The Middlebury Business Development Advisory Board
meets this afternoon at 2 with the Gym Task Force of the Community Center
Steering Committee following at 3:30.
Visit the Town Of Middlebury’s Website for a current list of meetings
and agendas.
This Saturday more than 125 athletes from local
High Schools and Middle Schools and as far as the coast of Maine will meet at
the Burlington waterfront for Lake Champlain Maritime Museum’s annual youth
rowing race. The James Wakefield
Rescue Row is named after the man who courageously rescued the passengers and
crew of canal schooner General Butler in December 1876 when it crashed into the
Burlington breakwater during a fierce winter gale. The race will include 20 crews rowing 32-foot long boats in
a series of heats along the Burlington Waterfront. Participating Vermont
schools include Burlington High School, South Burlington High School, Vergennes
Middle and High School, Champlain Valley Union High School and Mt. Abe High
School. Races will begin at 9:30 at the Burlington Community Boat House at the
foot of College Street. The colorful boats were built by Vermont High School
and Middle School students at the Maritime Museum.
The 2012 Middlebury Arts Walk season winds down on
Friday, October 12th. This month will feature nearly 35 venues with a diverse
variety of art from painters, photographers, potters and a calligraphist.
Several venues are featuring artwork in honor of His Holiness the Dalia Lama’s
visit to Middlebury. The Middlebury Arts Walk will have one more event in
2012—a fundraising event scheduled for Friday, November 9th. The event will be
held at Two Brothers Tavern’s lounge from 5 to 8 PM. Tickets are $10 per person
and the evening will feature live music, a silent auction, snacks, and a cash
bar. This event is to help raise funds towards the 1-to-1 cash match of a grant
that was recently awarded by the Vermont Arts Council. The Middlebury Arts Walk
does not charge attendees, venues or artists to participate in the monthly
events. Learn more at www.MiddleburyArtsWalk.com.
The Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting
their Fall Chamber and Insurance Open House today from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM.
The Open House will take place at the Chamber office. The open house is open to all Chamber members who want to
learn more about their benefits and any businesses or organizations interested
in becoming a TACC member. Light refreshments will be available. For more
information visit www.ticonderogany.com
or the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.
Moriah and Port Henry are going after property
owners who rent substandard housing to low-income tenants. The Town Supervisor said the Town of
Moriah and Village of Port Henry are now enforcing local laws requiring a
certificate of occupancy when a new tenant moves into a home. The municipal codes officer will make
inspections of the dwellings before a certificate is issued. The issue has been
that some absentee landlords are renting out apartments in poor condition,
often to clients of the Essex County Department of Social Services.
Clarendon Volunteer firefighters will be sporting
new air packs next year thanks to a sizable FEMA Assistance to Firefighters
grant. According to the town’s emergency management director the Clarendon Fire
Association was among the first fire departments in New England to receive the
highly competitive grant. The
grant was for $91,194 with a federal share of $86,635 and a local share of
$4,559. Funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, will be
used to purchase personal protective equipment and replace outdated items
nearly two decades old.
The River Street Bridge in Rutland is slated to
become the Merritt A. Edson Memorial Bridge. The city will hold a ceremony next month dedicating the
bridge to Edson, a U.S. Marine Corps general and Rutland native who earned the
Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II. The dedication ceremony is
scheduled for November 10th.
A Vermont woman has been sentenced to 21 months in
prison after being convicted of defrauding two Vermont development corporations
and two banks. Court records say
66-year-old Ruth Tucker, formerly of Randolph Center who now lives in Hubbardton,
obtained $55,000 in loans from local development corporations that she said she
would use to re-establish her small business and hire Vermonters. But federal
prosecutors say she used the money to buy registered Morgan horses and to pay
for their training, boarding and other expenses. Prosecutors say she also defrauded People's United Bank, Key
Bank, local people and businesses by writing bad checks, some for large
amounts. The banks' lost about $18,000.
Tucker pleaded guilty in June 2011 after being indicted by a grand jury
in 2010. She was sentenced on Wednesday.
The days are numbered for two oxen that have worked
the fields at Vermont's Green Mountain College farm for more than a decade. The Poultney college says the oxen,
Bill and Lou, are being retired because of injury and will be processed into
beef products to be served in the college dining hall. College officials tell the Burlington
Free Press that the animals are regarded with affection, but that it's a
traditional understanding that cattle working at the farm are turned into beef
when their working careers end. The college farm produces vegetables and animal
products for the dining hall and a community-supported agriculture program. More than 3,000 people have signed an
online petition started by an animal sanctuary in Springfield asking that oxen
be spared.
Hunting season is upon us, and the state is again
reminding anyone heading out to wear hunter orange. Overall, hunting accidents remained low last year, but
officials say in the past 10 years, almost half of hunting-related shootings
might have been prevented if the hunters had worn fluorescent orange. They say deer are not scared by the
color because their vision is based more on movement than color.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has a new beverage
business partner, Snapple. The
companies announced this that they will now offer Snapple iced teas in K-Cup
and Vue packs for Keurig machines.
Those are expected to debut starting in the spring. Single-cup business now accounts for
about half of home brewing sales. Green Mountain Coffee's patent on the Keurig
technology expires this year.
Volunteers in Cavendish are finishing rebuilding a
mini Fenway Park that was destroyed by storm Irene. Selectman Mark Huntley says
the town is transforming Greven Field into a recreation center, with a
volleyball net and a basketball court behind the rebuilt Green Monster.
A series of pointed questions for several Rutland County legislative candidates highlighted human-rights issues in the upcoming elections. Eight candidates for the state Senate and House came to the Rutland Free Library on Tuesday to face more than 50 people, some of whom talked about struggling to make ends meet. They touched on needed improvements to health care, affordable housing, benefits for people with disabilities, benefits for home and primary caregivers and migrant workers.
A series of pointed questions for several Rutland County legislative candidates highlighted human-rights issues in the upcoming elections. Eight candidates for the state Senate and House came to the Rutland Free Library on Tuesday to face more than 50 people, some of whom talked about struggling to make ends meet. They touched on needed improvements to health care, affordable housing, benefits for people with disabilities, benefits for home and primary caregivers and migrant workers.
It may turn out to be the most expensive computer
upgrade the state has dealt with.
Vermont's court system started working with a company to convert its old
computer system to a modern, web-based case management system. That was three years ago, and now, with
nearly two million dollars down the data drain and nothing to show for it,
court officials are not happy.
While they say they hired a reputable technology company out of Utah,
it's also a company, which has never designed a court computer system before. The judiciary will be asking the
Legislature for a budget adjustment in January in order to help resolve the
two-million-dollar gap.
The latest phone scam is targeting people in the
Brattleboro area. Local police say
people are getting calls with the person at the other end saying they're
associated with Microsoft, and have detected a problem with the person's
computer. The caller asks to get
remote access to the computer but when they do they end up requesting payment
through credit, debit, or PayPal methods.
Anyone getting a call like this is asked to contact Brattleboro Police.
There's a lot of upset parents in South Burlington,
and about a hundred attended a school board meeting Wednesday night, speaking
out against a proposed methadone treatment clinic. The Howard Center already has permission from the city to
renovate office space on Dorset Street, putting the clinic 500 feet from the
city's middle school and a thousand feet from the high school. The new site allows the clinic to offer
services to about 600 people daily.
The school board voted Wednesday night for a resolution asking the
Howard Center to find another place for its clinic.
A bizarre case of child endangerment involving a
former domestic violence prosecutor is now under investigation. According to the Burlington Free Press,
witnesses told police Teri Ames of Middlebury started driving in her minivan
while her 8-year-old daughter was out of the car, running to keep up while
holding onto the door. Police say
the little girl eventually let go while Ames kept on driving, never stopping to
check on her daughter. The former
prosecutor is pleading not guilty to charges of child endangerment.
Governor Cuomo's latest hire has triggered whispers
that he might be eyeing a 2016 presidential run. Cuomo has hired Allison Gollust as his new communications
director. Gollust is a former head
spokeswoman for NBC News and has strong national news media ties. She takes over for Richard Bamberger,
who is leaving the administration for a job in the private sector. Cuomo continues to refuse to discuss
any potential interest in a presidential bid four years from now.
New figures show Senate Republicans in New York
hold a large fund-raising advantage over their Democratic counterparts in the
run-up to the November election.
Campaign committees linked to the Senate GOP have raised nearly
18-point-five-million dollars compared to three-point-five-million dollars for
Democrats. Republicans hold a
33-29 majority in the Senate, and both sides have been working furiously to
make that number change for their benefit come November. Meanwhile Elections officials around
the state are spreading the word that this is the last week to register to vote
in the November general election.
Anyone mailing a registration form must have it postmarked by Friday. Many communities are holding
registration events Friday in an effort to get more people signed up to vote in
the November 6th election.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is ordering that
state services be offered and explained in six major non-English languages. The
executive is aimed at 2.5 million New Yorkers considered to have limited
proficiency in English. State agencies across New York are now equipped to
provide free interpretation in Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Italian, Korean and
Haitian Creole.
Winter is coming to Lake Placid, three days ahead
of schedule. The sliding track at Mt. Van Hoevenberg is expected to open for
on-ice training Friday. Sliding will continue Saturday, barring any unforeseen
changes in conditions, then resume Monday - the originally planned opening
date.
Brandon Music on Country Club Road in Brandon will
present clarinetist and saxophonist Ken Peplowski this Thursday at 7:30pm.
General Admission is $12. BrandonMusic Café offers a concert and dinner package, which includes dinner and a
ticket to the show for $27 plus tax per person. The late Mel Torme said,
"Since the advent of Benny Goodman, there have been too few clarinetists
to fill the void that Goodman left. Peplowski is most certainly one of those
few. The man is magic." For
Information & Reservations (802) 465-4071 / info@brandon-music.net
This week, the North Country SPCA would like to
remind you of the upcoming Birds of Prey event to be held on Friday, October 26th
at 7 PM at the Whallonsburg Grange. The event costs $5 for adults and children
age 12 and under are admitted for free. Wendy Hall from the Adirondack Wildlife
Refuge & Rehabilitation Center will discuss her work with these majestic
creatures. You can be sure this evening will be both educational and
entertaining, with a wonderful opportunity to see raptors up close. Apple cider and cookies will be served. Learn more by visiting http://www.ncspca.org.
From Fox 44 and ABC 22 News – Your Voice in Vermont
& New York:
Vermont health leaders say they are monitoring a
deadly meningitis outbreak, which continues to spread across now ten states. The CDC says 12 people have died and
125 people have become sick from a rare fungal meningitis tied to steroid shots
for back pain. Vermont's health
department says no one in Vermont has become sick and the contaminated products
were never sent to the state. But
other products, made by the same company, were sent to Vermont and have been
taken out of use. "At this
time we're not seeing any infections related to other products but to remain
vigilant because certainly if there is anything that has been missed we would
want to know about it early on," says Susan Schoenfeld, Vermont State
Deputy Epidemiologist. The health
department says this form of meningitis is not contagious. The department offers this advice: Anyone who has had steroid medication
injected into the spine since May 21, 2012 and has any of the following
symptoms should contact their health care provider as soon as possible.
· Worsening headache
· Fever
· Sensitivity to light
· Stiff neck
· New weakness or numbness in any part of your body
· Slurred speech
The epidural medication associated with the
outbreak is not the same as spinal injections given to pregnant women during
childbirth.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Lieutenant
Governor Robert Duffy took a tour of the North Country yesterday. They were in Plattsburgh to look at how
several state funded projects are working. Governor Andrew Cuomo embraced the city in him, and
took the bus, all over Plattsburgh.
Last year, the North Country received 103-million dollars to go toward
70 projects. "There is an
energy in the North Country that is new, that is different, that is growing,
that is developing a momentum, I believe we are just getting started,"
Gov. Cuomo said. He wanted to see
the projects that received funding, so he took a bus tour. The first stop, the
Strand Theater. "It's about
the arts, it's about culture, it's about bringing the history back," the
Governor said. 397,000 dollars is
being used to restore the 1924 performing arts center. Continuing on the tour, the Governor
also shook hands with Bombardier Transportation employees. The manufacturing
company was able to expand its production and add jobs. It's still looking for
skilled workers to train. "If
we have the natural talent, we'll bring them in and make them professionals in
what we do," Vice President of Bombardier Transportation Sales, Bob
Furniss said. While cruising
through the North Country, Governor Cuomo talked about expanding broadband -
housing and agricultural programs, he says they all reflect the diversity of
the North Country economy. "There's
obviously a lot of progress, there's a lot of energy, there's a lot of
excitement," the Governor added.
Governor Cuomo also heard 750 million dollars worth of project proposals
that the North Country would like to work toward next year. The Plattsburgh
Airport and International Paper in Ticonderoga are two examples.
