WVTK Local & State News April 29, 2014

There is an informational meeting tonight on the Addison/Rutland Natural Gas Project. The meeting will take place at 7 PM at the Middlebury Municipal Gym. The focus of this meeting is to provide Middlebury landowners along the proposed route of the pipeline, as well as Middlebury residents, an opportunity to hear updated information, ask questions, express concerns and share any input they may have about the project with the Middlebury Selectboard.

Police investigating the shooting death of a man who served with the Vermont Army National Guard say a second person was involved. 44-year Kryn Miner of Essex Junction died Friday of a gunshot wound. No arrests have been made. Miner was with the guard during its 2010 deployment to Afghanistan.

The Vermont House is slated to take up one of the most talked-about bills of the current legislative session, one that would streamline the state's more than 270 school districts into 45 to 55 larger units. Even if the bill passes the House, it faces another challenge. With less than two weeks scheduled left in the legislative session, some lawmakers say there won't be time to get the measure through the Senate and then work out the differences between House and Senate versions.

Essex County is closer to approving alcohol at the state fair. Yesterday the County Board of Supervisors Ways & Means members approved its resolution to allow beer and wine sales. If approved next week, the beer tent will be build next to the grand stand.

Consider this a true sign of spring: State parks are beginning to open for the season. Wilgus State Park, located along the Connecticut River on Route 5 in Weathersfield opened for business yesterday. It's expected to be a busy season, despite a new fee increase. The director of Vermont State Parks says it's standard for the parks system to have a total of about 450-thousand overnight camper sites available over the summer each year. The next two parks to open up will be Jamaica and Grand Isle, available to the public starting May 9th.