Beginning Monday the 28th through Friday
June 29th Seymour Street will be closed to through traffic at Main
Street and at Elm Street. Seymour Street will be reconstructed from Main Street
north past the Fire Station. The street and sidewalks will be lowered.
Pedestrians are asked to please use caution. Access to businesses and
residences north of the Fire Station will be via the Elm Street End.
The Vergennes Partnership wants the public to
consider the "new" Vergennes as a place to live, work and play. The
community organization will host a special event, "Back to the Future:
Destination Vergennes", a pictorial revue about the rebirth of the Little
City, this Thursday from 6 – 7:30PM at the Vergennes Opera House. The show will highlight the
accomplishments of the Partnership since its 1999 inception with past and
present images of the city, a display, and tables for each Partnership
committee. The event will also be the launch for the Vergennes Wi-Fi Internet
project.
On Monday Vermont State Police investigated a
report of suspicious person seen on South Main Street in Whiting. Further investigation led to the arrest
of Joseph A. Wedge of Bristol for domestic assault, burglary, aggravated
assault, and violations of conditions of release. Wedge was processed at the New Haven VSP Barracks and
subsequently lodged at Marble Valley Correctional. He was set to appear in
Addison District Court yesterday.
The historic 1830s barns of Glen Dale Farm on Cider
Mill Road in Cornwall will provide an historic stage for the Henry Sheldon
Museum Antiques Auction to be held Friday, June 1st. The auction preview starts at 4:30PM and
the auction starts at 6PM. Tom
Broughton of Addison County will be the auctioneer. All proceeds from the auction benefit the Sheldon Museum. The Bridport Grange will provide food
for the event. For a list of items to be auctioned, visit the Sheldon’s
website, www.HenrySheldonMuseum.org.
In light of the passage of legislation favoring
hemp farming, Rural Vermont officials said H.747 authorizes the Vermont Agency
of Agriculture to begin the process of allowing Vermont farmers the economic
opportunity to cultivate hemp. The legislation is still dependant on the
removal of federal prohibitions for Vermont farmers to cultivate industrial
hemp as a cash crop. Rural Vermont will host a presentation on the economic
potential of industrial hemp on Wednesday, June 6th at 7PM. The talk and discussion will be held at
the Addison County Regional Planning Commission office on Seminary Street in
Middlebury.
Area students are receiving an excellent education according
to a national news magazine. U.S.
News & World Report ranks Ticonderoga, Moriah, Crown Point and Schroon Lake
high schools among the best in the nation. Ticonderoga received a Silver Award in the list of top
schools nationwide. Moriah, Crown Point and Schroon Lake each received a Bronze
Award. More than 22,000 public
high schools were evaluated for the report with 4,318 cited. Schools were rated
based on state assessments and college readiness as measured by student success
in Advanced Placement and other college-prep programs.
Representatives of the Peebles Department Store
chain said yesterday they are opening a Ticonderoga store within 90 days. The
new store will take space vacated by Tops Friendly Market in the shopping plaza
at Routes 9N and 74 in Ticonderoga.
It will feature moderately priced brand-name clothing and accessories,
fragrances, home furnishings, cosmetics and footwear. Brand Marketing Director Jennifer Grammar of Stage Stores
Inc., the parent company of Peebles, said the new store would hire six to 12
associates, plus managers. She
said the opening would be at the end of August.
First, Essex County lawmakers' chairs were
collapsing. Now, it looks like the roof itself is in danger of coming down at
the Old County Courthouse. The
County Board of Supervisors meets weekly at that building in Elizabethtown, but
members were told Monday that the four pillars out front are in danger of
snapping off if they're not repaired soon. The County Public Works Committee
unanimously approved immediate repairs to the pillars. The Old Courthouse is a
historic building, so the State Historic Preservation Office must be consulted.
The developers of the proposed wind project in
Rutland County told town officials and residents in Castleton on Monday that
approximately three to five turbines would be constructed in the town’s portion
of the ridgeline if the project moves forward. Steve Eisenberg, managing director of Reunion Power, said
they do not have the actual turbine determination as they are still working on
developing the project’s site map, which would also include road locations,
transmission lines and the maintenance building. This was the second of four public informational meetings
with the project’s host communities.
According to Rutland City officials heavy copper
piping has been stolen from the pipe-house at White’s Pool. Recreation Superintendant EJay Bishop
said a plumber brought in to do repair work at the pool yesterday morning
discovered that the pipes were missing.
Bishop said he expects to have replacement estimates in the next couple
days and that the pool should still be ready for its scheduled opening date of
June 16th. The 4-inch pipe fed
into the pool’s heater and estimated that between 30 and 40 feet were taken.
The Department of Buildings and General Services
has permission to sell the downtown parking deck if the City of Rutland does
not take over management of it. A
provision in the capital bill approved earlier this month clears the way for
the sale of the deck as well as the Bloomer Building “following negotiations
with the City of Rutland.” Should the city take over the deck, the bill
authorizes the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services to spend $81,000
on new equipment there.
Vermont and FEMA officials are seeking public input
on the Waterbury office rebuild plan. According to a press release, the Federal Emergency
Management Agency and the state of Vermont will hold a public hearing on
Wednesday, May 30th in Waterbury. The hearing will take place at 7PM in Thatcher Brook Primary
School cafeteria on Stowe Street. An open house is scheduled at 6:30PM where
the public will have the opportunity to view general information and talk with
representatives from the state and federal government.
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From
Fox 44 and ABC 22 News:
The state of Vermont is now a part of a federal
program aimed at identifying illegal immigrants arrested and charged with
crimes. The Department of Homeland
Security says its Secure Communities program went into effect yesterday in
Vermont. The program shares the
fingerprints of illegal immigrants charged with crimes with the FBI and the
Department of Homeland Security. Advocates for Vermont immigrants say the
program was implemented in the state without consulting state officials.
Scientists say you may notice some changes this
summer in Vermont's waterways due to last year's flooding. Fox44's Louisa Moller headed out on a
motorboat Tuesday with Mark Lurvey.
"I think it's going to be a good boating season because everything
compared to last year is going to be easy," Lurvey said. He is partially right. Lake Champlain
is back at normal levels, but there are still some lurking dangers. "There's always debris out there,
especially in the spring. You know, all the rivers are dumping into the lake.
Until it moves and settles through the summer, it's always a hazard," U.S.
Coast Guard member Bryon Kravchuck said.
The debris should be nothing like what we saw last spring or from
Tropical Storm Irene, but Kravchuck says it is a good idea to use extra
caution. "Safe speed and keep a sharp lookout for
objects," Kravchuck said. If
you plan to go swimming, there are some other things to look out for. The water
may look foggy due to a buildup of sediment from last year's flooding.
Vermont's Agency of Natural Resources says this is not a health hazard. However, ANR is also testing for
chemicals dumped in the water by the floods. The agency says tests have not
revealed anything dangerous so far. But, biologists will continue testing
throughout the summer. There is
one more water danger that crops up every year: toxic blue algae. ANR says
algae blooms on lakes could be higher this summer because of the extra sediment
in the water.
What's one more month after you've waited 20 years?
That's how long some people have been waiting for a Walmart to be built in the
Town of St. Albans. A
groundbreaking ceremony that was scheduled for the end of this month has been
pushed back, again. "There's
federal highway permits, there's a water line extension that has to go, there's
off-site storm water projects that needed to be completed before Walmart broke
ground, and all of that stuff is now done," said project manager Jeff
Davis said. And when the time
comes, the grass will be cleared and the weeds will have to go, before the 5th
Walmart in the state can be built.
"We're ready to build, we're really excited," said Davis. And that excitement has been building
for two decades. "As
early as 1992, was the first time it was ever brought up," said Town
Manager Gerry Myers. The old corn
field will be transformed into a discount superstore. It will mean jobs and
allow for continued economic development, but it will not be welcomed by
everyone. "Vermont has its
own image, it has its own fabric and some people believe that Wal-Mart's take
away from that fabric," Myers said.
While some people oppose what the superstore will do to the scenery,
others are excited about the convenience. In fact, after I stopped by the
nearby Price Chopper, and talked with about a dozen people, I couldn't find one
person who doesn't want Walmart to come to town. Michaela Bushey says it'll save her from having to
drive to Williston. "It takes
me a good solid hour to get down there, and it's not convenient," Bushey
said. Construction should start in
July and be ready for Walmart shoppers by summer 2013.
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If the presidential election were to be held today,
there's no doubt Obama would win the state. Rich Clark, director of the Castleton Polling Institute,
says it's also a good state to be a Democrat in, as Governor Peter Shumlin
would win by a landslide if elections were held today. Shumlin currently has 60-percent of
Vermonters who say they'd elect him again. Twenty-seven-percent say they favor Republican challenger
Randy Brock, while eleven-percent say simply they're not sure.
Despite a public apology from the superintendent of
the Burlington School district, community members are still calling for her
resignation. They met Tuesday
night at the diversity and equity meeting, and said Superintendent Jeanne Collins
needs to step down because of no action addressing what some call racial
oppression. Collins says she takes
responsibility for the frustration many feel about race inequality in the
district, but adds she can still make a change. She says she's going to share her ideas of how to move
forward next week.
Gov. Peter Shumlin will visit the offices of the
gay rights organization Outright Vermont to celebrate the recent passage of two
bills aimed at stamping out bullying in schools. Shumlin recently signed into law two bills related to
bullying. One allows people to sue
schools for failing to take steps to stop harassment. The other requires
schools to adopt policies aimed at cracking down on harassment, hazing and
bullying. Outright is praising
Shumlin as a protector of gay rights.
Brandon Music on Country Club Road in Brandon will
host the Swing Noire Trio this Friday at 7:30PM. Tickets are $15 per person. Based in Vermont, Swing Noire
plays Gypsy Jazz in the tradition of the world-famous Hot Club of France. Their
sound is reminiscent of the early days of jazz. Then on Sunday as part of the weekly jazz series at Brandon
Music get ready to take in the sounds of Jazz Vocalist Sharon Jones in the
Music Café at 7PM. Tickets are $15 in advance, and $18 at the door. Brandon
Music offers an Early Bird dinner special, which includes a ticket for the
Sunday jazz performance, for $25 per person. Get details about both concerts right now at www.brandon-music.net.
Coming up this Saturday the Lake Champlain Maritime
Museum will present Shipwreck Story Day featuring performances by members from
the Lyric Theater cast of "Titanic: The Musical". A selection of
props and photographs will reveal how Lyric volunteers created the settings for
the dramatic tale. Other special activities will be offered all day as well. For more information just visit http://www.lcmm.org.
The Chaffee Art Center has announced it will host
its 51st annual Art in the Park Festivals August 11-12 and October 6-7. With its 50-year tradition, Art in the
Park is the longest running continuous craft festival in the region. The
Vermont Chamber of Commerce has voted the August Festival a Top 10 Summer Event. If you are a
craftsperson or artisan who works in almost any medium, this is a great
opportunity for marketing your products to thousands of people from all across
New England. Applications received by June 30th will be juried on July 11th. For more information visit www.chaffeeartcenter.org.
