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When specialist Cody Flanagan, a medic with the US Army 82^nd Airborne Division, arrived home on holiday leave last Sunday, a visit to Wilkins Harley-Davidson in Barre was high on his list of things to do. He’d been waiting since August to climb onto the seat of a shiny new Harley Sportster 48, the raffle prize from Gifford Medical Center’s Last Mile Ride, and annual fundraiser to support patients in advanced illness or at the end of life.

Photo caption: (left to right): Wilkins Harley-Davidson owner Barbara Wilkins; co-owner John Lyon, Tim Flanagan; Vermont Lt. Governor Phil Scott, Gifford Administrator Joe Woodin; front: Cody Flanagan

The Norwich University Alumni Association (NUAA) in conjunction with the Career Services Center honored Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center as a Norwich “Employer of Distinction” at an event at its Hanover campus on Thursday, December 18. Norwich President Richard W Schneider joined Chief Nursing Officer Gay Landstrom at a 9 am ceremony at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Fuller Boardroom.

“We recognize Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for not only providing Norwich alumni with opportunities to demonstrate the skills they learned at Norwich, but also for appreciating the values and ethics that Norwich alumni bring to the workplace,” Schneider said. “Of the many corporations Norwich’s Career Services Center works with, Dartmouth-Hitchcock has done an excellent job helping us prepare our students by providing information on the skills and competencies needed to succeed in the hiring process.”

A recent survey showed that “economic issues” are the top priority for House Democrats, ahead of education finance, and healthcare reform. In that light, Campaign for Vermont (CFV) today released a plan for economic prosperity. CFV urges the private sector to lead a broad-based coalition in support of economic growth.

“We believe that economic growth and shared prosperity is the best way forward for Vermont and its citizens. A vibrant economy is a prerequisite to addressing the issues of poverty, hunger, and upward mobility,” said Bruce Lisman, co-founder of CFV. “We believe that Vermont can be an economic powerhouse of its own definition.” CFV believes that their plan will attract business investment, create value-added jobs, and a bridge out of poverty for those seeking opportunity.

Pope Francis has appointed The Most Reverend Christopher James Coyne, until now Auxiliary Bishop of Indianapolis, as Tenth Bishop of Burlington. A Boston native, Bishop Coyne will formally be installed as pastor of Vermont’s 118,000 Catholics on Thursday, January 29, 2015, at 2 pm, with a Solemn Mass of Installation in Saint Joseph Co-Cathedral. The Pope’s ambassador to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, will be in attendance as the Holy Father’s personal representative.

“I am grateful to Pope Francis for his confidence in me in appointing me to Burlington. Personally, I could not be happier to be assigned here and look forward to returning to my native New England,” Bishop Coyne said.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org House Speaker Shap Smith is soliciting education finance reform proposals from the public. Education spending and financing reforms are top priorities for Smith this legislative session. Smith wants ideas from all-comers, and he is encouraging Vermonters to send him proposals.

“Vermonters value high quality public education, but the current delivery and funding systems have resulted in annual property tax increases that many Vermonters cannot afford,” Smith said. “We need to work together to solve this problem. That’s why I am inviting taxpayers, stakeholders and policy makers to add their voices to the conversation the House will undertake when we reconvene in January.”

by Bruce Lisman Affordability is a renewed slogan that has recently found its way into the vocabulary of Governor Shumlin and some members of the Legislature. Former Governor Douglas spoke often of it when combating the legislative impulse to regulate and tax Vermonters. Today, it’s being used as a euphemism for growing property taxes.

I believe the Administration and the Legislature can do more than re-consider how we pay for education. Now is the time to examine why it’s so expensive to live here, and what controllable costs go into that equation. All government mandates ought to be judged in part, by their added costs. So too, legislation even in support of the most popular policy measures should provide an accurate cost to families and employers. We expect our government to take a balanced approach to governance. So, let’s re-examine all existing programs to ensure the benefits outweigh the burden to pay for them.

Vermont Business Magazine New weekly unemployment claims in Vermont fell for the second week and back below 1,000. Claims had been very low during the summer, trending under 500, but have been high since early October. Levels this year had been running consistently lower than those of last year, but are now nearly the same. For the week of Deember 13, 2014, there were 867 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont. This is a decrease of 203 from the previous week's total, and the same as they were a year ago.

According to Mathew Barewicz, Economic & Labor Market Information Chief at the Vermont Department of Labor, the cause of the recent increase was predominately the result of "a seasonal transition."

Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Gurus call it a new flavor. Existing “Half Baked” fans, especially given the holiday season, may consider it more of a gift. To celebrate Half Baked’s decade and a half of success, and because everyone knows that the holidays can be a bit nutty, Ben & Jerry’s is proud to unveil Peanut Butter Half Baked! The newest version in the Half Baked family includes a tasty twosome of chocolate and peanut butter ice creams mixed with gobs of peanut butter cookie dough and fudge brownies. “‘Tis the season for togetherness,” said Flavor Guru Peter Lind, who saw the concept through to a fully baked idea, “so we thought why not be peanut buttery and chocolaty togetherness?”

Vermont’s Financial Literacy Task Force has released a report, “Vermont’s Financial Literacy Action Plan,” with recommendations aimed at strengthening Vermonters’ financial futures. The group has developed 13 actionable solutions that will lead to an increase in the financial wellbeing of citizens across the state. “When it comes to ‘money smarts,’ far too many Vermonters aren’t making the grade,” said Bob Allen, Windham Foundation president/CEO and task force chairman. “We have the opportunity to help lift our friends and neighbors out of financial turmoil. The time to take action is now.”

by John Herrick vtdigger.org Vermont’s neighbor to the west has banned hydraulic fracturing, a controversial oil and gas drilling technique also known as fracking, because of health concerns. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration announced the ban on Wednesday. The state’s top health official said in a news release it would be “reckless” to proceed without conducting more research on the extraction process.

During a news conference at the Route 106 North Market and Deli in North Springfield Friday, officials from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and members of the Hawks Mountain Ridge Riders (HMRR) showed off their new snowmobile trail groomer. A $77,000 USDA Rural Development Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) helped the club purchase the equipment to help the snowmobile club improve trail conditions in Southeastern Vermont.

"This new trail groomer will improve trail conditions which will increase the number of snowmobile trail users and lead to more business for the restaurants, bed and breakfasts, and stores like the Route 106 North Market and Deli along the trail network," said USDA Rural Development State Director Ted Brady. “The snowmobile industry is critically important to the vitality of Vermont’s small businesses and our rural communities.”

Two prominent Vermont conservation organizations recently teamed up with Green Mountain Power to go solar, lowering their energy bills and greening their electric energy footprint. This exciting collaboration will allow these organizations to power their offices with clean, local, renewable energy. The Vermont Natural Resources Council and the Vermont Land Trust, located in historic buildings across the street from each other in Montpelier, will now be generating the electricity they use from a set of solar trackers recently installed on Green Mountain Power property about a quarter of a mile from their offices.