The Town of Middlebury and Pike Industries will be
starting the Quarry Road - Rolling Acres Recycling and Paving Projects this
coming Monday. The project is expected to last approximately 2 weeks. The first
week will be recycling, grading and stabilization. The second week will be the
paving and line striping portion. During
the workday, the Town requests that only local traffic travel Quarry Rd. Work
is expected to begin at 7am and continue until 6pm each day.
Vermont State Police officials in New Haven are
seeking information from the public regarding the theft of several road and
street signs in Addison. The
signs, located at various locations around town, disappeared sometime during
July 27th and July 30th. If you
have any information about the thefts, including suspicious car stops near the
signs, please call the VSP in New Haven at 388-4919 or visit online at www.vtips.info.
On Monday afternoon from 3-6 Jon Satz of Wood’s
Market Garden and Farm-stand will host a NOFA-Vermont field trip at the
successful organic farm on Route 7 in Brandon. Satz manages roughly 8,000 sq.
ft. of greenhouse space dedicated to the production of certified organic
tomatoes. He will discuss grafting techniques, varietal selection, pruning, and
disease and pest management including unique environmental controls. Registration
is requested for the social to follow. To register, call 434-4122.
New Haven State Police are investigating another
local theft complaint. Kenneth Lutton of New Haven advised that he had been
camping in Lincoln and woke to find his belongings scatted on the ground next
to his car. This case is still
under investigation, 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
Researchers say they've found the invasive spiny
water flea in Lake George, the latest New York waterway contaminated with the
creature that competes with fish for food. The state Department of Conservation says yesterday an
angler at the north end of the lake pulled in a batch of fleas last week and
samples taken Tuesday confirmed it's living off Mallory Island, near the
northeast shore. A task force of
New York and Vermont authorities is working to stem the spread of the flea,
which feeds on small crustaceans and plankton. Boaters and fisherman are being
told to decontaminate their gear before entering area waters. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont
called Monday for closing parts of the Champlain Canal to protect Lake
Champlain, a move rejected by New York officials.
Crown Point Telephone customers are frustrated. So
is the company. Phone patrons are
reporting problems receiving long distance calls to the company but the issue
isn’t a local one, according to the president of Crown Point Telephone. Rural telephone consumers across the
nation are reporting problems receiving long distance or wireless calls on
their landline telephones. The issue is known as “failure to complete.”
Problems include incoming long distance calls not connecting or, if they do
connect, poor voice quality. The FCC is aware of the “failure to complete”
issue and is working to address it.
Portions of Ticonderoga’s sewer infrastructure will
receive an upgrade this summer, but some residents are worried it won’t be
enough to solve existing problems.
The project will include the placement of 1200 feet of sanitary sewer
and 1200 feet of storm sewer pipes along Wayne Ave. and Saint Claire St. The
town is just finishing a multi-year sewer plant upgrade project, and that an
overhaul of the town’s sewer infrastructure is the next step.
The access road to Ticonderoga Municipal Airport
will be reconstructed with $369,000 from a federal grant. The U.S. Department of Transportation
awarded the money this week, according to a joint announcement from U.S. Sens.
Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. The money will be used to replace existing access-road
pavement that has deteriorated. Gillibrand said it’s an important investment
for Ticonderoga Municipal Airport.
Franklin County will discuss today the possible
merits of partnering with neighboring counties to fund a shared mobile-command
center. The suggestion is to
retrofit a bookmobile no longer in use by the Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library
System into a communications van to use for disasters in the tri-county area. Clinton County is on board, Essex
County wants more information, and Franklin County has informally voted the
proposal down. But legislators will bring it back up again at 9:30 this morning
at a meeting in the fourth-floor chambers of the County Courthouse in Malone.
The public may attend.
A select board member in Killington suggests giving
free college tuition to families who move to the ski resort town. Longtime businessman Bernie Rome made
his proposal during a recent brainstorming session about how the board can
secure the town’s financial future.
Rome said more students in town would help secure more school funding
and contribute to the tax base. Select
board members are encouraging Rome to develop his idea and explore how the town
would pay for it. He says with Green Mountain College in town and increasing
student debt, the ingredients for Killington offering free tuition are in
place.
A 12-person search committee has been created to
weed through town manager applications in Fair Haven. It will include the five-member
Select Board and one member of each from the town’s advisory boards and committees.
The renewable energy campaign proposed by a former
Fair Haven town official is expected to start within the next couple of days. Two letters — with several
questions on renewable energy in Vermont and the proposed biomass project in
Fair Haven — will be sent to local and state elected officials.
Thousands of Green Mountain Power customers were
plunged into darkness last night when two sub-stations went down in
Vermont. The Woodstock and
Wilmington substations went offline, according to a utility spokesman, because
of an equipment failure. GMP hoped
to have the Woodstock sub-station up overnight, but didn't know how long the
Wilmington one would be out. The
blackout left about seven-thousand customers without power.
A new report released by the Lake Champlain Basin
Program is a mixture of good and bad news, with data showing phosphorus levels
continuing to rise in many areas of the lake. That helps the weeds and algae grow which is a problem for
boaters. On the other hand,
mercury levels for lake trout and other fish are down, as are cormorant nests
thanks to programs working on that.
Governor Peter Shumlin says cellular telephone
service is going to be getting better near the intersections of Vermont routes
12 and 107 in Bethel. On Wednesday
Shumlin and representatives of the Vermont Telecommunications Authority helped
break ground on construction of a new 120-foot communications tower The
telecommunications authority is working with AT&T to erect the Bethel
tower. When the tower is completed
it will provide cellular telephone and data services in what had been
identified as 1 of many "drop zones" the state is working to eliminate.
This is the day potential moose hunters find out if
they get to head out to the woods this fall. The state Department Fish and Wildlife held its lottery
drawing this morning, pulling names for the available 385 permits for moose
hunting and 50 archery season permits.
You can view the results on the agency's website, www.VTfishAndWildlife.com.
For the time in Vermont's history, the Department
of Education is requiring schools to develop bullying policies as stringent as
the state's own model by the first day of 2013 and the department announced yesterday
a new council to look at the issue further, with possible talk about holding
schools as legally accountable for bullying as they currently are for
harassment. The Harassment, Hazing
and Bullying Prevention Advisory Council was formed by Education Commissioner
Armando Vilaseca following the passage of Act 129 last legislative session.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Brock says
the administration of Governor Peter Shumlin misled lawmakers and the public
about how much federal aid the state was likely to get for rebuilding after
Tropical Storm Irene. Brock says administration officials provided overly
optimistic assessments to lawmakers during the winter and spring about how much
funding would be available to the state from the Federal Emergency Management
Agency.
Vermont's United States Attorney says a Montpelier
theater has agreed to make it easier for hearing impaired customers to go to
the movies. After a complaint that the Savoy Theater was not in compliance with
the Americans with Disabilities Act because it lacked "assistive listening
devices," theater owner Terrence Youk agreed to install the devices.
A Vermont nonprofit that helps train and employ
low-income residents has received a grant of over $2.8 million to assist residents’
age 55 and older. The grant is going to Vermont Associates for Training and
Development based in St. Albans.
New York's DNA database expansion took effect yesterday. The new law requires DNA samples be
collected from anyone convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, including driving
drunk. The system aims to target
repeat offenders, as well as provide another tool to prove innocence. Officials
say more samples means a higher likelihood that more crimes will be solved. They say this expansion will not create
a backlog of samples. Young
offenders and first-timers convicted of low-level marijuana possession are
exempt.
You can catch more Jazz tonight in Brandon. Brandon
Music on Country Club Road will present Michael Benedict & Bopitude this evening
at 7:30. General Admission is $12. Brandon Music offers an Early Bird dinner
special, which includes a ticket for the jazz performance, for $22 per person. Michael
Benedict & Bopitude revisits the most memorable tunes of the hard bop era
while bringing back to life some more obscure treasures from the past. Get details HERE.
Rutland’s Recreation Department and its Rutland
Youth Theatre program have received a national award for its drama program from
an organization honoring municipal rec departments for work in the humanities. The National Recreation and Park
Association bestows its Dorothy Mullen Arts and Humanities Award upon “the most
innovative and effective arts and humanities programs across the nation.”
From Fox 44 & ABC 22 News Your Voice in Vermont
& New York:
For the first time in decades, it might soon cost
less to power your home or business in Vermont. GMP wants to cut rates .4%. The utility says the decrease would apply to all GMP
customers, including those from CVPS.
This would be a big change from the power increases Vermonters have
become used to seeing. "It's
the first time in 24 years that we've been able to lower rates at a time like
most businesses and homes in Vermont, we have lot of pressure on, costs
pressures," says Mary Powell, GMP President & CEO. GMP says its recent merger with CVPS
helped lead to the rate cut. The
Public Service Board will still have to approve the decrease before it goes
into effect in October.
After violent protests in Burlington last weekend,
police and protestors say they want to learn more about what happened, to help
the community move forward. The
protests came before a conference of New England Governors and Canadian
Premiers. Several police officers
and protestors were hurt in a clash.
"The bruises I sustained Sunday will heal over time," says
Jonathan Leavitt, a protestor. But
Leavitt says it will take longer to repair the trust that was lost. "These were Vermonters with rights
and privileges under the laws of Vermont and the Constitution of Vermont and
the United States," says Jared Carter, an attorney for the Vermont
Community Law Center. On
Wednesday, Carter says his group asked police to answer questions on everything
from policy to weapons to training.
"Who are the people involved in policing us?" asked Carter. Burlington's police force is led by
Chief Michael Schirling. "We've
seen something different in the crowd than we've seen before and I just want to
be clear, it was just a few people," says Schirling. Confronted with aggressive protestors,
Schirling says as of right now it appears officers followed their crowd control
policy. He says the decision to
respond with force is a last choice.
"Those kind of things evolve so fast with so many different
variables that each individual instance is unique," says Schirling. The chief says police have started two
investigations. One will look to
see if protestors broke any laws.
The second is a broader look at the police response to the protest. "It's rare for things to get to
this level," says Schirling. The
chief says it could take weeks to finish both investigations. One thing that is clear: the price tag
for all the extra security for the governor's conference. The chief puts it at around $40,000.
