal is to have the website up and running with full functionality by year's end. Website proposals are due by 3PM Thursday, May 2nd.

New York homeowners are reminded that a statewide burning ban remains in effect until May 15th. With temperatures beginning to fluctuate to mild ranges, the State Department of Environmental Conservation suggests that precautions be taken to protect homes that lie alongside forested and open lands. The department suggests using non-flammable materials for roof and exterior walls, fire retardant finish on exterior wood, and double-paned or tempered windows during home construction and maintenance. Keeping gutters clean and roofs free of twigs, leaves and pine needles is another safety precaution. For more information on wild-land fire safety, visit www.newyorkfirewise.org.

Lawmakers this week are taking a closer look at the proposed merger of Central Vermont Public Service and Green Mountain Power. And a group of state senators worries that most of the savings from the merger would come from eliminating jobs just as the state tries to recover from the recession. GMP officials say a key part of their merger with CVPS is the $144 million in savings that consumers will benefit from over the next 10 years. A GMP Spokesperson said the largest savings would come from a having a reduced work force. The goal is to eliminate roughly 120 jobs, but says these reductions won't come in the form of layoffs. That pledge doesn't satisfy Senate President John Campbell. He said the net result is that Vermont will lose more than 100 good-paying jobs.

Vermont public employees who don't join the unions representing them could soon have to pay to support those groups anyway. The state Senate is to take up legislation affecting teachers, state and municipal workers who don't join the unions representing them, but still benefit when pay or benefits are improved. Sen. Vincent Illuzzi says the non-union employees would be required only to pay for the cost of negotiating and defending the contract, not for other union activities. Opponents say the so-called agency fees charged to union nonmembers are often an important bargaining chip in negotiations and shouldn't be automatic.

Police say a body has been found in the St. Albans city pool. A city staff worker found the body Monday as crews were starting to prepare the pool for the summer swimming season. Police say they do not believe that the public is in danger. Police have not released the identity of the body. Authorities have been looking for 22-year-old Christopher Davis of Swanton. He's been missing since the end of March and was wanted for questioning in connection with an armed robbery of a Swanton convenience store.

The state's general fund and education tax receipts in March exceeded expectations. But the figures released Monday by Administration Secretary Jeb Spaulding showed that the transportation fund receipts were off. Spaulding says general fund revenues were 9.3% ahead of expectations. The fund brought in $7.45 million more than expected.

It's officially Spring in Vermont: Route 108 through Smuggler's Notch has reopened. The Vermont Agency of Transportation announced the opening on Monday afternoon. The steep windy road between Stowe and Jeffersonville is closed during the fall and winter. The agency plans to keep the road open this spring, barring an inclement weather, and until snow returns to the gap in the fall.

Vermont's lone member of the U.S. House says he has a plan to head off the scheduled doubling of student loan interest rates. Rep. Peter Welch, a Democrat, is pushing for the passage of legislation that would extend the 3.4 interest rate for Stafford student loans. He said Monday that the rate will doubled to 6.8% on July 1 if Congress doesn't act, which he said would be a real threat to middle class families already struggling to send their kids to college. Concerned students and families and representatives of the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation joined Welch at a press conference.

The South Burlington Police Department is investigating a rash of daytime burglaries. Police say they've received a number of complaints about people entering homes and stealing cash, electronics, jewelry and other items. In one case, authorities say someone stole a .22 caliber handgun. Police believe the burglaries are taking place between the hours of 12PM and 3PM. They're reminding residents to lock their doors and windows. Anyone with any information on the burglaries is urged to contact South Burlington police.

It's a big week for New York State's elementary school students - and their teachers. For three days beginning today, students in grades 3 to 8 will take the state standardized tests in English Language Arts. Next week, they'll tackle standardized math assessments. Under a new state law, student performance on the tests will now account for as much as 40% of annual reviews for certain teachers. The tests will also include for the first time potential questions for future tests, which after this year will incorporate new "common core" standards. The standards are intended to better prepare students for college and careers. Results are expected in July.

Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim will run the World Bank. Kim was approved Monday by the World Bank board. He was nominated by President Obama at the White House back in March. Several nations waged an unsuccessful challenge to Kim, a physician and pioneer in treating HIV and tuberculosis in the developing world. Kim starts his new job July first. No word on who will replace Kim at Dartmouth.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and Parks & Trails New York are teaming up for a project called I Love My Park Day that will take place at more than 30 parks and historic sites Saturday, May 5th. Volunteers can register online to sign up to help with cleanup, improvement and beautification events that include sprucing up beaches, planting trees and gardens, restoring trails and wildlife habitat, and removing invasive species. To find an event and/or sign up to volunteer, visit www.ptny.org/ilovemypark.

Vermont's largest newspaper has been honored as a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing for its campaign to reform the state's access to public records laws. The Pulitzers were announced on Monday, and The Burlington Free Press was chosen as 1 of 3 finalists in the editorial writing category, along with Bloomberg News and Florida's Tampa Bay Times. The judges did not choose a winner from among the finalists. The judges praised the Free Press for an editorial campaign that resulted in the state's first reform of open government laws in 35 years, reducing legal obstacles that helped shroud the work of government officials.