The Middlebury Town Offices will be closed for
Thanksgiving and Black Friday this week.
The Town Clerk’s Office will close at noon today.
The Weybridge Town School District has hired an auditing firm to do a forensic audit, just to make sure all the funds are there. The reason is the former Weybridge town clerk and treasurer has admitted to embezzling more than a hundred-thousand dollars from the town. Karen Brisson was also the treasurer of the school district, which learned Monday of her resignation. The district is confident all the school funds are accounted for, but wants to be 100-percent sure. No criminal charges have been filed yet against her, and the town is doing an audit to determine just how much was taken.
A woman who served nearly three years in jail for
taking $730,000 from her Vermont employer is heading back to prison for 10
months for covering up the sale of a Florida vacation home. The Burlington Free Press reports
66-year-old Susan Emilo said she knew a court-imposed restitution order
remained in effect, but instead opted to remodel a home in Myrtle Beach, SC
using the proceeds of the Florida home sale in 2009. The Emilo's received $50,000 for giving up their half-share
in the home in Rockwell Estates on Merritt Island. Emilo was a part-time bookkeeper for an environmental
consulting company in Lincoln. She was convicted of stealing money between 1992
and 2002. She pleaded guilty to mail fraud and other charges and went to prison
in 2004.
Confirmed cases of whooping cough have popped up in
schools, including in Killington Elementary School and Rutland Town School, and
according to the state Health Department, Rutland County’s rate of those
infected is growing at a faster pace than the rest of the state. It is contagious for three weeks after
a person is infected and most cases are seen in children ages 10-14 but anyone
can get it. For further information about pertussis, go to www.healthvermont.gov or call the
Vermont Department of Health, Epidemiology Field Unit at (800) 640-4374 or
863-7240.
A couple from Essex County is accused of running a
phony charity. Police say Walter
Thatcher and Brianna Benvie, both of Schroon Lake, claimed they were selling
50/50 raffle tickets outside the local Stewart's Shop. They told customers the
proceeds would benefit Essex County SPCA. But the money actually benefited them
and police say they used the cash for alcohol and cigarettes. The scheme netted them $62. They are charged with scheming to
defraud, criminal impersonation and conspiracy.
Essex County officials discussed ideas on how to
balance the county budget at a meeting yesterday. Town Supervisor Randy Douglas suggested a $1,000 salary
reduction for all town board members, civil service employee association and
confidential employees. With 700
employees, Douglas said the salary reduction would save the county $700,000. He also said he is opposed to giving
out raises to county employees, including town supervisors and department
heads, which would save the county an additional $200,000. Some town supervisors said they would
agree to the pay decrease Douglas suggested, while others, including the Essex
County finance chairman said C-S-E-A union employees will never be on board
with the idea.
Essex County must decide whether to void a contract
that the County Ethics Board ruled was improperly awarded. County Attorney Daniel Manning III said
Monday he’s still reviewing whether the $76,800-a-year contract with Info Quick
Solutions of Liverpool should be canceled because the County Clerk’s Office
improperly influenced the bid process to favor it. The firm provides document-scanning equipment and software
for the Clerk’s Office, which records real-estate transactions and other legal
documents.
Vermont's unemployment rate ticked up in October. According to a press release, Vermont's
unemployment rate increased by one-tenth of a percent to 5.5%. Vermont's labor forced increased
by 900 from September. The
United State's unemployment rate for October was 7.9%. The U.S. unemployment
rate also increased by one-tenth of a percent.
A 51-year-old Coca-Cola executive will be the new
CEO and president of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. beginning December 3. The incoming executive, Brian Kelley,
will be paid $900,000 annually in addition to a $600,000 signing bonus and
$500,000 for relocation expenses. He'll also receive approximately $3 million
worth of performance shares with GMCR, an amount determined by financial
targets he achieves as well as other long-term opportunities. The
Waterbury-headquartered company has recently faced increasing competition from
other beverage and food companies as some of its key patents expired in
mid-September.
After nearly two years on probation, a nursing
program at Southern Vermont College could lose its accreditation. A visiting team from the National
League of Nursing Accreditation Commission has told the college it plans to
recommend that the commission not renew the school's accreditation for
associate's and bachelor's degrees in nursing. The team had visited the school in October. It has until
early December to issues its formal report, and the full commission meets in
the spring. College Acting
President James Beckwith tells the Bennington Banner the adoption of a new
curriculum two years ago may have led to some confusion. He believes the
situation can be fixed. The
college is not expected to lose its approval from the Vermont State Board of
Nursing.
People across Vermont should be seeing more law
enforcement officers on the roads over the holiday weekend checking to make
sure motorists are wearing their seatbelts. The Governor's Highway Safety Program is sponsoring a
holiday Click-It-or-Ticket enforcement campaign from Wednesday through Sunday. People on Vermont roads should expect
to see more state, county and local law enforcement officers. Statistics show that of the 70 people
killed on Vermont roads so far this year 40 were not properly restrained. Vermont's statewide seatbelt usage is
just over 84%, below the national average of 85%. The state has run click-it-or-ticket campaigns since 2002.
The State of New York recently marked the one-year
anniversary of the Missing Adult Alert system, celebrating its success in
helping law-enforcement officers find individuals who have gone missing. The system operates similar to Amber
Alerts and is used when a person who is 18 or older and diagnosed with a
cognitive brain disorder, like dementia and autism, or mental impairment, is
reported missing and deemed to be at risk for harm. Law-enforcement officials
credited the system with helping to locate seven adults from among those
reports who were reported missing in their communities.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the Thruway Authority needs
to "get creative" to try to avoid raising tolls on the 570-mile
highway. He said any toll increase would be "detrimental." Business
groups oppose the authority's proposed 45% toll hike for truckers, saying it
will hurt the state's shaky economy and drive up consumer costs. The Thruway Authority says the toll
hike is needed to raise $90 million annually and keep the agency solvent. Cuomo has defended the agency's planned
toll increase in the past, saying it could face a bond rating downgrade if it
didn't come up with ways to increase revenue. He said Tuesday that a toll
increase is the last resort after everything else is explored.
The holiday season is rapidly approaching and that
means it's time for Maple View Farm's annual holiday open house in Brandon! Maple View Farm Alpacas and the Vermont
Fiber Mill & Studio will be open to visitors from 11 AM – 4 PM this Saturday
and Sunday. You are invited to join
them for a fun weekend on the farm!
Over 30 alpacas including 7 babies born this past spring and early
summer will greet visitors. The open house is an ideal time to learn about
alpacas. Ed and Debbie Bratton
have been raising alpacas for 10 years at their 100-acre farm in Brandon. Alpaca fiber, which comes in 22 natural
colors, is used to make knitted and woven items, similar to wool. For more information, visit their
website at www.mapleviewfarmalpacas.com
or Facebook at Maple View Farm Alpacas or Vermont Fiber Mill & Studio. The farm is located at 185 Adams Rd,
Brandon, VT. Contact mvfalpacas@earthlink.net
or 802.247.5412 for more information.
The arrival of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train
will again mark the arrival of the holiday season in Ticonderoga and Port
Henry. The train, decorated in
holiday lights and carrying a live musical show, is scheduled to stop in
Ticonderoga at 4 PM and Port Henry at 5:45 PM on Friday November 30th. This will be the eighth year the train
will stop in Ti. It has stopped in Port Henry the past seven years and will
stop at the train station in each community. The goal of the “Holiday Train” is to collect food and money
for local food banks and to raise awareness in the fight against hunger. As
part of the program the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce on Montcalm Street
will accept food donations for the local pantry.
Politicians and political experts alike are calling
for changes in the country's political system when it comes to so-called super
PAC's. On Tuesday, a group of
eight Democrats and Independents met on the City Hall steps in Burlington,
voicing their opposition to the political action committees usually made up of
a small number of very wealthy donors.
A ruling by the Supreme Court allows Super PAC's to target specific
candidates or causes through commercial advertising. The Vermont Public Interest Research Group is one of those
speaking out, calling for a lot more disclosure which a proposed bill in the
state Legislature would help bring about.
With Thanksgiving this week, food has been flying
off of the shelves not only in supermarkets, but also in the 280 food pantries
across the state. Governor Peter Shumlin is encouraging Vermonters to help with
donations of money, food or their time. It's believed about 86-thousand
Vermonters use the state's charity food system at some point in the year. The Vermont Foodbank says it averages
out to about one in seven Vermonters struggling to have enough food.
Contract talks between unionized nurses and
caregivers and the management at the Brattleboro Retreat are not going
well. Talks ended last week with
the two sides far apart, and now the Retreat is saying it plans to lay off 31
workers, which includes two entire therapeutic departments. While outraged workers say management
is not putting patient care first, a Retreat spokesperson says it's due to
changes in the mental health care system, and shorter stays by patients. Talks have been ongoing for two months,
and the current contract expired in October.
A rumor about Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont not
only went viral, it was rampant enough for the senator's office to issue a
denial. The tech website C-Net
reported the Vermont Democrat was backing a bill allowing federal agencies to
read private e-mail and online messages without a warrant. Leahy is the chair of the U-S Senate's
Judiciary Committee, which is working on renewal of the federal Electronic
Communications Privacy Act.
Leahy's Twitter account sent out a tweet saying C-Net has it wrong,
while his office issued a news release saying the rumors about warrant
exceptions being added to the federal privacy act are incorrect.
The number of New Yorkers seeking unemployment
benefits has jumped following Hurricane Sandy. Governor Cuomo says New Yorkers looking for unemployment
benefits jumped by 46-thousand people in the week following Sandy. Between 140-thousand and 150-thousand
New Yorkers had been receiving benefits in recent months.
Governor Cuomo is taking a wait-and-see approach
over the battle for the state Senate.
Cuomo refused to say whether he would like to see his fellow Democrats
re-take the majority in the Senate, and rejects accusations he didn't do enough
for Democrats to make that a reality.
The governor wants lawmakers to focus on a number of issues when they
come back to Albany, including their respective stances on teacher evaluations,
campaign finance reform and the upcoming budget.
Police have busted up a methamphetamine ring in
Hancock this week, after purchasing powder meth from two men in a Hancock
home. During an investigation the
Vermont Drug Task Force found that Michael Wood and Steven Arnold were making
and selling methamphetamine at a home on Rte. 125 in Hancock, and dumping and
burning the hazardous material produced in the manufacture on the
property. Wood and Arnold have
been charged with conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine and are being held
at the Marble Valley correctional facility in Rutland on $25,000 bail. At another residence on Rte. 125 in
Hancock, police arrested Meegan Smith on an outstanding warrant from New York State
related to meth, and on the charge of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
Smith is also being held at the Marble Valley correctional facility, without bail.
Remember that gift card you received last year that
is maybe stuffed in a drawer now and forgotten? Vermont Attorney General's Consumer Assistance Program
coordinator Jason Duquette-Hoffman has good news for you. "It's common that people don't use
all the funds that may be on a gift card," says Duquette-Hoffman. He says now in Vermont gift cards don't
expire for five years and there can no longer be fees. "The vanishing balance situation
that people have run into in the past is now also prohibited by Vermont
law," says Duquette-Hoffman. Check
the cards out carefully, some go further and never expire. If you receive a card and you aren't a
big fan of the store, you can go online where sites have set up exchanges to
buy and sell gift cards. Though you have to do your homework. "We always encourage consumers to
be careful about where they acquire things just to be sure that you're actually
getting what you're paying for," says Duquette-Hoffman. Duquette-Hoffman says some cards from
banks can have a one-time fee when you buy the card. As for whether it's safer to go back to the days of a cash
gift: “It's really a matter of
personal preference. People have all sorts of reasons to do it either
way," says Duquette-Hoffman. Now
the five-year expiration minimum is nationwide. New York does allow fees after a year of not using the
card. New Hampshire like Vermont
never allows fees on gift cards.
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin says he hopes during
this season of giving that people think about others less fortunate. Food shelves in Vermont help feed about
86,000 Vermonters. So the governor is encouraging Vermonters to help with
donations of money, food, or their time.
"While we are making great progress, we live in the most giving
state of the country, there is more need and there are a lot of hungry folks
who without Vermonters' generosity will not have enough to eat not only on
Thanksgiving but in the cold winter ahead," says Shumlin. While the governor says the state has
taken steps to reduce hunger, the state's commissioner of health says another
goal is making sure more people can afford healthy food.
Some toys can be great tools for children to have. They help teach kids how to talk, spell
words and other things. But on
Tuesday, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, or VPIRG, wanted to remind
parents to be careful when buying them this holiday season. "There's been real progress in
recent years in making toys safer but it's frightening to think about the
dangerous toys that remain on store shelves," said VPIRG Environmental
Health Advocate Lauren Hierl. To
help parents VPIRG put out its 27th annual "Trouble in Toyland"
survey. In it, there are a number
of toys to look out for. Hierl
brought some of them to a daycare in Montpelier. "All of the sample toys I have here [Tuesday] I
purchased right here in the Montpelier area within the past week," said
Hierl. Hierl says things to look
for when shopping are toys that are too small; contain high amounts of lead,
made from magnets or too loud. Experts
say before you head out shopping you should take a toilet paper roll with you. The roll is a perfect way to determine
if a toy is too small to give to a child.
Smart decisions that experts say will help keep your young one safe. For the "Trouble in Toyland"
survey click here.
If FEMA money doesn't come through, the State of
Vermont says a new mental hospital could cost more than predicted. The old hospital in Waterbury was hit
by floodwaters during Tropical Storm Irene. The State Department of Buildings and General Services says
it hopes FEMA money will help pay for a new one in Berlin. If FEMA doesn't, the state could have
to basically take out a loan, that would add $10-million to the project. "The worst case scenario is having
your state hospital flooded out in the middle of the night, to be honest with
you. So we are in the worst case scenario and it can only get better from
here," says Gov. Peter Shumlin.
The state says the bond would be paid for by money from the General
Fund. It estimates the hospital
itself will cost $28-million to build.
--------------------------
Afternoon Update:
--------------------------
Afternoon Update:
Vermont State Police are investigating a vandalism
incident on Lake Road in Addison. Elizabeth Armstrong discovered that someone
had damaged her mailbox with a baseball bat. Anyone with information is
encouraged to contact the Vermont State Police in New Haven at 802-388-4919.
Information can also be submitted online at www.vtips.info
or text "CRIMES" (274637) to Keyword: VTIPS.
Ferrisburgh resident Jackie Rivers is spreading the
mission of the Make-A-Wish foundation outside of Chittenden County and is
encouraging residents of Addison and Rutland counties to get involved. Rivers, who operates Conquer Artist
Development, a talent promotion business, wanted to bring two of Vermont’s
brightest, homespun country music stars together to raise money for Make-A-Wish.
She has created the Make-A-Wish Country Music Fundraiser, to be held Saturday,
December 8th from 7-11 PM at the American Legion Post in Vergennes
featuring Vermont country musicians Keeghan Nolan and Jimmy T. Thurston. Tickets
for the event are $10 each and available at all Marble Works Pharmacy locations,
at the Vergennes American Legion, and at the Make-A-Wish office at 100 Dorset
St. in South Burlington. You can also call Rivers at 802-349-9315 to purchase a
ticket.
Yesterday the Vermont State Police Special
Investigation Unit in Rutland arrested Joseph M. Johnson of Brandon, for lewd
and lascivious conduct with a Leicester girl. However, it must be stressed, in any case involving a minor,
that the accused is considered innocent until proven guilty under law. At the completion of the investigation,
Johnson was arrested and was scheduled to appear in Rutland District Court. If he is found guilty, Johnson could
face a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. The Rutland Unit for Special
Investigations investigates, prosecutes and serves the needs of victims of
crimes involving sexual exploitation of children and adults, also physical
abuse of children and vulnerable adults.
Former North Country Congressman David O'Brien
Martin passed away at the age of 68.
The O'Leary Funeral Home in Canton says Martin died last night at his
home in Hedgesville, West VA under the care of hospice. The cause of his death
was not released. Martin, who
served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1966 to 1970, served in the NY State
Assembly from 1977 to 1980. He was elected to Congress in 1980 and served until
1993 when he declined to run again.
Ways both easy and improbable were debated this
week to reduce a possible 26.8 percent tax-levy hike in Essex County. The proposed 2013 budget filed by
County Manager Daniel Palmer has a tax levy of $20.5 million, up 26.8 percent
from $16.2 million this year. The
state tax cap for Essex County would allow a 2.4 percent levy increase. The
county is preparing to pass a local law to override the cap if enough cuts
can’t be found. The county plans two public hearings on the budget one at 7 PM
Tuesday, November 26th and 6:30 PM on Monday December 10th, in the
Old County Courthouse. The next
Board of Supervisors budget session, which is open to the public, will be at 10
AM Thursday, November 29th.
The Village of Port Henry Office and all associated
departments will be closed on Thursday and Friday in observance of the
Thanksgiving Holiday. Also The
Middlebury Town Offices will be closed for Thanksgiving and Black Friday as
well.
Rutland City moved closer to becoming a solar city
after officials agreed Monday night to lease a portion of a former landfill to
Green Mountain Power for a 2-megawatt solar project. The Board of Alderman voted in favor of Mayor Christopher
Louras signing a $765,000 lease agreement for 25 years with GMP for the
property off of Gleason Road. The landfill project was named Stafford Hill
Solar Farm as a way to highlight the energy company’s connection to the
Stafford Technical Center and to honor Sen. Robert Stafford.
It looks like the state of Vermont will not meet
its goal of starting construction on a new psychiatric hospital in Berlin
before the end of this month. But
acting Mental Health Commissioner Mary Moulton and local officials in Berlin
say they think the project is still on track. The town Development Review Board put off a decision on the
project for at least two more weeks at a meeting Tuesday night. Officials say questions remain about
whether the state should contribute more toward redesigning an intersection and
what trees and shrubs will be used on the grounds of the new hospital.
Vermont's law enforcement community has a new tool
for seeking dangerous fugitives in the state. Since October 1st, the Vermont Violent Offender Task Force
has apprehended about 30 suspects for crimes as varied as a 2001 murder in
Florida to a series of sex crimes in Maryland. The task force is made up of about 10 deputy U.S. Marshals
working out of Rutland and Burlington, a state trooper and when the University
of Vermont is not in session, a UVM officer. Last week the task force apprehended Philip Barr in
Hardwick. He's charged with killing a 19-year-old woman in Florida. Deputy U.S.
Marshal John Curtis says the task force seeks to apprehend what he calls the
"worst of the worst," violent criminals and dangerous sex offenders.
Nova Bus has been awarded a new contract worth
roughly $50 million. The company
in Plattsburgh will deliver 70 buses to Texas. Congressman, Bill Owens says this is another positive sign
that the country is making progress toward long-term economic growth. 70 buses will be delivered to the
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, over the next year.
New York auditors say they uncovered 325,000 errors
and inconsistencies in prescriptions for painkillers and other commonly abused
drugs in a review of 28.5 million prescriptions dispensed over 15 months. The audit says the state Health
Department's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement has tightened processes but it
still faults poor controls over unused prescription forms and inconsistent
bureau inspection practices.
