Vermont News Headlines

Vermont Newspaper Headlines

RutlandHerald.com: Vermont News

Cate quits as state education leader
MONTPELIER -- Citing an uncertain future for his position, Education Commissioner Richard Cate announced his resignation Friday. ... - By SARAH HINCKLEY Times Argus Staff

Vt. Guard may be sent to Afghanistan
COLCHESTER -- Nearly 2,000 members of the Vermont Army National Guard could be deployed to Afghanistan in early 2010, the head of the force said Friday. ... - By LOUIS PORTER Vermont Press Bureau

Smith to step down from state post
MONTPELIER -- Secretary of Administration Michael Smith and acting Commissioner of Health Sharon Moffat will leave the Douglas administration. ... - By LOUIS PORTER Vermont Press Bureau

Testimony begins in student death trial
RUTLAND -- A dead cell phone, a missed connection with friends, a chance encounter with a seemingly helpful stranger. ... - By JOHN CURRAN The Associated Press

Farm bill will benefit Vermont, lawmakers say
A bill that could mean millions of dollars to Vermont dairy farmers passed the House and Senate this week, and now heads to the White House where it faces a possible veto by President Bush. ... - By SUSAN ALLEN Times Argus Editor

RutlandHerald.com: Southern Vermont News

Nicole's Walk helps wishes come true
SPRINGFIELD -- Richard Labrecque has turned heartbreak into joy. For the past seven years, Labrecque has sponsored and organized a fundraising walk to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation, all in memory of his 3-year-old daughter Nicole, who died in 1991 from a rare form of liver cancer. Nicole Labrecque died only days after returning from a visit to Walt Disney World, her own Make-A-Wish trip. She died from complications from chemotherapy. Her wish was to meet Mickey Mouse, her father said. The seventh annual Nicole's Walk for Make-A-Wish will be held Sunday at the Toonerville Trail in Springfield. So far, the annual walk has raised more than $85,000 for Make-A-Wish, and Labrecque hopes to break the $100,000 mark this weekend. The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. The fundraiser is a community event, with businesses and individuals donating everything from soup to nuts (actually tents to hamburgers and hotdogs) to accommodate and feed the hungry walkers. In addition to refreshments, there is music and face painting, he said. "Fifteen to 20 families donate baked goods. All the food is donated and drinks are donated," he said, from area convenience stores and their suppliers. This year, because of the construction project at The Paddock Road Bridge, which the Toonerville Trail crosses, the walk will be shortened, and won't go all the way to the Connecticut River, shortening the usual length of the walk from 6.2 miles down to about 3.5 miles, Labrecque said. The trail start is located between the Robert S. Jones Industrial Center and the Nortrax building on Clinton Street, with plenty of parking. Each walker, who pledges a certain amount for the walk, receives a purple T-shirt with this year's design winners coming from the same Grade 2 classroom at Union Street School. Purple was Nicole's favorite color, he said. Labrecque said that he worked with the art teachers in area schools, and the two winning designs both came from the same classroom. The design winners are Connor Towsley and Kathleen Dykes, Labrecque said. The two winners will receive a purple sweatshirt with their design on the front, he said. He said he selected Connor and Kathleen's drawings because they best conveyed the spirit of the walk. He said the designs feature "stick people or triangle people, with a dog on a leash, walking as a group, with Mom and Dad. They get the whole thing that's happening," he said. "It always seems to be the simple ones. The simple drawings make a statement." Labrecque said people can walk as much or as little as they want, and participants aren't limited to walking. They can bicycle or rollerblade as much as they want, he said. The walk begins at 9:30 a.m., and registration starts at 8:30 a.m. A donation of $10 would be appreciated from those joining the walk on the day of, with a $5 donation for children under the age of 12. Children under five are free. Donations can also be sent directly to Connecticut River Bank, 270 River St., Springfield. For more information, contact Labrecque at 885-5130. Contact Susan Smallheer at susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com. ... - By SUSAN SMALLHEER Herald Staff

Outlook brighter for park project
BENNINGTON -- The Select Board has moved toward contributing as much as $10,000 to the Norshaft Lions Community Park. A group of community leaders and students came to a Select Board meeting at the end of April to request funds to renovate the Houghton Lane park owned by the village of North Bennington. Bennington Town Manager Stuart Hurd was asked to look at the town's budget to let the Select Board know what funds were available. On Monday, Hurd told the board that with the end of the fiscal year about six weeks away, Bennington's budget had about $31,000 that could be spent. Almost two thirds of that is from a contingency fund, while the rest was budgeted for hiring consultants. Select Board Chairwoman Lodie Colvin said she would be comfortable giving the park project $10,000 from the current year's budget. Selectman Jason Morrissey, who lives in North Bennington, made several counter suggestions. Morrissey said he was reluctant to take more than half of what was in the contingency fund and suggested the board give $3,000 or $4,000 instead. In the current fiscal year budget, the Select Board added an appropriation of $50,000 for renovation of the Leonard J. Black Memorial Park in Bennington. When creating the budget for the fiscal year that will begin in July, the appropriation was taken from the budget and added as a separate item to March's town meeting ballot. That ballot item was defeated, which has cast doubts on the future of plans to develop the Black Park. There were suggestions at the April meeting of the Bennington Select Board that the $50,000 already in the budget could be turned over for use at the North Bennington park. However, Hurd said the $50,000 was in a protected fund and couldn't be spent without permission from Bennington voters. Morrissey said he still believes the $50,000 is a "natural source" for funding of the Norshaft Lions Community Park and suggested bringing the question to voters. He said he was confident the voters would allow the Select Board to move the money to a general recreation fund, which would allow the board to distribute it as they saw fit. Selectman Joseph Krawczyk Jr. said he was eager to support the North Bennington park and send a positive message about their proactive efforts. "They didn't wait for somebody to do something," he said. "They grabbed the bull by the horns. They are moving." The Select Board will formalize its donation plans in a few weeks when the end of the fiscal year is closer, just in case a last-minute emergency surfaces, Hurd said. The grass-roots group, which is working to raise money for park renovations, estimated they would need about $200,000 to achieve a number of goals. These include replacing an outdated concession stand and playground equipment, improving an existing baseball field to Little League standards and building a bandstand. About $110,000 in pledges and donated labor has already been gathered. Jaime Johnson, a trustee for the village of North Bennington, said the group hopes to pour asphalt this year so skateboarders can use the park. Johnson said Friday he was encouraged by the response from the people who had seen April's presentation to the Select Board when it was broadcast on local cable channel Catamount Access Television. Those who would like to contribute to the park can visit the Vermont Arts Exchange's Sage Street Mill tonight at 7 p.m. for the Spring Fling Dance Party. The event, complete with food and a cash bar, a disc jockey and dancing and a silent auction and raffles, will benefit the park and the arts exchange. Admission is $15. Contributions for the park can also be sent to the Norshaft Lions Community Park Fund, P.O. Box 101, North Bennington, VT 05257. Contact Patrick McArdle at patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com. ... - By PATRICK McARDLE Herald Staff

Woman retracts cemetery objection
HARTLAND -- Less than a week before a probate court judge is scheduled to rule on the case, a Colorado woman has withdrawn her objection to the relocation of her ancestors' remains from a private cemetery, leaving others who are opposed disappointed and leaving the case up in the air. On Wednesday, Marcia Neal, of Grand Junction, Colo., signed a contract between herself and Springfield resident J. Michel Guite. Neal agreed to withdraw her objection to Guite's petition to relocate the remains of Neal's relatives -- Noah, Louise and Martha Aldrich. Guite wants to purchase the 150-acre South Meadow Farm in Hartland. The farm contains a small private cemetery -- only 41 feet by 27 feet -- and Guite has a contract to buy the farm on the condition that the remains buried in the cemetery can be relocated to either another place on the property or to another cemetery in Hartland. Neal initially objected to Guite's petition, as did New Hampshire resident Jerome King, a former resident of the farm who buried his parent's ashes in the cemetery in 1983. Under state law, the spouse, sibling, parent or child of the deceased can object to a petition to relocate a grave. On Feb. 14 in Woodstock Probate Court, Judge Joanne M. Ertel broadly interpreted the law and granted interested party status to both Neal and King, which gave them standing to object. On Tuesday, Ertel will give a ruling on the dispute. However, with less than a week to go before that ruling, Guite and Neal have reached an agreement that will give Guite permission to relocate Neal's ancestors' remains. The agreement gives Neal one year to come to the farm and choose another burial plot for her ancestors' remains. Neal said the temporary disturbance of the remains would help to preserve them in the long run. "Nobody has been taking care of the cemetery and I have no assurance that anybody will," Neal said. "It's better to move it to preserve it than to leave it where it is." Guite stated that he will pay to have professional archeologists come and move the remains and will erect new stones, a fence and benches. Neal's decision to withdraw her objection has disappointed others interested in the dispute. "I'm a bit disappointed," King said. "But, she's not here and she's never seen the cemetery and most likely will never see it and it's probably not that important to her." "I think it's unfortunate that she has chosen this route," said Tom Giffin, president of the Vermont Old Cemetery Association. "I would have hoped that she had respected her ancestors' wishes to remain buried." Neal said it was VOCA's involvement in the dispute that prompted her recent reversal. She said she had recently read a newspaper story describing VOCA members' visit to the cemetery. "Perhaps it's my Colorado background, but the rights of private property owners are important," Neal said. "It's really made me understand this Vermont State law where people can go on your property whenever they want." Guite has repeatedly said that his chief concern about the cemetery is the rights of strangers to enter the property to pay their respects. Giffin said that Neal's decision to withdraw her objection has let down other Aldrich descendants. "If she didn't want to follow through she should have let other Aldrichs do it," Giffin said. On April 1, Judge Ertel wrote a letter to Connecticut attorney Robert O'Brien, who claimed to represent Aldrich descendents living in Massachusetts and Connecticut and were opposed to the cemetery relocation. "Without more information, the court is unable to discern whether the Aldrich family descendants to whom you refer have standing in the matter," Judge Ertel wrote to O'Brien. "At this point, the interest of the Aldrich family is represented by Marcia Neal who appears to be a direct descendant of Noah and Lydia Aldrich." One of the many questions that might be addressed on Tuesday is whether Ertel will grant status to O'Brien's clients now that Neal has withdrawn her objection. "I'm sorry there's this feeling that I was their champion and I let them down," Neal said. "My interest was always the Aldrichs. It was never the Kings or VOCA." Guite said that with an agreement with Neal in place he is now moving forward with the purchase of the farm and will meet with an architect in June to begin designs for a farm similar to those found in Vermont in the 19th century. "Nobody else has ever objected to a small cemetery with a few stones," said Muriel King, wife of Jerome King. "He claims to be interested in history but he wants to erase history and start at year zero." Contact Josh O'Gorman at josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com. ... - By JOSH O'GORMAN Herald Staff

Manchester continues Loyalty Day Parade tradition Sunday
MANCHESTER -- The Loyalty Day Parade on Sunday will continue the local tradition of recognizing the contributions of veterans, according to organizer Bill West. "It's a positive community event that thanks the veterans for their sacrifices," West said Friday. The parade will begin at 1 p.m. at Manchester Elementary-Middle School. The parade route will be down Main Street to the intersection of Routes 1-1/30 and 7A known as "Malfunction Junction," then down Depot Street to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 280, where the reviewing stand will be based. West said there are about 30 different parade entrants this year, including three bands, the Berkshire Highlanders from Pittsfield, Mass., a band from the Cambridge, N.Y., Central School and the Stateline Band from Poultney. "There will be several local business participating and, of course, the veterans who are what the parade is all about," West said. The two grand marshals of the parade will be two charter members of VFW Post 280 and World War II veterans, Arthur "Dee" Kilburn and John Balch. West said invitations have been made and he hopes the parade will see participation from veterans who have served during various eras. The Loyalty Day Parade is one of Manchester's oldest traditions, dating back to 1951. Although it was dropped in the 1970s, it was revived about 10 or 15 years later by Manchester Town Clerk Linda Spence in the late 1980s. "When I was a child, I marched in the Loyalty Day Parade," West said. "I think it's an important tradition, a positive one, and one we should keep going." Unfortunately, like many other Vermont parades, the Loyalty Day Parade is also part of a more troubling tradition: outdoor events haunted by less than ideal weather. According to the National Weather Service, there is a 40 percent chance of showers Sunday, which is expected to be a cloudy day with a high temperature of less than 60 degrees. West said the parade will take place regardless of weather conditions. But he pointed out that while last year's parade was on a drizzly day, the rain stopped just before the parade and started again just after it ended. Spectators can see the parade from many spots, but West recommended the reviewing stand at the VFW because the bands will be giving special performances there. Contact Patrick McArdle at patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com. ... - By PATRICK McARDLE Herald Staff

Police call death 'supected suicide'
BELLOWS FALLS -- Police termed the death of a man found unconscious in his car Friday morning with the engine idling a "suspected suicide." Shortly after 8 a.m., Vermont State Police received a 911 call from the residence of Clifford Lee Jones Sr., 46, on Hall Bridge Road. Police said the caller had arrived at Jones' home and had found him unconscious in his car with the engine idling. Jones was taken to Springfield Hospital by Golden Cross Ambulance and later pronounced dead, police said. Police said a handwritten note was found at the scene. Nothing at the scene appeared suspicious and an autopsy has been ordered, police said. Police said as part of the investigation they learned that Jones was arraigned earlier this week on sexual assault charges. According to court records, Jones pleaded innocent Tuesday in Brattleboro District Court to sexual assault and sexual abuse of a vulnerable adult. He was released on conditions without having to post bail. ...

RutlandHerald.com: Rutland County News

Forest Park: Changing its face and image
Kevin Loso wants people to stop thinking about Forest Park as it is now and start thinking about what it could be. ... - By BRENT CURTIS Herald Staff

Embattled Cortina Inn re-opens
MENDON -- The Cortina Inn partially reopened Friday, a month and a half after state officials ordered the hotel closed due to the presence of Legionella bacteria in the water supply. ... - By BRENT CURTIS Herald Staff

Green machine
Kenny McNeill, an eighth-grade student at Rutland Town School, sat in the first hybrid utility bucket truck in New England and looked ahead. ... - By KAYLA TOHER Herald Correspondent

Murder suspect ill; trial on hold
The second day of testimony in the trial of a man accused of killing a University of Vermont student was postponed Friday because he was ill. ... - By LISA RATHKE The Associated Press

Man denies triple assault
A Castleton man pleaded innocent to allegedly assaulting one woman, before assaulting two more in an attempt to flee from police. ... - By SARA-MEGAN WALSH Herald Staff

Addison County Independent - Covering the 23 towns of Addison County, Vermont

Magic transcends borders as Lincoln couple bring smiles to refugees in Iran

By CYRUS LEVESQUE

LINCOLN ? Even in the middle of a refugee camp in Iran near the border with Iraq, Tom Verner of Lincoln almost felt at home. ?We just felt so warmly welcomed by the Iranian people,? Verner said.

Verner and his wife, Janet Fredericks, last month visited a dozen refugee camps and settlements in Iran with a delegation from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. While most of the group brought supplies or medical care to refugees displaced from their homelands by years or even decades of war, Verner and Fredericks came to entertain refugees with magic tricks and sleight of hand in performances for children.

Verner and Fredericks founded the group Magicians Without Borders in 2001, and have given shows in refugee camps, orphanages, schools and hospitals around the world, from India to Kosovo to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

To some, the idea of entertaining refugees seems to miss the point that the audience is in need of basic necessities like clean water and a roof over their heads. Verner said that one doctor on the April trip couldn?t understand the goal of Magicians Without Borders.

?I have a feeling he was ? only thinking of these folks as bodies,? Verner said. ?They also need hope and laughter.?

For many in Verner?s and Fredericks? audiences, the camp or settlement was the only home they had known. Verner said that in some of the camps they visited, almost all the refugees were from Iraq and in others most refugees were originally from Afghanistan. And while many of those refugees were displaced by the current conflicts, Verner said that many others hadn?t seen their homes since the 1980s, when they were driven from them by the Iran-Iraq War or the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Middlebury to decide on local option taxes on Tuesday

By JOHN FLOWERS

MIDDLEBURY ? Middlebury residents on Tuesday, May 20, will be asked to approve local option taxes of 1 percent on sales, rooms, meals and alcohol as a means of generating revenues for a new, in-town bridge that would span the Otter Creek at Cross Street.

Middlebury officials are banking on the local option taxes to finance $7 million of the $16 million bridge project, which would link Main Street with Court Street as a means of reducing gridlock in the downtown. Middlebury College has agreed to bankroll $9 million of the project, through annual donations of $600,000 during what will be a 30-year bonding period.

It was on Town Meeting Day that local residents authorized bonding for the project and supported a charter change that would enable Middlebury to consider local option taxes. Tuesday?s referendum will allow residents to decide whether they want to now follow through and implement local option taxes for the next 30 years.

?My clear concern right now is that we get a good turnout,? said Middlebury selectboard Chairman John Tenny.

He added that after many months of planning and debating, town officials are now looking for residents to become ?bridge builders.?

Local option taxes will be key if there is to be any bridge building because selectmen don?t want to lean on Middlebury?s already-hefty property tax as a means of financing the new span, which could open to traffic as soon as 2010. Selectmen have reasoned that local option taxes would be a reasonable vehicle for financing, as they would be borne ? in great part ? by non-residents who would use the new span and already use other Middlebury roads and bridges.

?Local option taxes give us the ability to fund and build a bridge without local property taxes and involve a larger surrounding community to pay for a project that helps that larger community,? Tenny said.

Despite national housing slow down, Connor Homes is booming

By JOHN FLOWERS

MIDDLEBURY ? National slump in the housing market?

Don?t expect to get that story from Connor Homes, a Middlebury-based manufacturer of colonial reproduction ?kit? homes that has seen its sales triple during the past year.

?We are building something different here,? said Michael Connor, founder and CEO of Connor Homes. ?Our little company in Middlebury, Vermont, I think is making a statement about how people ought to think about building their houses across the country.?

Connor said that pre-building homes in a controlled setting offers a process that is often more efficient and cost-effective than building from scratch on the site, and that his process can end up costing a client 20-percent less than the same home built conventionally.

In early 2007, Connor Homes was pre-constructing two or three houses per month in a rented, 14,000-square-foot headquarters on Exchange Street, houses that were then assembled on building sites throughout the country.

A year later, the company is now firmly settled in the former home of Standard Register on Route 7 South, a 115,000-square-foot building in which Connor Homes expects to crank out seven homes during this month alone.

The company?s workforce numbered 23 in 2007. It has mushroomed to 64 workers today, with more hires anticipated during the coming months.

?We have a waitlist of talented people,? Connor Homes Chief Operating Officer Holly Kelton said of the many carpenters, architects and other building specialists that have submitted resumes.

Memorial Day Hours & Deadlines

Students seek update of college sexual assault policy

By MEGAN JAMES

MIDDLEBURY ? A group of Middlebury College students hoping to overhaul the college?s nearly 20-year-old sexual assault policy is finding the administration is also ready for change.

Junior Aki Ito has been working with students, faculty and administrators drawing up a proposal to update the school?s policy, pushing for more preventative approaches to sexual violence and a more extensive support system for students who have experienced it.

?When you look at the handbook, it talks about what sexual assault is at Middlebury and how you can decide to proceed with a judicial proceeding, but it doesn?t talk about what that specifically entails,? Ito said. ?What we want is every single step mapped out. We want a document that says if you?re sexually assaulted, these are the things you want to do, and then list every single thing that?s going to happen.?

But Ito and her team want more than a chapter in the college handbook.

They are proposing everything from mandatory attendance to a freshman orientation show that looks at dating, sex and rape on college campuses, to implementing a system to anonymously report sexual assaults, to hiring a response team that would handle every aspect of a victim?s recovery, including counseling and gathering evidence, should that person choose to press charges.

They are modeling their proposal after programs and policies they?ve found at other colleges, particularly Bowdoin College and Lewis and Clark College.

Last year the college?s Department of Public Safety received two reports of forcible sex offenses and the year before it received four. But students say many more incidents go unreported. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, less than 5 percent of college student rapes are reported to authorities.

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