WVTK Local & State News April 9, 2012

The Town of Middlebury will hold its regular Select board Meeting tomorrow evening in the Town Offices Conference Room at 7. Items on the agenda include Citizen Comments, Nominations and Appointments to Town Boards and Commissions, Appointments to the Business Development Fund Advisory Board and Approval of the Phase II contract with Breadloaf for the Fire Facilities. There will also be discussion on a possible transfer of Town land to the northwest of the Cross Street Bridge for development in partnership with the College. Full details are available on the Town Of Middlebury’s Website.

No negotiation meeting has been scheduled between Rutland Southwest Supervisory Union teachers and school board members, and as of today, schools in Wells, Tinmouth, Poultney and Middletown Springs are closed to 650 students and 65 teachers. Any missed days, now a total of four, will have to be made up before the end of the school year, in accordance with state law. The fight is over an unresolved teacher contract and the language about working conditions in it.

Two men from Brandon have been arrested for a pair of weekend holdups in Rutland. The Rutland Herald reports Rodd Bussino and Michael Howe both are due to appear in court today after the robberies of a gas station and convenience store.

Ilsley Public Library Board of Trustees has announced that Library Director David Clark will retire March 15, 2013. Officials said over the last 16 years, David has approached all aspects of library operations with confidence, a high-level of competence and a desire to provide excellent library services for the Middlebury community and beyond. Clark began his career in 1973 in Maryland, then worked in Telford, PA and finally as a regional librarian for the Vermont Department of Libraries before assuming his current position in 1996. The trustees will appoint a selection committee to find a new director.

The Vermont Folklife Center’s Summer Institute, Discovering Community: Students, Digital Media, and Place-Based Learning, brings together educators for an intensive five-day program June 25–29 in Middlebury. The institute offers participants basic hands-on experience learning the methods of community-based research, the process of making a mini documentary, and the skills of working with digital media in a school setting. For registration, tuition, or other information about the Discovering Community Summer Institute and their nationally recognized faculty visit www.discoveringcommunity.org.

An extensive road improvement project affecting the Towns of Castleton, Fair Haven, Ira and West Rutland will begin April 30th and be completed in late August of this year. The scheduled improvements to Route 4A and Route 30 include the changing of guardrails, drainage improvements, some new signage and markings. In addition, milling and paving of Route 4A will begin one mile east of the intersection of Route 4A and Route 30 and will continue east of Castleton Village for approximately 6 miles to the Town of West Rutland. Milling and paving is also scheduled for Route 30, beginning at the Route 4A intersection, heading north for approximately 3.6 miles.

Essex County has honored the four police officers that apprehended a man accused of trying to burn down Mountain Lake Services in Port Henry. Sheriff Richard Cutting presented commendations this week to Deputies William Allen and Erin MacDougal and State Police Troopers Scott Tart and Michael Flaherty for helping protect firefighters just before midnight on January 1st.

Village leaders in Port Henry have produced a tentative budget that's up only about $21,000 but raises taxes 4.4 percent. The 2012-13 tax levy is at $517,580, about $21,880 more than the $495,690 collected last year. The Village Board previously voted to exceed the state's 2-percent tax cap, and the new budget would increase the amount raised by property taxes by 4.4 percent. The budget public hearing is at 7PM April 16th in the Village Hall, with a vote on the spending plan to follow.

The Ticonderoga Best Fourth In The North Committee, which is dedicated to providing area residents and visitors with the best 4th of July experience in the North Country, has recently joined forces with the Ticonderoga Montcalm Street Partnership. The celebration each year does cost between $25,000-$30,000 which includes the magnificent fireworks display. The Town of Ticonderoga does provide support for the 4th of July celebration, but much of the funding is raised through the work of the Best Fourth in the North committee. All donations now made to the Best Fourth in the North Celebration will be tax deductible as the Ticonderoga Montcalm Street Partnership is a not-for-profit 501(c) (3) organization.

Proctor High School reopened around 11:45 a.m. after "lockdown" at 11:15AM on Friday. The school had closed briefly due to an angry adult at the school. An eyewitness at the school said that an adult was upset over a child custody battle with a spouse. No weapons were involved and Vermont State Police troopers escorted the person from the school.

College officials said Castleton’s $13 million project is on track to be completed by June 1st. The project, which broke ground last year, included tearing down the college’s old tennis courts and facilities building and the construction of a 12,000-square-foot facilities barn, a 162-bed residence hall and an 8,000-square-foot green pavilion area with space for up to 3,000 people. The college is looking to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification. They have incorporated recycled materials, water-use reduction in sinks, showers and toilets and will install 120 solar panels on the building’s roof.

Police in Fair Haven are continuing to look for the driver they say hit a man and then took off. The victim is 31-year-old Bradley Fleming, who was walking along 22-A Friday night when he was hit. Witnesses told police the car was speeding, passing cars at the time when it struck Fleming and took off. He's now in stable condition in the hospital with hip and leg injuries. The car is described as a four-door silver sedan, possibly a Honda or Subaru with damage on the passenger side of the vehicle.

Vermont State Police say they have the stolen goods, as well as the man who admitted to taking them. The problem is they can't find all the owners yet of dozens of stolen antiques. State Police say the items were found at the home of Charles Pickett in North Ferrisburgh last month, and he admitted to stealing them out of home in Monkton. There are various pieces of furniture, clocks, jewelry and more, filling rooms at the Williston State Police barracks. People with second homes are urged to check the property to see if anything is missing.

The Vermont Senate's Agriculture Committee has set a hearing for this week on what may be tough times coming for dairy farmers on the prices they get for their milk. Committee members are worried about a decline in milk prices projected for the coming months, as well as changes to federal farm programs that most farmers won't find favorable. The hearing is to address the steps dairy cooperatives are taking to ensure that Vermont dairy farmers receive the highest price possible for their milk, and what the Legislature can do to help. The session is set for 9 to Noon on Wednesday April 11th in Statehouse Room 10.

Vermont health officials say the number of Lyme disease cases from exposure to ticks is on the rise. More than 600 cases were reported in Vermont last year. The Health Department says a growing population of infected ticks and more testing may account for the record high number. The disease can be successfully treated with antibiotics if caught early. But if it's not treated, it can affect the heart and nervous system. Some measures people can take to prevent tick exposure is to wear long pants, long sleeves and long socks, avoid wooded brushy areas with high grass and a lot of leaf litter and to checks themselves, children and pets daily for ticks. Insect repellents with up to 30 percent DEET also are effective.

Seven months after Tropical Storm Irene farmers are still grappling with what the flood waters left behind: rocks, trees, gravel and sand. The composition of their soil will affect yields. So some farmers are paying for excavators and bulldozers to remove the debris and scrape off the silt. They're also plowing under sand and adding nutrients and paying for seed to reseed crops. The USDA Farm Services Agency in Vermont has $4.7 million set aside to reimburse farmers for work to restore their land to productive use, including removing debris, grading and shaping fields. The grants will cover up to 75% of the cost of the work, which must be done first.

The Appropriations Committee in the Vermont House is considering legislation that would call for $1.9 million in refunds to businesses that have paid sales tax on so-called cloud computing in the past six years. The bill also clarifies that starting this July, the tax will be charged.
A Vermont couple has been indicted by a federal grand jury for three bank robberies in Vermont and New York. The Rutland Herald reports the indictment charges 31-year-old John Maynard and 30-year-old Jill Ludwig with conspiracy to rob banks in Rutland and Poultney and in Granville, New York.

Leaders in the renewable energy and energy efficiency fields are to gather with lenders, elected officials and others for what's being billed as a summit aimed at promoting green energy in Vermont. Today’s event in the Filmhouse at Burlington's Main Street Landing is designed to bring together Vermont's renewable energy and energy efficiency businesses, credit unions and community banks, utilities, state and federal officials, regional and national clean-energy organizations and others.

In 2011 450 Vermonters installed solar hot water systems in their homes—and one quarter of those Vermonters live in Addison County. What makes solar systems so attractive in Addison County? One reason is that Vergennes is home to the headquarters of Sunward, Vermont’s leading brand of solar hot water system. Another reason Addison County is quickly embracing solar hot water systems are the simplicity and economics of ownership. In many northeast households, the cost of heating the water for showers, laundry and washing dishes amounts to as much as 30% of the overall household heating bill. That can be hundreds of dollars a year washed down the drain. A solar hot water system is a great way to reduce that expense. Visit the Sunward Systems’ website (www.GoSunward.com) for more solar hot water information and to find qualified installers in Vermont and across the country.

There’s a new face at the Rutland Area Food Co-op. Paul Hoffman, a veteran of the co-op business, has taken over as general manager of the Wales Street store. He replaces Mike Muller, who ran the 3,000-member nonprofit for three years. Hoffman has extensive experience. He spent 17 years with the Hanover Consumer Co-op in New Hampshire.

Bells tolled throughout Vermont as Christians of all denominations headed to church Easter Sunday, celebrating the resurrection of their Lord. A recent Gallup poll found Vermont to be the least religious state in America, with New Hampshire a close second. Only 23 percent of Vermont and New Hampshire residents label themselves as "very religious." On the opposite end of the spectrum, 59 percent of Mississippi's residents say they attend services regularly and that religion is an important part of their life.

The ice is out on Joe's Pond in West Danville. The clock stopped on the annual contest at 5:25 Sunday night when the cinder block fell into the water. Many had speculated that the contest would end earlier than ever this year. Slush and puddles surrounded the cinder block in mid-March, but 2010 still holds the record for the earliest ice out. The contest ended on April 5 that year. This year's winner has yet to be announced.