WVTK Local & State News April 19, 2012

Funeral services for Addison County Sheriff James Coons will be held on Monday April 30th at 11AM at Mead Chapel at Middlebury College. He passed away Monday night at his home in Middlebury. Jim had been Sheriff in Addison County for 31 years. High Bailiff, Donald M. Keeler, Jr., has assumed the duties of Sheriff. Sheriff Keeler has been a Deputy Sheriff at Addison County Sheriff’s Department for 40 years.

You are invited to join the Addison County Chamber Of Commerce today for the next after hours business mixer, which is being held at Art on Main in Bristol. The mixer takes place from 5 – 7PM. For more information click HERE.

Vermont State Police are investigating a Burglary at a private residence in Shoreham. Unknown individuals forced entry into a locked home, stole a television, and cut approximately 30 feet of copper piping from the basement area. The value of the television and piping is approximately $370. However, because the copper pipe was cut, the basement flooded causing damage and water charges estimated to be more than $1,000. Anyone with information is asked to contact Vermont State Police at the New Haven Barracks. (1-802-388-4919)

The Town Of Middlebury Business Development Advisory Board will hold a meeting on Monday afternoon at 3:30 in the Town Offices Small Conference Room. Items on this meetings agenda include the consideration of candidates for the fifth position on the MBDF Board. This position is to be held by a Middlebury businessperson. A review of the adopted timeline will be discussed to determine if adjustments may be required and a review of the status of business contributions to the MBDF effort and discussion of how to assure that business contributions are fully secured before the recruitment effort begins.

Middlebury College has awarded the 2012 Perkins Award for Excellence in Teaching to assistant professor of mathematics, Emily Proctor. Students at Middlebury admire Proctor’s passion for teaching mathematics and her concern for undergraduates. Her service to Middlebury has included terms on the Community Council, the Athletic Policy Committee and the Faculty Council, and in 2009 Proctor and three other mathematicians from liberal arts colleges received funding from the Mellon Foundation to conduct a two-day workshop here for geometry professors.

It's the end of an era for the Foote family farm in Charlotte. They are yet another Vermont dairy farm calling it quits. In 1950 there were more than 11,000 dairy farms in Vermont. The numbers have dropped drastically in the decades since. In May of last year the state dipped below 1,000 dairy farms for the first time ever, and almost 30 farms have called it quits in the months since. Milk prices have fallen recently and are expected to fall as much as 20 percent over the next several months. Meanwhile, feed and fertilizer costs are rising or are holding steady. Another family in the area has purchased the Foote farm. They do not have plans to continue the dairy operation, but the land will remain a part of the Vermont Land Trust and will be used for agricultural purposes.

The developers of a proposed wind farm on Grandpa’s Knob hope to file a certificate of public good application with the Vermont Public Service Board later this year. Steve Eisenberg, managing director of Reunion Power, said in the meantime, they would be finalizing several site studies and environmental reports including noise, visual studies and housing surveys as part of the ongoing project layout with engineers. They are also conducting ongoing negotiations with Vermont utilities for the project while planning meetings with the project’s host towns and affected residents within the next six weeks.

Coca-Cola, Devil’s Bowl Speedway, and stock car racing fans in the Champlain Valley will celebrate their independence in style on Wednesday, July 4th at the first annual Coca-Cola Firecracker Twin 44s. The event is scheduled to be the only stock car race held in the area on the Independence Day holiday and will include a pair of special feature races and a massive fireworks display. The festivities will begin at a special 5PM twilight start and will conclude with a fireworks show.

Visitors to the Essex County Fair could be allowed to hoist a frosty mug of brew this year. By a 5-to-2 vote, the Public Works Committee of the County Board of Supervisors took the first step toward authorizing beer sales at the County Fair in Westport in August. Beer-tent approval will get another vote April 30 at Ways and Means, and if it passes there, a final vote at the board's May session.

The new mill manager was the old mill manager at International Paper's Ticonderoga mill. Christopher Mallon first came to Ticonderoga as mill manager in 2002. He held the position for seven years before taking that same job at the Augusta Georgia IP mill in 2009. Mallon said he missed Ticonderoga and wanted to come back. He will assume overall leadership responsibility for operations, employee engagement and financial success at the Ticonderoga mill.

When it comes to parents opting out of vaccinations for their children, Governor Peter Shumlin is changing his mind. A bill that passed in the Senate and failed in the House eliminates the philosophical exemption for parents. Shumlin originally agreed with the bill but now says parents should not be forced to vaccinate their kids.

The general election is still about six months away, but already Senator Bernie Sanders has more than three-point-six million dollars cash for his re-election campaign. That's more than Senator Patrick Leahy had at the same stage of his last re-election. Sanders raised 941-thousand, spending about a quarter million during the first three months of 2012. So far, Jack MacGovern of Windsor who is also president of the Hanover Institute is the only Republican to say publically he'll oppose Sanders.

The head of the Vermont National Guard says new fighter jets that could be based in South Burlington are likely to be "a little bit louder" than the jets now based there. Adjutant General Michael Dubie says that conclusion about the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter comes from an environmental impact statement released by the U.S. Air Force this week. A public hearing has been set on the proposal to house the new planes in Vermont is set for May 14 at South Burlington High School.

For the next six months some Vermont cellular telephone users will be able to text 911 emergency calls for help. Vermont's Enhanced 911 Board says that Verizon Wireless customers will be able to send a text message to 911 that will be answered at a public service answering point in Williston. The people who receive the messages will coordinate the emergency response with the appropriate agency. David Tucker of the Enhanced 911 Board says the trial is intended to examine use of text-to-911 for emergency situations in which someone is hearing impaired or if the caller might be placed in danger if they are overheard making a voice call. People texting 911 need to remember they must provide location information and they should not use texting slang.

More than $200,000 was awarded to Vermont farmers Wednesday. Sixteen farms received historic preservation grants to help repair and restore their properties. The award ceremony took place in the Statehouse. Organizers say this money is important to maintain Vermont's history and preserve the working landscape. Many of the farmers will be matching the grant money awarded to them by the state division of historic preservation.

Legislation giving the Governor more control over education policies is moving through the Legislature. The bill elevates the Department of Education to Agency status and makes the Secretary of Education a member of the Governor's cabinet. Currently, the commissioner of Education reports directly to the State Board of Education. Rutland senator Kevin Mullen is the chairman of the Senate Education committee. He said the bill is a way to make sure that important educational issues are discussed at the highest levels of government.

Vermont has won what state officials are calling a precedent-setting change in federal policy that will allow federal disaster relief aid to be used to pay for help received from the National Guard. National Guard units from Vermont and other states including Maine and New Hampshire helped respond to Tropical Storm Irene when it caused widespread flooding in the state in late August.

Teachers in the Franklin West Supervisory Union have agreed to a new two-year contract. The deal gives teachers an average raise of 2 percent each year with no step increases. The board will also continue paying 80 percent of the teachers' health insurance premiums. The Franklin West Supervisory Union covers schools in Fairfax, Fletcher and Georgia.

The Vermont office of the United States Attorney General is expanding its prosecution of a group of people being charged with methamphetamine crimes in the Northeast Kingdom. Prosecutors say eight more people were arrested Tuesday, bringing to 13 the number of people charged with methamphetamine related crimes in the Island Pond area that began last spring and ended in November. The indictments were issued by a federal grand jury earlier this month. The charges carry a range of penalties up to 40 years in prison. Some of the defendants have already appeared in court. Others are due in court today.

The Moriah Central School women’s choir made the big time this spring. The choir performed at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., as part of the Disney Performing Arts Program March 21st through the 26th. The performance capped a nearly yearlong effort to raise the money needed to send the group after it was selected following an audition last spring. The Moriah choir decided to audition for the Disney program after hearing about it from students at Lake Placid Central School.

The Ticonderoga Federal Credit Union will host a First-Time Homebuyers Seminar on Thursday, April 26th at 6:30PM at the Ticonderoga High School Superintendent’s Conference Room. There is no charge for the program. Space is limited, and pre-registration for the free seminar is required. Contact TFCU at 585-6725 or visit online at www.tfcunow.com to register or to speak with a TFCU loan expert.

The second annual Middlebury Bach Festival will take place April 27–29, featuring music ensemble Artek and members of the New York Baroque Dance Company. Student singers and instrumentalists from Middlebury College and regional professional musicians will also join together for a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Easter Oratorio, BWV 249. Three days of musical events will bring the College and town of Middlebury together, modeled after the way the famous organist and composer worked in Leipzig over 275 years ago. Tickets are available through the Middlebury College Box Office.

A Rutland Woman will be honored at the White House Thursday for her efforts to provide clean water to the world. Carolyn Meub led the transformation of a small rotary club project into an international charity. Pure Water for the World raised one-point-five million dollars last year, and provided water and education services to more than 400-thousand people in Haiti and Honduras. She credits donors and those she works with for the program's success.

It's a little less than two weeks until the spring turkey-hunting season gets underway. But for kids, it all begins this upcoming weekend. Youth turkey hunting weekend is this Saturday and Sunday. To be eligible, a resident or non-resident must be 15 or younger, have a hunting license and successfully completed a hunter education course. An unarmed adult who holds a hunting license and is over 18 years old must accompany the youth.