WVTK Local & State News May 27, 2014

The Middlebury Selectboard will be discussing “Phase II” of the Addison Rutland Natural Gas Project. “Phase II” calls for the construction of a pipeline through Middlebury, Cornwall, and Shoreham, under Lake Champlain, and to the International Paper Mill in Ticonderoga. Residents in both Cornwall and Shoreham passed resolutions back in March opposing the “Phase II” project. Tonight the selectboard will discuss the project and potentially take a pro or con position. Tonight’s meeting starts at 7 o’clock in the Large Conference Room of the Town Offices.

The Vermont Committee on Child Protection will hold nine public hearings across the state next month on the State’s current system of child protection. The public is being urged to attend and present their experiences and observations. Each hearing will last about 90 minutes. The two closes meetings will take place next Tuesday at 6 PM at the Rutland High School Theater and next Thursday at 5:30 PM at the Ilsley Public Library’s Community Room.

Police are reminding dog owners about the dangers of leaving pets in hot cars. Police say they responded to hundreds of complaints last year. In two cases, officers had to smash windows to save dogs. South Burlington Animal Control Officer JoAnn Nichols has scheduled a public awareness event tomorrow afternoon from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the University Mall. Volunteers from the Humane Society of Chittenden County will be at the event to help spread the word about the dangers of leaving your dog in the car, even when it doesn't feel hot outside.

The Bristol Town Clerk will become the next Town Administrator. The selectboard has been looking for a new administrator for some time and choose to 47-year-old Therese Kirby to fill the position. Kirby had been the Town Clerk since 2006 and will take over as the Town Administrator on July 1st. She will be the first female Town Administrator in Bristol’s history.

A 28-foot whaling boat built by Vermont teenagers will be docked at Basin Harbor for a month before moving to Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. The boat will serve as an interactive exhibit on the Charles W. Morgan, a restored whale ship. Six students at the Hannaford Career Center in Middlebury worked on the project four days a week at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum before celebrating its completion last week.