This evening at 5:30 the Middlebury
Recreation Committee will meet in the Small Conference Room at the Town
Offices. You can get more by
visiting the Town Of Middlebury’s Website.
Yesterday Green Mountain
Power issued a request for proposals from companies interested in providing
detailed engineering and design services for the Stafford Hill Solar Farm,
which GMP hopes will be the largest solar farm in Vermont upon completion. The project, to be built on Rutland’s
former landfill behind the Stafford Technical Center, is part of Green Mountain
Power’s effort to make Rutland the solar capital of New England. GMP President and CEO Mary Powell said “The
project will also contribute to the larger statewide goal of producing 90
percent of our electricity from renewable sources by 2050.” Earlier this fall, GMP agreed with the
city on a 25-year lease on the former landfill, which is renewable for an
additional 25 years. Bids are due by 5 PM on January 11, 2013.
Last Thursday just after 2
PM Vermont State Police responded to a report of a burglary at 793 Route 116 in
Starksboro. The caretaker for the
residence saw a vehicle there and stopped to investigate. He and his wife
discovered two males inside the residence. The males fled north on Route 116 in a brown Subaru
wagon. The males were described as
late 20s to early 30s. One of the
men had blonde hair and blue eyes.
The other was described as having dark hair and dark eyes. Both were
short in stature. Anyone with
information regarding this crime are encouraged to contact the Vermont State
Police in New Haven at 802-388-4919, or submit an anonymous tip by texting
CRIMES to keyword VTIPS.
Vermont State Police are
currently investigating a burglary in Addison at the residence of Thomas
Turley. Mr. Turley's residence was burglarized on Tuesday sometime between 8AM
and 2PM. Stolen from his residence were several silver plates, a silver ladle,
and a small amount of jewelry. If
you have any information please contact the Vermont State Police in New Haven
at 802-388-4919 or Submit An Anonymous Tip: Text “CRIMES” (274637) to Keyword
VTIPS.
A 1913 car being donated
to the City of Rutland by Vermont Rail System looks like it’s headed for the
Vermont Farmers Food Center, home to the winter farmers market. The General Committee discussed how to
locate the car last week and the issue is expected to go before the full Board
of Aldermen next week. Rutland City
officials could not find a good spot outside the train station to locate the
antique rail car.
The Moriah Central School
Board will meet at 6 PM tomorrow in the High School library. This is a change from the original date
of December 18th. Items on the
agenda include personnel appointments, budget discussions and changes for 2013.
The meeting is open to the public.
The sound of construction
vehicles could be heard along the Ausable River yesterday in Upper Jay. Crews worked on clearing debris left
behind more than a year ago when Tropical Storm Irene came through and flooded
the river. Massive piles of trees,
trash and other items remain scattered along the area. It's something local leaders wanted to
pick up sooner but couldn't find the money to do it. Officials were able to get half-a-million dollars from New
York State. County leaders say the
grant money is a good start but they still need millions more to pick up all
the debris. The project is
expected to take six weeks to complete.
Although, it will take many more months and possibly years before the
rest is cleaned up.
Essex County leaders say
FEMA has approved to buy back homes ruined by Tropical Storm Irene. 26 properties
that applied for the program have the green light. At least 50% of the house had to be destroyed and had to be
in the flood plain to be considered.
Local leaders say with the unpredictability of the Ausable River, it's
something that had to be done. The
properties will now be appraised to see how much money homeowners will get. Once a deal goes through the government
owns the land and nothing can be built on it again.
The tentative 2013 Essex
County Budget was passed adopting a spending plan that represented a
1.13-percent increase to the tax levy.
The tentative budget was passed during a special county board meeting on
Monday, with the average tax rate expected to increase five cents up to $2.40
per $1,000 of assessed property value.
The budget calls for $95,000,115 in spending. County Manager Dan Palmer said the tax levy was decreased
from 2.68 percent to 1.13 percent when charge-backs from the towns were added
into the budget.
Police have arrested 29
people in connection with thefts and under-age drinking at a summer residence
in Crown Point. According to State
Police an October investigation of a burglary led to a seasonal camp that was
used for four separate parties allegedly involving under-age drinking. Some of the defendants who were of
legal drinking age allegedly provided the younger, under-age participants with
alcohol. The parties were held on
the nights of September 21st, 28th and 29th and October 5th. Those who are age 16 and older were
charged as adults. Additional arrests and charges are possible as the
investigation continues.
Attracting a business to
the Moriah Business Park will be a top priority for the Moriah town board in
2013. The Moriah Business Park is
a 32-acre park, owned and managed by the Essex County Industrial Development
Agency. It is currently home to a 22,000 square foot spec building occupied by
Pre-Tech Plastics of Vermont and High Peaks Hospice. The Moriah Health Center
is also located at the park in a separate building. The IDA will work with
Moriah officials to attract business to the park.
The Lake George Land
Conservancy is selling an 8-acre plot with 350 feet of lakeshore in the town of
Putnam. The sale is part of the
conservancy’s efforts to protect land along the lake. The asking price for the lot is $494,990. The land is
located on the north side of Warrick Road and is within walking distance of
nearly 900 acres of preserved land including Anthony’s Nose, the Last Great
Shoreline and Gull Bay Preserve. More
than 99 species of birds inhabit the land with Bald Eagles and Peregrine
Falcons nesting on the cliffs of Record Hill, according to the LGLC. The Lake
George Land Conservancy will not receive a commission on the sale. Contact Nancy
Williams at the Lake George Land Conservancy for more information at PO Box
1250, Bolton Landing 12814 or by calling 644-9673.
Two southern development
organizations are getting $470,000 to boost long-term recovery efforts
following last year's Tropical Storm Irene. The state's congressional delegation says the Windham
Regional Commission and the Bennington County Regional Commission will use the
funds to work with businesses and encourage public and private approaches to
promote job creation. Sens.
Patrick Leahy and Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch say the money
will speed the recovery of many southern Vermont communities still recovering
from Irene.
Vermont's Jay Peak Resort
is seeking to build a barn to hold weddings and other special events. The 3,600-square-foot barn would be
located near the first hole of the golf course and the clubhouse. The clubhouse contains wedding party
suites that have been in use in conjunction with a large tent to host outdoor
weddings and other events. The
Caledonian-Record reports a local environmental commission would need to
approve the project.
New York and six other
states say they plan to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over
methane emissions from oil and gas drilling. Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman claims in a release yesterday
that the EPA is violating the Clean Air Act by failing to address the
emissions. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. Other major sources come from
landfills and livestock. Howard
Feldman, a spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute, says the lawsuit
"makes no sense" since EPA has already passed rules on methane
emissions. Federal climate
researchers say they haven't yet seen signs that increased drilling is
affecting global methane levels, but they're worried about the threat. Schneiderman says Connecticut,
Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont joined in sending
a required 60-day notice to EPA.
The deputy commissioner of
Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation is going to become the
deputy secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources. The appointment of Justin Johnson was announced Tuesday by
ANR Secretary Deb Markowitz. Johnson
has 18-years of experience in local, state and federal government in both the
United States and Australia. Johnson's
first job in Vermont state government was as a marketing specialist with the
Agency of Agriculture.
For the sixth year in a
row, Vermont has been ranked as the healthiest state in the country. Gov. Peter Shumlin and Health
Commissioner Dr. Harry Chen say the state did well in categories including low
incidence of low-birth-weight babies, low violent crime rate, and low
infectious disease rates as keys to Vermont's success. Vermont's obesity rate is growing, but
not as fast as those in most other states. Among the state's challenges: a relatively high rate of
binge drinking and a higher rate of deaths from cancer than many other states. The United Health Foundation does the
rankings.
Vermont State Police are
asking for the public’s help in solving thefts in Ripton and Weybridge. In Ripton, police were called to a home
on Lincoln Road where the owner reported about $1,400 worth of scrap metal and
automotive batteries had been stolen at some point during the last month. In Weybridge, police were called Monday
to a home on Morgan Horse Farm Road where about $1,000 worth of jewelry was
reported stolen. Anyone with
information about the crimes is asked contact the New Haven State Police
Barracks at 802-388-4919.
Average gasoline prices in
Vermont fell 4.1 cents a gallon in the past week, averaging $3.59 a gallon,
according to VermontGasPrices.com. But that’s still 25 cents a gallon higher
than the national average of $3.34 a gallon. The national average price fell 4.8 cents a gallon in the
last week. The average price
in Vermont on Sunday was 12.3 cents a gallon lower than a month ago but 20.9
cents a gallon higher than the same day a year ago.
A Vermont man wanted on
escape charges from the Department of Corrections is back in custody. The U.S.
Marshals Service says Jason Cannon was arrested yesterday in his hometown of
Winooski. Cannon was charged with escape last month after he removed his
monitoring bracelet. Cannon is also a suspect in several Chittenden County
burglaries.
Santa's sled for some New
Jersey victims of Superstorm Sandy is a Vermont tow truck. Matt Norton of Richmond owns Anytime
Towing, and he'd collecting items like toys, appliances and winter clothes,
which he'll be taking down to the stricken area. It's all going to a group there called Jersey Shore Santa,
and he'll make the trip shortly before Christmas Eve. Donations can be dropped at Anytime Towing on River Road in
Richmond, Nate's Auto in Essex, or City Tire in Williston.
There are reports of a
tentative labor agreement at Brattleboro Retreat. The deal between the union representing about 500 of workers
at the non-profit mental health and addictions hospital was reached after a
marathon bargaining session, which began on Monday and went well into
Tuesday. This is according to the
Brattleboro Reformer, which says before the talks started both sides were far
apart on staffing, health insurance, pay scales and retirement. Workers will vote on the proposed deal,
and contract details are expected to be released then.
The six people convicted
of trespassing in their efforts to halt construction of the wind project in
Lowell are sentenced to community service. The Lowell Six, as they're called, are being ordered to each
serve 25 hours for their actions nearly a year ago, but the group says the
battle is far from over. All six
people are appealing their convictions as well as what they call misconceptions
of green energy and the project being built by Green Mountain Power.
Governor Andrew Cuomo
announced yesterday that there are currently over 74-thousand jobs openings
available. They are listed on Jobs
Express, a website that is designed to help New Yorkers who are seeking
employment. The site has help find
59-thousand individuals work since it launched back in October of last
year. You can visit Job Express at
Labor.NY.gov under jobs.
There will be a world
record set in Albany in the 12th month on this 12th day in the year 2012. It’s the largest group of people
singing jingle bells while ringing jingle bells. The event, which is taking place right now (Noon), will have
appearances from Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings and of course a visit from Santa
Clause is scheduled. The world
record that will be set today will be registered with recordsetter.com.
Soon there will be more
help for people struggling to pay college loans. Students are graduating with more debt. Last year on average
it was nearly $27,000. The federal
program called "Pay As You Earn "really helps people who either
graduate without a job or think they'll end up in a career that doesn't pay
well. On December 21st, the
program is changing and could make it easier for people to pay off their loans.
"I think this will actually be a tremendous improvement particularly for
borrowers who are struggling in the current economy," says Scott Giles,
VSAC Vice President. Giles says he
helped draft the program's new rules.
Right now for people who qualify their monthly loan payment is capped at
15-percent of their spending money.
That will soon drop to just 10-percent. Also now people can have their loan wiped out after 25-years
no matter how much they owe. That
will be reduced to 20-years. "This
plan I really think will help millions of people across the country make their
payments," says Giles. One of
those people could be UVM sophomore Nick Kuvalanka. "Pretty concerned. It's an expensive school and paying
a lot to go here," says Kuvalanka.
Kuvalanka says his environmental studies major will leave him with tens
of thousands of dollars in college loans, which could be hard to pay back. "Especially with my major, I'm not
sure if I'll end up a place that will pay me much," says Kuvalanka. VSAC really encourages people to check
out all the options. Especially
because if you land a better job and you make too much to be in the program,
you'll be kicked out and owe potentially even more money.
