WVTK Local & State News May 16, 2012

You are invited to join the Addison County Chamber Of Commerce this Thursday for the after hours business mixer which is being held at Bristol Financial Services in Bristol. Plenty of great door prizes plus a chance to win the Pot of Gold, which is back to its starting value of $500! The mixer takes place from 5 – 7PM. For more information or to RSVP to Sue Hoxie just visit www.addioncounty.com.

Public displays telling the story of the old Lake Champlain Bridge have been installed at each end of the new span that connects New York and Vermont. The two states have launched their commemoration program of the original 1929 Lake Champlain Bridge, which was replaced by a new span last fall. Interpretive displays have opened at the Lake Champlain Visitors Center just off the Crown Point end of the bridge and at the Chimney Point State Historic Site in Addison. A big 2-State community celebration takes place this weekend for the new bridge!

An overturned tractor-trailer caused traffic delays on Route 7 yesterday afternoon. State police say no one was seriously injured as a result of the crash just south of the intersection with Route 22A. However, police said shortly after 4PM that the traffic on the north-south artery slowed for about two to three hours while crews worked to clear the accident.

An informational Select Board meeting with the developers of a 20-turbine wind farm on the Grandpa’s Knob ridgeline was held Monday night at the West Rutland Town Hall. Protesters gathered outside of the West Rutland Town Hall prior to the meeting holding signs while residents’ and concerned people voiced their disapproval of the project. Reunion Power is proposing a wind farm with up to 20 turbines that would produce at most 50 megawatts of energy. It would be located just south of Grandpa’s Knob to Biddie Knob in the towns of West Rutland, Hubbardton, Castleton and Pittsford.

The Rutland City Police Department has been focusing on its goals. Interim Police Chief James Baker said the department recently completed new mission and vision statements. Condensed into single sentences, the mission statement reads “The Rutland City Police Department is dedicated to protecting and serving our citizens through professionalism, courtesy, compassion and community partnerships,” while the vision statement reads, “As a leader in law enforcement, the Rutland City Police Department will work collaboratively to build a bias-free community where everyone feels safe and secure.”

The Best Fourth In The North Committee, which is now a subcommittee of the Ticonderoga Montcalm Street Partnership will host a Co-Ed Slow Pitch Softball Tournament on June 2nd and 3rd. The tournament will be held at the recreation field in Putnam, NY. The committee is looking for the participation of at least 10 teams. Teams must consist of 10 players with a minimum of three females on each team. The event is a double elimination tournament. There is a $180.00 registration fee for each team. To register call 518-321-4246. It is recommended to leave a message if there is no answer. Team play times will be drawn the Thursday before the Tournament.

Coming up this Sunday Brandon Music will be featuring Israeli Born tenor saxophonist Benny Sharoni in the Music Café! The concert is a part of the year-round weekly Sunday Jazz series. Tickets are $15 in advance, and $18 at the door. Brandon Music offers an Early Bird dinner special, which includes a ticket for the jazz performance, for $25 per person. Enjoy the chef’s award-winning chili and cornbread as well as dessert before listening to world-class jazz. Reservations are required for dinner. Visit www.brandon-music.net for details!

New York Trooper Lawrence Gleason was killed in the line of duty more than a decade ago, but his memory was alive as a group recently worked in his honor to clean up a section of highway near the new Lake Champlain Bridge. Active and retired state police, Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts and others worked on the Bridge Road. The first mile of road in New York is named in Gleason’s memory. Trooper Gleason gave his life trying to protect a woman in Crown Point on February 11, 2002. He worked out of the Schroon Lake state police station and a memorial to Gleason now stands at the station.

Plans to make minimum wage higher in New York is now off the table. The session ends June 21, and higher minimum wage is not on the agenda anymore. The assembly is the only one to pass it. The proposal included raising minimum wage to $8.50/hour from the current $7.25/hour.

Customers of Vermont's largest electric utility could see their monthly bills go up to help pay the costs of recovering from Tropical Storm Irene. If approved, beginning on July 1, customers of the Central Vermont Public Service Corp., would see their bills increase by 1.4%. Typical residential customers who use 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month will see their bills increase by $1.20. CVPS is asking for authorization to increase its rates 2.2% to pay for storm repairs, but the larger increase would be offset by lower-than-expected power supply costs. CVPS has about 160,000 customers throughout Vermont. The utility-regulating Public Service Board must still approve the proposed rate increase and the increase would remain in effect for a year.

The operator of New England's electric grid says the falling price of natural gas has helped push down the average price of wholesale electricity. ISO-New England said in its annual report Tuesday the average price of wholesale electric energy fell 6% in the region last year. It said decreased demand and more hydroelectricity production also were factors. Falling wholesale prices don't necessarily translate into exactly the same drop in retail price. The reduced demand was due to milder weather last year, the weak economic recovery and improved conservation and efficiency.

Green Mountain Power's Lowell wind project is facing a potential $11 million cost increase because of transmission upgrades requested by the operators of the New England electric grid. GMP spokesman David Coriell says the turbines will be producing power by the end of the year. GMP estimates the project will cost about $150 million. But the price may jump by about 7 percent because of a recent decision by ISO-New England. ISO studied the impact of the Lowell project on the transmission network and concluded that GMP will need to invest in a new voltage control system.

Vermont Congressman Peter Welch is leading an effort to stop Afghanistan from assessing taxes on American aid. Even as the U.S. is preparing to end its decade-long military mission, billions of dollars in aid continue to be poured into the country for rebuilding and development. The Afghan government has been sending tax bills to U.S. contractors working in the country, even threatening arrest if the contractors refuse to pay. Welch calls that "absurd," and he has authored a bill that would bar future assistance to the Afghans unless the American contracts are exempt from taxation. Welch's bill is scheduled for floor action in the House today.

A former salesman accused of helping to embezzle more than $500,000 from a Colchester mobile home dealer says he got involved in the scheme to feed his opiate addiction. The Burlington Free Press reports that 32-year-old Patrick Cortright of Milton pleaded guilty yesterday to one charge of embezzlement from a federal program.

The man responsible for ensuring that Vermonters are able to keep in touch with the state's history is retiring. State Archivist Gregory Sanford started working for the state in 1982 as the editor of state papers. As archivist he's responsible for the safekeeping of all state documents, some of which predate the creation of the state of Vermont.

A Vermont state trooper resigned Tuesday amid controversy and a possible criminal investigation. Senior Trooper Eric Howley has been on administrative leave since April. Officials won't say why. The case is being handled by the Attorney General's office. Howley has been a trooper since 2005, and has been in hot water before accused of excessive force the same year he was hired.

Vermont and New Hampshire will soon be sharing more than a border. From May 23rd through the first of December, all-terrain-vehicles registered in one state can operate in the other without having to register in that state as well. New Hampshire operators, however will still need a Vermont ATV Sportsmen Association trail pass and proof of having completed an approved ATV safety class for operators younger than 18 if riding on a Vermont trail.

From Fox 44 & ABC 22 News:

Vermont State Police are looking for a man who held up a Swanton convenience store with a crow bar. Police say the man threatened the clerk at the Champlain Farms Shell gas with a crow bar at 2:45AM Tuesday morning and made off with an undisclosed amount of money and four to five packs of cigarettes. The suspect was last seen wearing blue jeans, an insulated blue plaid shirt over a blue hooded sweatshirt and a dark colored winter hat, gloves and a ski mask covering his face. Police say this is the second robbery at the store in less than two months. The previous one was on March 29th.

Wearing a red shirt that highlighted her survival from a heart attack, Bessy Robertson stood out. But the Burlington woman hasn't just survived heart issues. "I wasn't physically abused on the outside, I was mentally abused," said Robertson. For 32 years Robertson says her husband abused her. During that time she turned to work as an escape. But as the violence escalated her ability to concentrate decreased. "It affected my productivity a lot," said Robertson. Robertson isn't alone. A recent Vermont study shows victims of abuse lose more than 1,800 dollars a year. 46% pay attention less at work and worse more than 15% either quit or get fired. Those numbers are part of the reason why Governor Peter Shumlin implemented a plan Tuesday to help state employees. Workers in state offices will now get training, learning what to do if they find out someone is being abused and if people need time off they won't lose money. Shumlin also challenged private companies to follow the state's lead. "I hope beyond hope that private sector employers will join the state in adopting policies similar to this," said Governor Shumlin. It's a plan Robertson says that could have saved her from more than three decades of abuse. "I think so. I know so. I can't say I think so, I know so," said Robertson! A message Robertson says she hopes sticks with others who find themselves in a similar situation. Domestic violence help: www.whbw.org.

More protections are now in place to help senior citizens who are abused. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a bill Tuesday in Shelburne that allows victims to go after people or institutions in civil court. This means a lawsuit can be filed and victims could end up getting money in return for crimes committed against them. Prior to this, state leaders say people could be held accountable in criminal court and face jail time. But very few cases ever went to civil court. That's something Attorney General William Sorrell says will help protect seniors.