Current News

The village of Jeffersonville has found a major break in its main water line. There is a concern that water from the break may have damaged a section of Pleasant Valley Road near Jeff Heights. Crews are working on the leak and on Pleasant Valley road itself, so motorists are asked to avoid unnecessary travel in the area until the problem is resolved.

That break is interrupting the flow of water to the Jeffersonville reservoir - causing it to drop to critically low levels. Users of Jeffersonville water are still asked to conserve until further notice.

The deep frost is causing many lines to break. Even small leaks can become a serious problem. If you see water leaking or pooling in an unusual area, please notify the Jeffersonville village office during normal business hours. All other times contact Cambridge Emergency Management (802-644-6601).

Source: Vermont State Police 2.19.2015

Today Keurig Green Mountain, Inc (NASDAQ: GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee, coffee makers, teas, and other beverages, launched its tenth annual Sustainability Report. The report focuses on Keurig's efforts to strengthen its global corporate citizenship and sustainability leadership, highlighting recent sustainability initiatives, progress against the Company's 2020 sustainability targets, and a new water stewardship target. The report underscores accomplishments and opportunities within Keurig's sustainability practice areas, with a particular focus on water stewardship, supply chain resiliency, and sustainable products - especially K-Cup recyclability.

After closing its car parts plant in Bennington almost a year ago, Plasan North America has announced that it is closing its military equipment plant on Bowan Road in Bennington. According to Vermont Business Magazine, Plasan employs 120 and manufactures plating for armored vehicles. Plasan Carbon Composites had employed 143 when it announced last February that it would close, which it did last spring. The Bennington Banner reports today that it will move operations to Walker, MI, by July. In the Banner story, Keith Rayborn, president of Plasan North America, cited declining military budgets in driving this decision. Plasan also consolidated the car parts operation in Michigan.

See Bennignton Banner story

Vermont Health Connect announced today that some Vermonters who missed this year’s Open Enrollment still have an opportunity to apply for 2015 health coverage. Specifically, Vermonters who don’t have health insurance and learn about the new Shared Responsibility Payment when they file their 2014 taxes now have a chance to avoid paying the full federal fee next year.

“Our goal is to help as many Vermonters find quality health coverage as possible,” said Lawrence Miller, Chief of Health Care Reform. “When our federal partners expressed an openness to providing this enrollment flexibility, we jumped at the opportunity. Our insurance issuers, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont and MVP Health Care, were also supportive – and we thank them for that.”

It’s been a full year since Jimmy Fallon ascended the throne to take over the NBC powerhouse and longest running talk show in television history. What more inspiration was needed to celebrate? To recognize the accomplishment, ice cream co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield served up the aptly named “The Tonight DOUGH” to the Fallon faithful who were in the audience to witness the very first episode of season two. The concoction is caramel and chocolate ice creams with chocolate cookie swirls & gobs of chocolate chip cookie dough & peanut butter cookie dough. If the flavor becomes half as popular as the unflappable Fallon, who was recently dubbed “entertainer of the year,” it may give Ben & Jerry’s other classic combinations a run for their money.

Though the local food movement has become bigger than ever in restaurants, Vermont establishments often have a hard time sourcing local food in the winter, especially vegetables. This past fall, Sugarbush Resort’s Timbers Restaurant in Warren looked to solve that by purchasing 1800 pounds of produce from Gaylord Farm, located down the road in Waitsfield, Vermont.

“What’s great about working for a resort is that we have the resources and the storage area to make a purchase of this size,” said Timbers General Manager Bruce Hyde. “Vermont winters don’t usually allow for much local produce, but this way we can continue to provide it year-round.”

by John Herrick vtdigger.org Cheat sheets, glossaries and power supply pie charts cover the table in the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee as first-year committee members decipher H.40, a bill requiring electric utilities to cut carbon emissions in Vermont. “If you have your glossary, bring it out,” chairman of the committee Representative Tony Klein, D-East Montpelier, told his fellow legislators as they dove into the complicated renewable energy bill three weeks ago.

On Wednesday February 4th, National Bank of Middlebury, together with customers and community members, celebrated Caroline R. Carpenter the 11th president. She is the first female president of the bank since incorporation in 1831.

Rep. Peter Welch announced on Tuesday bipartisan legislation that would make it more affordable for Vermonters to install wood heating systems in their homes or businesses. The Biomass Thermal Utilization(BTU) Act would expand the existing renewable energy tax credit to include wood, or “biomass thermal,” heating systems. Welch made the announcement at National Life Group’s Montpelier campus. The company installed a wood heating system in 2010 that has reduced its carbon footprint by 45 percent and heating costs by 50 percent.

Welch was joined by representatives from Vermont's biomass industry and energy conservation leaders.

by John McClaughry The 2015 legislature, and of course, Governor Peter Shumlin, are hard at work contriving yet another way to make Vermonters pay more for their electricity. The vehicle is H.40, spearheaded by Representative Tony Klein and just now emerging from the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee. It’s the bill to – finally – impose upon Vermont electric utilities a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS).

Why are they doing this? To achieve the state’s renewable energy goal of 90% renewable-sourced energy by 2050.

Where did that goal come from? It was proclaimed by Governor Shumlin in 2011. It became the centerpiece of his Comprehensive Energy Plan that same year, and has been implicitly accepted by the Legislature.

Did any legislator ever vote on the record to impose this challenging goal? No, but a majority of the Legislature is intent on driving up electricity prices to reach it.

PC Construction was recently awarded a $20 million project by the Brunswick, ME, Sewer District to upgrade its almost 50-year-old wastewater treatment facility. Decades of water and wastewater plant construction and renovation experience, including similar Maine-based projects in Sanford and Vassalboro, make PC Construction uniquely qualified for the project.

The project is the first wastewater treatment facility in Maine to utilize the construction management at-risk process, which allowed Brunswick Sewer District to select the best construction management team based on their qualifications. CM at-risk – PC Construction’s primary construction delivery method – encourages collaboration and transparency while maintaining a guaranteed maximum price.

Champlain Elementary School, CP Smith Elementary School, JJ Flynn Elementary School and The Sustainability Academy at Lawrence Barnes have been named Vermont ENERGY STAR schools. This achievement signifies that each school's efficiency is in the top 25% of schools in the Country and that it meets stringent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards for healthy ventilation, year-round comfort and lighting quality.

These schools will be recognized at a public award ceremony in Montpelier on February 20 along with 20 other Vermont schools that have achieved ENERGY STAR designation this year. The ceremony will celebrate the continued success of Project Green School, an initiative that aims to put all Vermont schools on the path toward ENERGY STAR designation by 2020.