WVTK Local & State News May 17, 2012

On Route 22 in Willsboro traffic will flow in a single line in alternating directions from the Willsboro/Essex line to the Chesterfield/Willsboro line due to road construction that will occur until further notice. Meanwhile Titus Road in Moriah will have crews continue paving the bridge on Titus Road. Traffic in that area will be controlled by flaggers.

Drivers who use Ferry Road in Charlotte were forced to take a detour yesterday morning. Shortly after 10AM an 80,000-pound crane traveling between Lake and Greenbush roads hit a low shoulder. State police say the inexperienced driver lost control of the vehicle and it flipped onto its side in an abutting field. The stretch of road was shut down for more than three hours as a number of heavy trucks were called in to get the crane back up on the road.

The long awaited re-opening celebration of the new Lake Champlain Bridge is this weekend! There will be activities on both sides of the lake with most of them occurring on the grounds or nearby the Chimney Point State Historic Site and the Crown Point State Historic Site. There will be crafters, artisans, food vendors, musicians, performers, tours and more all weekend and it’s all FREE! More than 10,000 attendees are expected throughout the weekend. You can get the complete schedule, with times and locations of performances, by purchasing the official program. Pick one up at the Addison County Chamber office for $3/each or purchase one the day of the event. The bridge will be closed ONLY during the parade, which starts at 11AM on Saturday. Expect the closure to last 60 to 90 minutes—depending on the number of parade participants. This is the only traffic restriction during the weekend.

You are invited to join the Addison County Chamber Of Commerce this evening 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 just visit www.addioncounty.com.

The Basin Harbor Club in Vergennes will be holding an event entitled "Festival of Fidos" on June 2nd from 10 - 4 to benefit the Addison County Humane Society. The event is an all day, dog-friendly celebration with lots of activities plans for people and their dogs. The event will include Cani-Cross - A 5K race with or without your dog, Live Demonstrations with the Northern Magic Agility Dogs, Green Mountain Dock Dogs, Supernova Dog Works, By the Dozen Dogsledding and Peace Pups Dog Sledding. There will be Doggie and Pet Supply Vendors, Food Vendors along with Arts and Craft Vendors. Plus entertainment from Tim Berry and Friends, Dux the Balloon Guy and More! You won’t want to miss the Dog Costume Parade or one of the Narrated Lake Cruises! The entrance fee for the Festival is $8 for adults and $4 for kids ages 3 - 14. For additional information and a schedule of event activities, please visit www.basinharbor.com/fido or www.addisonhumane.org. Additionally, if you would like to stay at the Basin Harbor Club that weekend, contact them at 1-800-622-4000 for a reservation (they are pet friendly).

The Town of Middlebury is seeking candidates for appointment to a position on the newly expanded Middlebury Business Development Fund Advisory Board. If you are interested in serving on the Board, you should submit a letter of interest and a brief summary of your qualifications and experience by tomorrow to Town Manager Bill Finger. Learn more at www.townofmiddlebury.org.

Rep. Peter Welch hosted the 31st Annual Congressional Art Competition for high school students at The Gallery at Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier on Monday. Katelyn Mullis, who attends Vergennes Union High School, was honored with the Congressman Welch’s Choice award for her piece, “Hot Pepper Study.” Welch said he was so impressed by the talent and creativity of the young Vermont artists. This year’s competition featured artwork from 158 Vermont high school students from 34 schools throughout the state. Former Rep. Jim Jeffords initiated the competition in 1981 as a way to celebrate the artistic talent of the nation. The winning artwork from each congressional district throughout the country is displayed in the US Capitol for one year.

Ticonderoga, Schroon Lake, Moriah, Crown Point and Putnam residents approved area school district budgets for 2012/13 during voting on Tuesday. All the area budget plans meet the new state tax cap. The 3.5 percent tax increase is well below the state tax cap for Ticonderoga, which is 9 percent. Ticonderoga started the 2012/13 - budget process with a deficit because of the loss of nearly $1.7 million in “one shot” funding that was used in the current spending plan. Helping Ti close its deficit and meet the tax cap are concessions by Ticonderoga teachers, administrators and staff. A salary freeze will save the district $728,000.

Recent statistics published by the state Department of Environmental Conservation give Schroon Lake a Class AA rating, which means the lake is fit for drinking, swimming, boating, fishing, aquatic life and aesthetics. Phosphorus levels in Schroon Lake are at very healthy levels thanks to the efforts of many people, organizations and local government entities in this region. The major areas of concerns for any lake in New York are invasive species and unhealthy levels of nutrients, such as phosphorus, which can result in growth of blue-green algae.

Police say one person was hurt while she was biking and hit by a car. The crash happened on Williston Road on the I-89 overpass in South Burlington Wednesday afternoon. Police say the bicyclist was riding on the sidewalk when for some reason the driver drove up on the sidewalk and hit the bike. Police say the road, while busy, is usually safe. Police were forced to temporarily shut down one lane of Williston Road. They say the biker appeared to be seriously hurt and believe the car driver might have had issues related to their mental health, which contributed to the crash.

Everyone is okay, but it's a bit of an embarrassment for former Governor Howard Dean. After all, how many former Vermont governors are in a car accident while in the process of giving a radio interview? That's what happened to the former governor Tuesday while speaking in Montreal with station C-J-A-D. Dean was in town attending a luncheon where he talked about the presidential race. He told the radio station they had just gotten hit by a car, but everybody was apparently fine.

This is the day Vermont will learn the fate of the mail-processing center in White River Junction. The U-S Postal Service will make the announcement around noon, according to a union rep for the National Postal Mail Handlers' union. On Tuesday, a self-imposed moratorium on possible closures within the mail-processing network ended, and the closing and consolidation of plants begins on July 1st. The Postal Service has already said it intends to keep rural offices open, but is shortening the hours at 13-thousand post offices nationwide.

The last dairy farm in the community of Plainfield has closed. The MacLaren Farm first opened in 1939, and owner Michael McLaren says it was a gut-wrenching decision to auction off the equipment. The family decided to do this while they were still young enough to do the things they want to, adding the price of oil is one of the factors driving them to close the dairy part of the farm. The oil prices for fuel and feed are higher than ever. The McLarens are retaining over 180 acres of land, and are still going to farm crops, but will stay out of the milking business.

The health care bill is two inches thick, and with the stroke of his pen, the governor turned the legislation into law. It creates a consumer marketplace Exchange where individuals, and businesses with fewer than 50 employees, will be required to buy their policies beginning in 2014. Several hundred million dollars in federal subsidies will be available to make the policies more affordable. Shumlin said the bill is a major component of his overall economic development strategy.

Vermont has become the first state to ban a controversial natural gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Governor Peter Shumlin signed the ban into law on Wednesday. He said the ban was needed, even though Vermont doesn't have much of the shale rock targeted by energy companies for natural gas extraction.

Fletcher Allen Health Care has a new trial procedure that is saving lives. It uses a catheter to place a special device inside a broken valve in the heart. The catheter is fed up through a patient's artery. This procedure is an alternative to open-heart surgery, which doctors say is too dangerous for elderly or fragile patients. Without it, doctors say these patients would be left with no other option. Doctors at Fletcher have treated six patients with the procedure since February and they anticipate that number will continue to grow.

At a special town meeting Tuesday night in Northfield, voters gave their overwhelming support to the idea of merging the town and village in hopes of streamlining municipal operations and avoiding small-town political squabbling. Most of Northfield's population lives in the village. The town is still reeling from Tropical Storm Irene damage, and supporters of merging the two municipalities say such a move would be cost effective and efficient.

The Cuomo administration has proposed regulations to limit spending by state contractors, including a $199,000 executive salary cap that can only be exceeded using money not from the state. The proposals by 13 agencies cover contractors - many providing social services - that receive more than $500,000 in state support annually representing at least 30 percent of their total. The regulations released Wednesday are subject to 45 days of public comment before taking effect.

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!

The Neshobe Sportsman Club’s Annual Kids Fishing Derby for ages 3 – 14 will take place on Saturday. Registration is from 8 - 10 AM with the derby from 10 - 12:30 at Camp Thorpe in Goshen. Two lifetime fishing licenses will be awarded. There’ll be lots of family fun including a free hot dog lunch for the kids in the derby, contests, games, a 50/50 raffle and Chinese auction along with a bake sale and cakewalk!

The Saratoga & North Creek Railway will return to the rails with an expanded daily schedule for summer and fall 2012. For the first time in its history, the railway will offer service seven days a week to its seven flag stops throughout the First Wilderness Corridor when the new season begins on Saturday, May 26th. The Saratoga & North Creek Railway’s summer excursion follows the inaugural run of the Gore Mountain Snow Train and precedes the return of the enormously popular Polar Express during the holiday season. From Saturday, May 26 through Monday, May 28, all active duty military and veterans will receive free round-trip and one-way rides. Additionally, passengers are encouraged to bring an item to donate to Operation Adopt-a-Soldier.

The Wellness Center at Castleton State College wanted to try something new this year to help students cope with stress during final exams. For a couple hours a day on Monday and Wednesday of this week, the student lounge at the college’s library opened its door to several therapy dogs. Although a first at Castleton, therapy dog sessions have been a rising trend at college campuses in the last several years. Anywhere between 50 to 70 students participated at each session, some coming in even if they did not have an exam and wanted to hang out with the dogs.