The 2012 Transportation Planning Excellence Award for outstanding work on the Lake Champlain Bridge has been bestowed jointly to New York and Vermont, which was funded by both states and managed by the New York State Department of Transportation. Nominations for the award were reviewed by an independent panel of judges who selected winners based on community and public involvement, innovative approaches to completion, context sensitive solutions to enhance the community and natural environment, collaboration with other public or private entities and long-term benefits of the project.
A Vergennes man lost his life and a Burlington man is in jail following a fight in Ferrisburgh over the weekend. Police said 40-year-old Conrad Bell was taken to Fletcher Allen Health Care, where he died from his injuries. Police did not say how the injuries were inflicted, but categorized the death as a homicide. Stephanie Dasaro, public information officer for the state police, said Joseph Bolduc was identified as a suspect. Bolduc was arrested, but as of Saturday afternoon he had not been formally charged with taking the life of Bell. The investigation is ongoing.
[Update] A man accused of killing another over the weekend will be in an Addison County courtroom today. Vermont State Police say Joseph Bolduc is charged with second-degree homicide, his third D-U-I, leaving the scene of an accident and resisting arrest. He's accused of showing up at a party in Ferrisburgh late Friday night and getting into a fight with several others. Police say Conrad Bell tried to break it up but was badly hurt and later died. Bolduc is also accused with assaulting troopers when they tried to arrest him.
[Update] A man accused of killing another over the weekend will be in an Addison County courtroom today. Vermont State Police say Joseph Bolduc is charged with second-degree homicide, his third D-U-I, leaving the scene of an accident and resisting arrest. He's accused of showing up at a party in Ferrisburgh late Friday night and getting into a fight with several others. Police say Conrad Bell tried to break it up but was badly hurt and later died. Bolduc is also accused with assaulting troopers when they tried to arrest him.
New Haven Troopers were dispatched to several reports of stolen items over the weekend at Bartlett Falls in the Town of Bristol. Vermont State Police are looking for several stolen cell phones, keys, bags and several sets of sunglasses. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Vermont State Police at 802-388-4919. Information can also be submitted anonymously online at www.vtips.info or text "CRIMES" (274637) to Keyword: VTIPS Vermont State Police would like to encourage community members and visitors not to leave anything valuable in their vehicles or along the river bank.
Voters will consider funding two water projects affecting about 85 connections in Pittsford tomorrow. Polls will open from 7AM to 7PM at the town offices. The first bond totaling $260,000 will pay for the expansion of the town’s water system to include 24 connections in Fire District 1. The second bond, in the amount of $200,000, is part of a revolving fund established in the Legislature this past session to help construction private wells for about 60 customers who will be abandoned from the Proctor water system.
The Vermont State Police, Rutland Barracks has scheduled an Information-Sharing Forum to take place at the Castleton Community Center, located on Route 4A in Castleton, just east of the Castleton Four Corners, on Tuesday night August 14th at 6:30PM. This forum was set up to answer questions and take input from the public in regards to the possible closure of the Castleton Outpost. All are invited to attend.
The Rotary Club of Middlebury recently replaced the town’s welcome sign along Route 7 with a new one made by Mountain Signs of Ripton. The sign matches the newly restored one north of town recently installed by the Lions Club. The Rotarian sign is located along Route 7 just south of Three-Mile Bridge Road and the Route 7 Bridge across the Middlebury River.
An Addison County hops grower will share his experiences with designing, constructing and maintaining a sustainable, organic hop-yard on August 23rd, at a University of Vermont Extension-sponsored field day. Kris Anderson, owner of Addison Hop Farm will describe how he designed his trellis system as well as developed a business plan for his three-year-old operation after attending a UVM business class. Anderson also will discuss other aspects of his operation including variety selection and post-harvest handling. In addition, UVM Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Program faculty and staff will be on hand to update farmers on their hops research. The program runs from 3 to 6 PM at the farm in Addison. The registration fee is $15, due by August 14th. Farmers may register online at www.uvm.edu/extension/cropsoil
The University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Program is seeking Vermont farmers for a pilot project on aerial seeding of cover cropping by helicopter. Any farmers who spring till and want to improve their soils while minimizing erosion and nitrogen losses are eligible. Aerial seeding is tentatively scheduled for August between the tassel and early dent stage of corn, so farmers are urged to sign up soon. Funding for this project will be available to farms through a number of different partners including U.S. Department of Agriculture; the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets; the Natural Resources Conservation Service and UVM. Interested farmers are asked to contact Jeff Sanders, UVM agronomy outreach professional, at jeffrey.sanders@uvm.edu or Dr. Heather Darby, UVM Extension agronomist, at heather.darby@uvm.edu. Both can be reached by calling the UVM Extension office at (800) 639-2130.
Non-profits and small businesses throughout the region will receive help from the state of New York in their continuing plight to recover from Tropical Storm Irene. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office announced the grants, which were awarded to small businesses and not-for-profits in the North Country through the Business Flood Recovery Grant Program, part of 584 eligible entities that sustained direct, flood-related damage as a result of Tropical Storm Irene or Tropical Storm Lee. Overall, the entities will receive a total of $7.9 million in assistance through the Business Flood Recovery Grant Program.
An assistant New Hampshire attorney general is linking a murder suspect now in an Alaskan jail with two murder cases in northern New England. Assistant A-G Jane Young said Sunday state police working the homicide last year of an 11-year-girl are aware of 34-year-old Israel Keyes, now charged with the kidnapping and murder of a young woman in Alaska. Keyes also reportedly checked into an Essex hotel the day before Bill and Lorraine Currier disappeared from their home in Essex, and checked out the day after they vanished. Sources say Keyes reportedly told investigators where they could find the missing Vermont couple, but so far their remains have not been recovered.
A new emergency access ramp is expected to make a big difference in the response time to problems on Interstate 89 in Milton. The new ramp opened up Friday close to an area known for crashes, and is expected to cut down response time from 15 minutes to just a couple of minutes. A lieutenant with the Milton Fire Department says they've been fighting to get the new emergency access ramp in between Exits 17 and 18 for the past seven years.
Energy and transportation issues are expected to top the agenda as Vermont plays host to the 36th annual meeting of the New England governors and eastern Canadian premiers. The regional leaders are to gather in Burlington for a daylong series of meetings today. During the morning, leaders will discuss strategies for development of renewable energy and deployment of more energy efficiency measures. Then their focus shifts to the potential for electric vehicles, both their impact on transportation and on the electrical grid. In the afternoon, the governors and premiers will discuss transportation issues, and keeping cross-border transportation smooth in the post-9/11 age of heightened security.
A protest group official says police in riot gear have used rubber and pepper bullets against protesters at the annual meeting of the New England governor sand eastern Canadian premiers. Avery Pittman of Burlington, spokeswoman for participating protest groups, says police in riot gear used the rubber and pepper bullets against protesters blocking busses trying to leave a Burlington hotel that is the site of the conference. The conference officially opens today.
Vermont police are investigating the theft of a gold medallion bearing an image of poet Robert Frost. Police say the theft was reported Saturday afternoon at the Robert Frost Stone House Museum in Shaftsbury, which located in a house where Frost lived from 1920 to 1929. Authorities say the small medallion is about 1-inch in diameter and was taken from a display case at the museum, but it's unclear when the theft took place. The medallion, which has been at the museum since 2003, was the only item taken. Police didn't put a value on the medallion.
Crews have erected the first of 21 wind turbines on Vermont's Lowell Mountain. Green Mountain Power says the turbine was erected Friday afternoon. The company says the Kingdom Community Wind project will generate the electrical needs of about 24,000 Vermont homes when it's completed at the end of the year.
Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos is highlighting steps taken by his colleagues from around the country to boost voter registration. Condos says the National Association of Secretaries of State recently passed resolutions urging states to use information collected by federal agencies to help register people to vote. He says the group is pushing states to use their own agencies' data for the same purpose. At the same time, the group is promoting Sept. 25 as National Voter Registration Day, when members plan to step up efforts across the country to get people registered in advance of the November election. Condos’ says that in Vermont, he'll be working with the League of Women Voters and other groups to encourage registration and voting.
Plattsburgh State has been reaffirmed as an accredited university by one of the nation's recognized, regional accrediting bodies. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, a division of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, recently renewed the college's accredited status through 2022. In a written report of the findings from their campus visit, the reviewers commended Plattsburgh State for its Educational Opportunities Program, which caters to at-risk students, as well as the college's dedication to providing support to all of its students.
Once again there will be narrated boat cruises on Schroon Lake. The cruises are held each Tuesday and Thursday morning at 11 AM and are sponsored by the Schroon Lake Chamber of Commerce. They will run through Thursday, August 16th. The cruises depart from the Word of Life Island dock just south of the village area at Island Access Way and there is parking available. Donations for tickets will be $10 a person.
You are invited to two days of fun, music, shopping, dining, and entertainment at Downtown Rutland's Summer Sidewalk and Food Festival this Friday and Saturday. Center Street, portions of Evelyn Street, and Merchants Row will be closed to vehicular traffic. Festival hours are Friday, 9 AM to 10 PM and Saturday, 9 AM to 4 PM. This annual summer sidewalk shopping and food extravaganza attracts thousands of residents and visitors to Downtown Rutland. The event offers children's activities, demonstrations, dancing, theatre, and more. There is no admission fee for this two-day event. Items such as maple products, clothing, jewelry, books, toys and games, fine art and antiques, rocks, fossils and minerals, foods for every taste and palate and much more will be for sale.
A reminder that the 20th annual Ticonderoga Area Car Show will be held this Sunday in Ticonderoga’s Bicentennial Park 9 AM to 4 PM. As part of the Ticonderoga Area Car Show, the Kiwanis Club of Ticonderoga Duck Race will be held on Sunday. The race will begin at 11 a.m. on the LaChute River in Bicentennial Park. Ducks will be available for purchase that morning. Spectators are free on the day of the show, although donations will be accepted. For more information just visit www.ticonderogany.com
History will come alive at Fort Ticonderoga as the historic site hosts “Relief & Refit.” The living history event will be held Saturday and Sunday. It will feature a look at Gen. Amherst’s British and provincial army at Fort Ticonderoga in the aftermath of the destruction of France’s southernmost stronghold on Lake Champlain in 1759. Fort Ticonderoga is open from 9:30 AM until 5 PM daily. Admission to “Relief & Refit” is included with Fort Ticonderoga’s general admission ticket. For information just visit http://www.fortticonderoga.org/learn/reenactors/1759_amhersts_men or call 585-2821.
