Current News

On Tuesday, October 18, 2011 the 34th Annual Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Northern Vermont’s (HBRANV) Better Homes Award Banquet was held at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference in Burlington. Over 375 people involved in the homebuilding business attend this year’s banquet. This banquet, known as the ‘Academy Awards’ for the Home Building Industry, highlights builders for projects that they submit to the program.
The Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Northern VT 2011 Better Homes Award Winners
Scroll down the page to view the full list.

Online advertised vacancies gained 500 in Vermont but dipped slightly nationwide by 13,600 in October to 3,933,400, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine (HWOL) Data Series released today. The October drop follows a decline of 44,000 in September and a decrease of 164,000 in August. The Supply/Demand rate stands at 3.54, indicating there were 3.5 unemployed for every online advertised vacancy in September, the latest monthly data available for unemployment.

On October 31, 2011 the Central Vermont Public Service Corporation (NYSE: CV) Board of Directors approved the following resolution. RESOLVED: That out of the reserved and unrestricted retained earnings of the Company quarterly dividends on the Preferred Stock, $100 Par Value, of $1.03 per share on the 4.15% Dividend Series, $1.16 per share on the 4.65% Dividend Series, $1.19 per share on the 4.75% Dividend Series, and $1.34375 per share on the 5.375% Dividend Series, are hereby declared payable January 1, 2012 to stockholders of record at the close of business December 22, 2011.
RUTLAND, VT--(Marketwire - October 31, 2011) -CVPS

Bill Stenger, President and Chief Operating Officer at Jay Peak Resort, has been selected as the 2011 Citizen of the Year by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. Stenger’s achievements will be toasted at a gala event on December 9, in coordination with the sneak preview of Jay Peak’s nationally acclaimed 50,000 square-foot Pump House indoor water park.
The prestigious Citizen of the Year Award, now in its 48th year, highlights the work of a Vermonter who has bettered the state through self-sacrifice, service and volunteerism.
‘I am delighted to accept the Vermont Chamber Citizen of the Year award. The timing could not be better as family, friends, and colleagues come together to celebrate the Pump House, a new dimension in the creation of a four-season, destination resort at Jay Peak,’ Stenger noted.

The early season snowstorm that has knocked out power to 1.5 million customers in the Northeast, caused more than 6,300 CVPS customer outages in Windham County Saturday night. As of 9 am Monday morning, only 11 customers statewide were still without power.
Heavy wet snow that started falling Saturday afternoon in southern Vermont brought down trees, tree limbs and power lines. Brattleboro and surrounding towns were hit hardest tonight. Multiple trees and limbs started coming down just outside of the downtown Brattleboro substation around 5 pm. No broken poles were reported, but the heavy wet snow also knocked out a transmission line in National Grid service territory around 8:30 pm, affecting about 1,000 CVPS customers. Many large distribution lines in Brattleboro were downed by trees and tree limbs. About 500 customers in Wardsboro and Dummerston are also without power.

Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott and Secretary of Commerce and Community Development Lawrence Miller, who have been leading a task force to organize coordinated and affordable removal of flood-damaged mobile homes from mobile home parks, announced a work plan for that project, as well as some unexpected good news: thanks to successful fundraising, the cost to each individual homeowner will be less than anticipated.

The Vermont Irene Flood Relief Fund is awarding $86,500 this week in new grants to 48 small business impacted by flooding. To date, the Fund has granted $289,000 to 167 businesses located in 10 of Vermont’s 14 counties. The Fund has received 239 requests for assistance, with applicants estimating losses totaling in excess of $25 million ‘ with insurance covering only an estimated 20% of the damage.

Vermont Transportation Secretary Brian Searles today joined officials from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray; Congressman John Olver; and MassDOT Secretary Richard A. Davey; and US Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo in Greenfield, MA, for the groundbreaking ceremony to kick-off reconstruction of the Pan Am Southern’s rail line between East Northfield and Springfield, Massachusetts.
The ‘Knowledge Corridor’ project, so-called because of the number of colleges and universities in proximity to the rail line, will serve as the operating track for the Massachusetts segment of Amtrak’s Vermonter passenger train when construction is completed in 2013.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, the Vermont Occupational Safety and Health staff members were directed and authorized to operate in an ‘advisory capacity’ to assist and facilitate with clean-up and recovery across the State. This included answering questions for employers and workers, and following up with employers that may have been working unsafely. Many health and safety hazards were, and continue to be, present in the clean-up and recovery work. The Department’s goal was to help recovery efforts to proceed in a safe manner, avoiding accidents or injuries during the work. During the time from the date of the storm until today, VOSHA did not conduct enforcement inspections of storm-related activities, but rather, worked with the affected groups to minimize hazards and risks.

Over the last several months, Saint Michael's College has named four new members to its governing board of trustees and has announced a new board chairman.
William Gallagher, CEO of Atlantic Data Services of Quincy, MA, is the new board chair. Gallagher and his wife Penelope are the parents of 1999 Saint Michael's College graduate, Becky, and her husband Thomas Fontana who is also a 1999 graduate.
New members of the board are the following:
Dr. Sultan Ahamed, president and chairman of the board of Connecticut Medical Insurance of Glastonbury, and senior attending surgeon of William Backus Hospital of Norwich, Conn.
Rev. Michael Jacques, SSE, pastor St. Peter Claver Church, New Orleans, La.
Rev. Richard Myhalyk, SSE, executive director of the Edmundite Southern Missions, Selma, Ala.

The Vermont Department of Labor announced today the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for September 2011 was 5.8 percent, a decrease of one-tenth of a percent from the August rate. Compared to a year ago, the rate is lower by one-tenth of a percentage point. The Vermont unemployment rate continues to be well below the national rate. In September 2011, the seasonally-adjusted national unemployment rate was 9.1 percent. The United States has held steady at this rate for the last three months.

Vermont Business Magazine Merchants Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank, announced that its Board of Directors declared today, April 17, 2014, a dividend of 28 cents per share, payable May 15, 2014, to shareholders of record as of May 1, 2014. This quarter represents our 70th consecutive quarterly dividend payment and our 34th consecutive quarter at the current payout level.