Current News

Vermont State Police On Monday, at approximately 1915 hours, Troopers with the Vermont State Police Westminster Barracks conducted a traffic stop for speeding on I-91, near mile marker 6 in Guilford, VT. During the stop, Troopers determined that the operator, later identified as Nathaniel Jones, 35 of Springfield, MA had provided a fake ID and lied to Law Enforcement. While speaking with the occupants, suspected drugs were observed in plain view. The passenger in the vehicle, Gina Barrette, 27 of St Johnsbury, VT, was found to have several outstanding Vermont arrest warrants for Sale of Cocaine, Unlawful Mischief >$250, Heroin Possession 200mg, Buy/Receive/Possess Stolen Property.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermonters participated in the nationwide Prescription Drug Take Back Day this past Saturday, turning in more than 3.5 tons of unused, unwanted and expired medication at over 55 collection sites throughout the state. The 7,165 pounds of collected medication sets a record for Drug Take Back Day in Vermont, exceeding the previous record of 6,734 pounds collected in October 2019.

by Susan Boutwell, Dartmouth Joseph Helble, a recognized leader in the field of engineering who has served Dartmouth as provost since 2018, was today named the 15th president of Lehigh University. He begins work at the Bethlehem, PA, university—his alma mater—on August 16. He will continue to serve as Dartmouth's provost through the academic year.

by Devon Green, VAHHS Vice President of Government Relations In a dire situation that is growing in severity around the country, our hospital emergency departments are overwhelmed right now—not with COVID patients—but with children and adults in mental health crisis waiting days and weeks at a time to receive proper and complete treatment. The mental health of Vermonters is the next public health emergency. VAHHS hopes to work with the legislature and state agencies to bring to our current mental health crisis the resources, regulatory flexibility, workforce development and data collection efforts Vermont successfully deployed to take on COVID-19.

Last Week

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) and the Bennington Opioid Response Team, with support from a state Community Action Grant and Catamount Access Television, present Promoting Change: Creating a New Landscape for Individuals with Substance Use Disorder. The event is scheduled at 4 – 5:30 pm on Tuesday, May 4 and will air live on CAT-TV channel 1075 and facebook.com/CATTVBennington. It is free and no registration is needed.

Vermont Business Magazine National Life recently donated $35,000 to the Branches of Hope cancer patient fund at Central Vermont Medical Center in lieu of holding a Do Good Fest this year. National Life staged the free annual music festival on its back lawn every year from 2014 to 2019, raising money for Branches of Hope through parking fees. The event was suspended last year and again this summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Care Partners (VCP) and four member agencies announce the successful launch of the Unified Electronic Medical Records project using the Netsmart myAvatar solution. myAvatar is the industry-leading electronic health record for behavioral health and addiction services and is a component of the Netsmart CareFabric platform, an integrated framework of solutions and services used by providers for integrated healthcare. The CareFabric platform leverages the health record data of this unique collaborative, to enhance provider care delivery in the catchment areas served by these agencies across the state of Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont is resuming use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in clinics around the state this week. The FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that it has studied and confirmed the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine is recommended for people 18 years of age and older, and that the pause on its use since April 13 could be lifted. In addition, VDH is reporting 35 new cases of COVID-19 and one more death since last week for 244 total statewide.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine An outside audit of the Vermont Department of Labor’s error in distributing 1099G forms earlier this year has concluded that it was likely caused by human error during manual procedures applied to the creation of print files for some but not all of the more than 70,000 unemployment-related 1099Gs. Because of the increased volume in the number of 1099Gs associated with the pandemic, VDOL outsourced some of the printing to the Department of Building and General Services in order to meet deadlines. The manual procedures used in creating the print files for the BGS led to an error being made by someone in the Agency of Digital Services.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) has released an updated version of the Annual Snapshot. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s snapshot contains less data than previous releases. The AOE is unable to report many indicators of academic achievement, as the assessments on which they are based were not conducted during the 2019-20 academic year. However, indicators suggest that additional work is necessary to support the most vulnerable students. Also, English learners are making progress toward proficiency in English at lower rates than desired and those proficiency rates are declining.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Afterschool announces that the 2021 Summer Matters for All Grant Program is open to applicants. Established in partnership with Governor Phil Scott’s office and the Vermont Agency of Education, at least $1.5 million will be available through the grant program to expand access to summer enrichment opportunities for youth statewide.

Vermont Business Magazine Six nonprofit organizations in New Hampshire and Vermont will receive much needed funds to help those they serve make informed financial decisions through a set of grants announced by Citizens today. Under the bank’s Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money program, these nonprofit organizations will receive a total of more than $107,000 to support work in this critical area across the states.