State Police spotted a vehicle traveling north on
Lake Street in the southbound lane early this morning. As this vehicle traveled
past the Trooper, a breaking glass sound was heard. It was suspected that the
vehicle collided with a close by mailbox or street sign. As the Trooper
attempted to stop this vehicle, the vehicle led State Police, Vergennes Police,
Middlebury Police, and Bristol Police on a multi-mile pursuit that went through
the towns of Panton, Addison, Bridport, Cornwall, and Weybridge. The vehicle
came to stop on Water Street in Weybridge. The operator, identified as
MacKenzie Sullivan, was then taken into custody. There were 2 passengers in the
vehicle. Nobody was hurt. Sullivan was processed for DUI and ultimately was
charged with Attempting to Elude, DUI., Gross Careless and Negligent Operation,
and Excessive Speed. Further investigation will be conducted in regards to beer
bottles being thrown out of this vehicle on Lake Street in Panton. No criminal charges
are pending for the passengers. Sullivan was cited into the Addison Criminal
Division on August 6th.
Vermont State Police are investigating a burglary,
which took place at a private residence on Route 7 in New Haven. Someone forced
entry into the residence. The homeowners, Tracey and Thomas Jerome are
attempting to ascertain what was stolen. Anyone with information is asked to contact
Vermont State Police Senior Trooper Andrew Leise at 1-802-388-4919. Information
can also be submitted anonymously online at www.vtips.info
or text "CRIMES" (274637) to Keyword: VTIPS
Green Mountain Power Corp. has tapped Steve
Costello to head development of the new Energy Innovation Center in Rutland —
one of several management changes being made as the result of the merger of GMP
and Central Vermont Public Service Corp.
Costello, who was promoted to vice president of generation and energy
innovation, was one of four CVPS officials who will have a role in the new
company. GMP President and
CEO Mary Powell also promoted Greg White, a 25-year veteran of CVPS, to vice
president of operations for GMP. White will lead the company-wide Operations
Center on Post Road. He is currently in charge of the engineering department at
CVPS. Meanwhile Two CVPS vice
presidents, Joseph Kraus and Joan Gamble, have signed one-year consulting
contracts with GMP.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The
Addison County Council Against Domestic and Sexual Violence is planning a
project called “Shine The Light on Domestic Violence.” Their goal is to hold an auction to
sell lamps that have been decorated by local artists to paint them and make
them more beautiful. The Council is looking for donated lamps that are in good
working shape. If you have a lamp to donate to the project or if you know
someone else who might, please call Melissa Deas at 349-3059 or email her at melissa.deas@yahoo.com.
If you are a local painter and are willing to offer your talent and time,
please contact Melissa.
On Wednesday, July 11th the Vergennes
Lions Club will hold its annual live auction in the Vergennes Union Middle
School gym to raise money for the many projects in the area communities. Club members are again soliciting items
from merchants and individuals in the form of good, services and gift
certificates. Members are again
asking the community for donations of saleable item that can be picked up, or
dropped off at the school on July 10th between 5 and 7PM. The club will accept
good quality items, but please no used electronics, baby car seats, old TVS or
used appliances. Any Vergennes
Lion member can be contacted for pick up, or folks may call Barry Aldinger at
877-3725 or Debbie Brace at 877-3725 to arrange pickup.
A new pre-kindergarten education program, to be
held at the Common Ground Center in Starksboro, will help youngsters appreciate
and understand the natural world around them. The Willowell Foundation, an environment and arts-focused
educational nonprofit, will support the nine-month-long, pre-K nature program
for preschoolers starting this September.
The wilderness program has been dubbed Wren’s Nest. The areas of study
will include many topics ranging from wild edibles and fire building to garden
planting and journal writing.
An assistant Vermont attorney general will consider
a recent civil court ruling in a West Rutland School principal case as part of
her investigation of a possible Open Meeting Law violation. Susanne Young said Tuesday she would
review a decision made by Judge Mary Miles Teachout last Thursday that denied
West Rutland parents a preliminary injunction on the School Board, in a suit
filed by 28 parents. The judge
ruled that the School Board did make an attempt to properly warn the March 14th
meeting where they decided to not renew the Principal Juanita Burch-Clay’s
contract.
It took 20 people in Wallingford about 15 minutes to
spend $100,000 on bridge repairs. Townspeople
unanimously approved a Select Board request to obtain a low interest loan for a
Route 140 West bridge project. The
$100,000 loan will be used as a match for a one-time $400,000 historic bridge
grant to paint and repair the truss bridge spanning Otter Creek. Residents gathered Monday at the Town
Hall for a special meeting to consider the board’s request.
Yesterday was primary day in New York. Watertown businessman Matt Doheny
easily beat Kellie Greene in the GOP primary for Congress. He will now face Democrat incumbent
Bill Owens in November. There was
also a GOP primary for US Senate. Wendy Long beat two other candidates and will
take on incumbent Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.
PRIDE of Ticonderoga will host a “Neighbors Helping
Neighbors” fundraiser at the Ticonderoga beach on Friday, July 6th
from 5 to 7PM. The funds raised
will provide area qualified residents assistance with emergency home repairs. The event is a pig roast and includes
pasta salad, cole slaw, baked beans and one free beverage. Tickets are $20 for
adults and $10 for children ages 5 to 12. Children younger than age 5 will be
free. Live music will be by Chris
LaPointe and Company.
The New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority has awarded $1 million to North Country members of the Cleaner,
Greener Communities Program. The
consortium of North Country counties, towns and organizations will use the
money to create a “smart growth” plan for regional sustainability in both
environmental and economic areas. The
Cleaner, Greener Communities Program was announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his
2011 State of the State address. Only one award was made in each region of the
state. Representatives of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, St. Lawrence,
Jefferson and Lewis counties lead this region’s consortium. Essex County is the
municipal sponsor for the North Country’s Cleaner Greener Communities
initiative.
Police said an Essex Vermont horse, thought to have
been viciously attacked by chemicals, actually ingested clovers. Nellie was
found blinded and burned in her pasture in May. Her owners thought she was
attacked and Essex police were brought in to investigate the case. Doctors now said it's likely Nellie ate
a type of clover that caused her to be sensitive to sunlight. Spring Hill Horse Rescue is still
funding Nellie's treatment that includes surgery for a damaged eye. Police said the case is now closed.
They don't believe the incident was result of criminal activity.
Governor Peter Shumlin says the state will push
ahead with an overhaul of its health care system, no matter what the U.S.
Supreme Court does with the federal Affordable Care Act. Shumlin said he's
worried if the law is struck down, the state could lose up to $400 million a
year in federal funding it had been hoping to use to subsidize universal access
to health care.
Casey Family Services, which finds foster and permanent
homes for children in several states, is closing and laying off 280 employees. The Annie E. Casey Foundation announced
yesterday it would discontinue providing direct services through the New Haven,
CT based Casey Family Services and shift to making grants to child welfare
agencies. Casey Family Services
began in 1976, and provides foster care services to children under state
contracts in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island and Vermont. Besides finding permanent homes for foster children, the
agency provides support to foster families. The foundation, based in Baltimore,
said it would move most of the children and their foster families to other providers
by the end of the year.
New England's unemployment rate ticked down
one-tenth of a percentage point in May and is near its lowest level since
January 2009. The New England office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
said Tuesday the jobless rate in the region was 6.8% last month, down from 6.9%
in April. Officials say it has fallen 1.1 by percent in the last year. The national rate is 8.2%. Rhode Island has the highest
unemployment rate in the region, at 11%, and the second highest in the United
States. Nevada's is 11.6%. Vermont's
unemployment rate of 4.6% is the lowest in the region and the fourth lowest in
the U.S.
The state of New York says, it paid millions of
dollars last year in interest for late payments to vendors. It added up to almost $2 million.
That's up 40% since last year. State officials say, that's a waste of taxpayer
dollars. The Department of Health
and the State University system paid the most, followed by the Department of
Transportation.
The Ludlow Rotary Club and Okemo Mountain Resort
are proud to host the 5th annual Okemo Bike Climb. Bicycle riders from all over New England and New York are
challenged with a 5.8-mile uphill race on Route 103 to the Okemo access road
and ending at the summit. In the
2011 race 114 riders rose to the challenge. Proceeds from the race go to fund local Rotary charities. The race starts at the Jackson Gore Ice
House at 10:30 this Saturday morning.
For information or questions, call Bret Harlow at 259-7810 or e-mail him
at bret@blackrivermech.com.
Saturday is the deadline for vendors to sign up for
Rutland’s Art in the Park. The
Chaffee Art Center is also looking for volunteers to staff the event, which
runs Aug. 10-12 in Rutland’s Main Street Park. The center also still has ad
space available in the brochures for the August and October Art in the Park
events. Prospective vendors will
be juried July 11, and applications received after that will be looked at
subject to space availability. Vendors can call 747-7900 and volunteers and
advertisers can call 775-0356. All three can email info@chaffeeartcenter.org.
The youngest person to ever climb Mount Everest is
set to climb New Hampshire's highest mountain a day after climbing Maine's
highest peak. Fifteen-year-old Jordan
Romero of Big Bear, CA kicked off his 50-state hiking tour, "Find Your
Everest," yesterday by climbing Maine's Mount Katahdin. He's planning to
climb New Hampshire's Mount Washington today. Romero is hoping to inspire people to get outdoors, be
healthy, set goals and do things as a family. To spread the message, he and his
father and stepmother are climbing the highest mountain in each state and
inviting people to climb with them.
The Bangor Daily News says Romero will be in Vermont on Thursday to
climb Mount Mansfield.
From Fox 44 and ABC 22 News – Your Voice In Vermont
& New York:
The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Vernon,
Vermont has won another round to keep operating. On Tuesday, a federal appeals court ruled Yankee's license
to operate was issued correctly despite objections and a lawsuit by the State
of Vermont. The State had argued
Yankee should not have been given a new license because its water quality
permit was of date. But the
federal court said the state waited too long to make that argument. Also on Tuesday, Yankee was running at
about half-power because a cooling pump failed. Plant staff said it was being repaired. Another issue is the effort by
Yankee opponents to close the plant through different lawsuits. In the fight over the future of Yankee,
Deborah Katz wants to make sure her side doesn't give up. "It's really important that
citizens don't go to sleep at this point," says Katz. Katz is the executive director of the
anti-Yankee group, Citizens Awareness Network. On Tuesday, she talked to people about what should happen
when Yankee shut downs. "How
they clean the site up. What they do with the high-level waste," says
Katz. While inside the Montpelier
church, opponents of Yankee planned for life after the plant, it's not clear
when it will shut down. That's
because Yankee's future is headed to another federal appeals court. Plant supporters say the law is on
their side, despite the effort of the State of Vermont to close the plant, and
at least one federal judge has agreed.
There is also the issue of the 600 jobs at the plant. Now the work is up to two legal teams
to argue if Yankee should keep running. Right now the plant's owner Entergy is
working on its side and later this year could meet the attorney's for Vermont
who have already laid out their side.
"We're going forward and we're looking forward to having the
argument before the court," says Scot Kline, Vermont Assistant Attorney General.
We've learned more information about the woman who
doused herself in gasoline and then lit a match Monday. Police say she has a
history of mental health issues. We
first told you about the tragic suicide last night, and today we wanted to find
out more. After learning more
about yesterday's tragedy, it got us asking questions about those with mental
illness. Could it have been prevented? Who's responsible for getting people
with mental disabilities proper care? And what's the proper protocol? We've
learned the burden is falling on the backs of police officers. "Personally, no, I don't think it
should be the police's responsibility," Detective Lieutenant Art Cyr said. Regardless, every single day, multiple
times each day, Burlington patrol officers are responding to calls involving
people with mental illnesses.
"They are a big drain on our resources," Cyr said. Cyr says their partnership with the
Howard Center does help. It's a private non-profit that helps the mentally
ill. "We are so extremely
busy, but without them it would be unmanageable," Cyr said. But despite a lack of funding and
training, officers are still the ones responding to these calls. "It ranges from low level stuff,
to suspicious activity or strange behaviors on the marketplace, all the way up
to the situation that we had yesterday," Cyr added. He's referring to the woman who police
say had mental health issues and killed herself by dousing her body in gasoline
and lighting a match. "That
persons intent was to hurt themselves, but their actions could have hurt other
people," Cyr said. The thing
is, unless a person is showing signs that they'll be a danger to him or
herself, or society, they can not be restrained, now this doesn't mean that
they don't have a mental health issue, but if they're not seeking voluntary
help, that means they're out on their own. "They're ultimately in control of their own
lives," Howard Center Director of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Services, Bob Bick said. If
clinical staff determine that there's imminent danger, they'll be hospitalized.
But, "The state of mind, like everyone else is very fluid and how someone
may feel at this moment in time can be different down the line," Bick
said. And that may be how Monday's
tragic suicide slid through the cracks.
Staff at the Howard Center say they also work closely with doctors at
the Fletcher Allen emergency room, to determine if a patient is in need of more
help or supervision.
Howard Center: 24 Hour Crisis Services of
Chittenden County 802-488-6400
First Call for Children and Families: 802-488-7777
Mental Health Mobile Crisis: 802-488-6400
Substance Abuse Crisis-Act 1: 802-488-6425
The couple accused of brutally killing a popular
St. Johnsbury teacher, faces more serious charges. Allen and Patricia Prue are accused of stunning Melissa
Jenkins with a stun gun, then strangling and beating her to death. On Tuesday, the couple pleaded not
guilty to upgraded charges. Allen's charge was changed from second-degree
murder to first-degree murder. Patricia's charge was changed from second degree
to aggravated murder. Much of the
new evidence that led to the upgraded charges came from stories Patricia Prue
told fellow inmates in jail. In some cases, the inmates told police it sounded
like she was bragging. Court
papers say Patricia told, or was overheard, saying she and Allen found Jenkins
attractive but they thought Jenkins treated them poorly. The documents also say Patricia was
open about how she and Allen sexually assaulted Jenkins while they beat and
strangled her. In response to the
upgraded charges, the Jenkins' cousin and her husband, who attended the court
appearance, did not want to discuss the details. "Nothing is going to bring Melissa back again. So,
therefore there's no justice. We're just trying to work through this as a
family as best we can," Eric Berry said. The Prue's are not due back in court for a few months. If
convicted, the Waterford couple faces life in prison.
