WVTK Local & State News June 12, 2013

State Police have arrested one of the suspects of an armed robbery last night.  At approximately 7:30 last night a male suspected robbed the Wooden Barrel Country Store in Chittenden at knife point.  Investigators say the suspects are 34-year-old Scott A Hughes and Amber Flanders.  Several hours after the robbery, police tracked Hughes down to a motel room in Rutland City.  Hughes fled out a window and led police on a short foot chase before being apprehended.  After searching the room, police found money hidden in the toilet tank.  Hughes was later transported to the Marble Valley Correctional Center where he is being held on $200,000 bail.

Vermont's attorney general wants a taser training policy for police departments across the state.  The issue came up when a man died after being tasered by a state trooper.  Attorney General Bill Sorrell wants all police in Vermont to have the same training and to fill out a form each time they use their tasers.  He wants a draft of the plan in place by fall, with the final version in the hands of lawmakers when the session resumes next January.

The family of murder victim Pat O'Hagan is more frustrated than ever.  On Tuesday in Rutland federal court, a man linked to the grandmother's death was sentenced to 15 years in prison in a child porn case not related to the murder.  Prosecutors say Richard Fletcher is one of three people involved in the Sheffield murder in 2010, but none of the three have been charged with killing O'Hagan.  Her family says O'Hagan helped Fletcher at one point in his life, and they wanted him to get a much tougher punishment because of his likely role in her death.  Prosecutors say charges in the murder right now are unlikely.

Officials in Monkton are hoping to negotiate an agreement with Vermont Gas, which is seeking approval for a 40-mile pipeline project.  Monkton is on the route.  Recently, the town selectboard voted to reject a memorandum of understanding between the town and the company.  The selectboard has met several times to discuss a legal agreement with Vermont Gas that would offer the town’s support for the project.  It would provide hook-ups to a distribution line to provide gas service to about 100 potential customers in town. 

The Salisbury Development Review Board will hold a public hearing in the Salisbury Community School Gymnasium, next Wednesday night at 7 o’clock for the purpose of considering an application for a commercial compost operation.  The proposed compost plant site is on land owned by Ernest Goodrich at the Goodrich Farm.  IES, Integrated Energy Solutions would run the facility.  IES, is a Vermont-based developer of farm-based methane energy.

There's now an app for anglers in Vermont.  The state's Fish and Wildlife Department has a new app called "Code for B-T-V."   Using the map it provides, fishermen can find out exactly when the waters will be freshly stocked.    The state maintains raising fish in a hatchery and then releasing them can help boost dwindling fish populations.  The app was created during an open source "Hackathon"