Current News

Vermont Business Magazine On Wednesday, November 9, Cindy Morgan, Senior Marketing Executive with New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) presented a symbolic “big check” for $20,000 to representatives from Burlington’s Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS). According to COTS Executive Director Rita Markley, “We are deeply grateful to New England Federal Credit Union for their wonderful generosity and longtime support of COTS. This incredible gift will enable COTS to serve families and individuals facing the crisis of homelessness this winter through shelter, services, housing, and homelessness prevention. We are honored to have their help.”

L to r, Cindy Morgan, NEFCU Senior Marketing Executive; COTS Executive Director Rita Markley; NEFCU Mortgage Sales Manager Pat Weaver; and NEFCU Mortgage Manager Greg Hahr.

Vermont Business Magazine Shacksbury Cider an Addison County Economic Development Corporation (ACEDC) member, was recently awarded a $25,000 Building Communities Grant from the VT Regional Economic Development program. This grant is administered by the VT Department of Buildings and General Services. The purpose of the grant is to support their expansion and relocation. Successful Building Community Grant projects involve capital costs associated with major maintenance, renovations or planning related to the development of facilities expected to create job opportunities in Vermont communities.

Shacksbury Co-Founder Colin Davis stated “A lot of people talk about economic development, but ACEDC is where the rubber meets the road. They did all the heavy lifting on this grant that, we're happy to say, will allow us to hire another full-time position and bring an important part of our process in-house.”

by Mike Smith Republican Phil Scott will be Vermont’s next governor. Scott won his bid to be Vermont’s 82nd governor by handily defeating his Democratic rival, Sue Minter. What made Scott’s victory especially impressive is that he won in a presidential election year when voter turnout in Vermont was supposed to favor Democrats. Scott was elected because he is well liked and trusted by Vermonters. He recognized early on that Vermonters were concerned about the economy, especially the cost of living in this state as well as the importance of attracting higher paying jobs, and he made these issues the centerpiece of his campaign.

Vermont Business Magazine Sugarbush Resort has pushed its Opening Day back five days from Saturday, November 19^th to Wednesday, November 23^rd due to recent warm temperatures and the current weekend forecast. With cold weather returning late Sunday, the resort expects to be open by Wednesday thanks to good snowmaking temps and the chance for some natural snow on Sunday night.

The expected open trails for Wednesday include Upper Jester, Downspout, and Upper Organgrinder at Lincoln Peak. Both Heaven’s Gate and Super Bravo will be spinning, with downloading on Super Bravo. As temperatures permit, the resort plans to open top-to-bottom as soon as possible.

Vermont Business Magazine At approximately 1300 hours Sunday November 20^th, searchers with Border Patrol located John “Jack” Chapman walking in a very remote area of Norton, Vermont. Chapman was brought to North Country Hospital in Newport for medical care by Lyndon Rescue. 

On November 16^th , at approximately 2200 hours, the Vermont State Police Derby barracks was notified of an overdue hunter on South Shore Road in Holland, Vermont. VSP troopers immediately began attempts to locate John “Jack” Chapman, age 72, from Brattleboro, VT. 

The Vermont State Police Search and Rescue, New England K9, Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team, Vermont KSAR, Rescue Inc, Vermont Fish and Wildlife game wardens and US Border Patrol began searching the area of Holland Pond the morning of November 17^th.

Source: Vermont State Police 11.20.2016

Vermont Business Magazine During the early morning hours of November 20, 2016, Vermont State Police Troopers, including members of the Tactical Support Unit, responded to reports of numerous gunshots being fired in the area of River St in Saxtons River.

Anthony Smith, 53, of 13 River St, was subsequently taken into custody without incident.

VSP personnel from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Major Crime Unit, Uniform Division, and Crime Scene Search Team worked throughout the day investigating this incident.  Investigators spoke with residents, many of whom had been evacuated earlier, and documented damage, consistent with being caused by the discharge of firearms, to multiple residences/structures in the area.  Several firearms were seized.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power crews began responding early Sunday morning to outages caused by heavy, wet snow bringing down trees onto power lines across Vermont. Outages began in southern Vermont, but are expected to affect other parts of the state as the rain turns to snow. As of 9 am, approximately 2000 customers were without power, mostly in Bennington County.

“We’ve been watching this weather pattern very carefully and prepared well in advance so we could respond quickly to any outages,” said Dorothy Schnure, spokesperson for Green Mountain Power. “Our dedicated crews are working hard to respond to outages and get the power back on as safely and quickly as possible.”

by Jules Older Vermont Business Magazine Nobody said it was gonna be easy. And between rising costs and falling profits, slow payers and no payers, changing rules and changing technology, it isn't, for the home office, small office or entrepreneur. Here are some things that will help ease your business life, starting with an office product to help you live longer, and ending with a little item that will save you, oh, $2,000.

by Tom Huebner, Chair of the Board, Vermont Care Organization (VCO) and CEO and President of Rutland Regional Medical Center In October, Vermont leaders signed an historic agreement with leaders from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in Washington to create a new model for delivery, evaluation and reimbursement of healthcare services and providers in Vermont.

Experts noted that Vermont is the first state in the US to fully adopt what’s called an “All-Payer Model” (APM) for health care providers, a system that focuses on keeping people healthy.

CMS called the Vermont model “historic in terms of its scope, aiming to include almost all providers and people throughout the state in an all-payer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model to drive improved quality, better care coordination, healthier people and smarter spending. “

Vermont Business Magazine AAA Northern New England will host a press conference along with the Vermont Agency of Transportation, Vermont State Police, Vermont Highway Safety Alliance and the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation to raise awareness for vehicle safety during this winter season. 

Each year, ice and snow brings a rash of crashes to Vermont’s roads as drivers reacquaint themselves with winter conditions.  Last year, AAA came to the rescue of over 175,000 members in Northern New England, during the winter months and in most cases the situation could have been avoided by being better prepared for the conditions and modifying driving behavior.

AAA and the State of Vermont are urging motorists to plan ahead, slowdown in adverse driving conditions, give plow trucks plenty of room, and prepare your car and yourself for the challenges Vermont weather brings.  

Vermont Business Magazine In a settlement announced Friday, United Advisors Group LLC (“UAG”) agreed to stop doing business in Vermont, to reimburse $5,000 to Vermont residents who paid for their services, and to pay a penalty of $6,500. The company purported to aid consumers in consolidating their student loans in order to reduce their debt.

Rather than aid Vermonters in lowering their debt, UAG entered some consumers into debt deferral programs and collected fees while the debt grew, unbeknownst to the consumers. UAG’s behavior violated Vermont’s Consumer Protection Act. UAG also did business in Vermont without obtaining a Debt Adjuster License or the necessary bond.

“High student debt is enough of a problem without dishonest companies coming in and taking advantage of Vermonters in need,” said Attorney General William H. Sorrell. United Advisors Group was one of the most active student loan debt consolidators doing business in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Merchants Bank has partnered with WARMTH again this year to help prevent low-income Vermonters across the state from going without heat this winter. Merchants Bank is offering a matched dollar-for-dollar donation raised for WARMTH beginning on Giving Tuesday, November 29^th and running through the end of December 2016. Merchants Bank will match $35,000 in donations!

"When people see that their donation is matched they tend to LEAP on board! Thank you, it truly makes a difference," said Joan White, Development Director at CVOEO. The $35,000 challenge grant will be distributed by CVOEO for use by all five community action agencies statewide for the emergency-based WARMTH program to help offset home heating bills.