Current News

The Pulp Mill covered bridge connecting the Towns of Middlebury and Weybridge is scheduled to be closed for rehabilitation starting January 3, 2012 and will remain closed through November 16, 2012. This span that crosses Otter Creek was built in 1820.
The pedestrian bridge adjacent to the Pulp Mill bridge is scheduled to remain open for the majority of the construction period but will experience occasional weekday closures to protect the public while crane work is being done in close proximity to the pedestrian bridge.
Rehabilitation of the Pulp Mill Covered Bridge consists of replacing the deteriorated bridge members, installation of new siding and metal roof, substructure repairs, installation of approach railing and reconstruction of roadway approaches. The work will be done by Alpine Construction, LLC of Schuylerville, New York at a cost of $1,638,629.

Vermont’s congressional delegation ‘ US Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Peter Welch (D-VT) ‘ announced today the release of $3.6 million for Vermont under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
‘As Vermont’s winter settles in, another installment of home heating aid helps. This allocation will keep many seniors and families with small children from going cold this winter,’ the delegation said in a joint statement. ‘But at a time when heating oil costs are rising and we’re in the midst of a major recession, we must do more. We must at least restore funding at last year's level for this critically important program.’
Sanders, Leahy and Welch are cosponsors of legislation to provide level funding for LIHEAP at $4.7 billion. Sanders and Leahy have called on Senate leadership to bring up the measure as soon as Congress reconvenes in January.

The leading international sign industry source magazine, Sign of the Times, featured Wood & Wood, Inc, of Waitsfield, Vermont, in the December series of traditional handcrafted-sign case studies entitled ‘From These Hands.’ The article showcased the company’s innovative branding solutions for Jay Peak Resort’s Tram Haus Hotel and Aroma Café, Tower Bar and Alice’s Table restaurants. Completed in December 2009, this project was Phase 1 of Jay Peak’s three year resort development plan.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation today announced that two accelerated bridge replacement projects on Route 12A in the Town of Roxbury have been completed and the roadway is now open to all traffic.
‘These are the final two bridge closures resulting from Tropical Storm Irene,’ noted VTrans’ Secretary Brian Searles. ‘We are very close to reaching our Irene Response mission of opening all our damaged roads by the end of the year.’ The final closed road under construction, Route 107 in Stockbridge, remains on track for opening at the end of next week.

The Vermont Department of Health Laboratory analysis of a water sample from the Connecticut River has again detected tritium. This sample was taken from the river on November 3 and had a tritium concentration of 1,120 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). No other radionuclides were detected. The VDH announced the finding today.
The Connecticut River samples were pumped from a hose below the surface of the water next to the shoreline where the plume of tritium-contaminated groundwater is moving into the river. River water samples obtained on July 18, July 25, and August 8, 2011 from the same location were also positive for tritium. Tritium concentrations in those samples were 534 pCi/L, 611 pCi/L, and 565 pCi/L respectively. To date, no other radionuclides that could have originated from Vermont Yankee have been detected in river water.

US Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) today praised the Environmental Protection Agency for forcing coal- and oil-fired power plants to reduce emissions.
Leahy Statement:
"I commend the Environmental Protection Agency for doing the right thing, under tremendous special interest pressure, in standing up for the public's interest. The Utility Air Toxics Rule to control toxic air pollutants such as mercury is a health and environmental breakthrough for the American people, and especially for Vermonters. Finally, after 20 years of dodging regulation, coal- and oil-fired electric power plants, the largest contributors of these toxics, will be held accountable for the pollution they emit, just as many other industries are.

The Vermont Economic Progress Council authorized $8.3 million in incentives under the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive (VEGI) program in 2011, which will encourage the creation of 988 new jobs in Vermont.
The Vermont Economic Progress Council met throughout the year to review and authorize the incentives. No incentives are paid when the companies are authorized. The authorization means that the companies met statutory requirements to be authorized to earn a certain level of incentives.
Overall, these projects will create 988 new jobs and about $40 million in new payroll for Vermonters, and the companies will make $302 million in capital investments in Vermont, between 2011and 2015. The jobs must be new, full-time, permanent, non-owners, and pay more than 160 percent of the Vermont Minimum Wage (about $13.04/hour) and provide benefits.

A new video, released by the Vermont Community Foundation, says thank you to everyone who has contributed to Irene relief and recovery on behalf of all Vermonters. The short message is drawn from storm footage as well as recent interviews with flood victims, local heroes, and state leaders. The Community Foundation is distributing the video to share this message of gratitude with people across the state and beyond who have helped heal Vermont.

Vermonters of all walks of life turned out for the ninth-annual Gift-of-Life Marathon today, donating 1,855 pints of blood but missing the national one-day community blood drive record of 1,968 pints.
‘It was an extraordinary day and an amazing display of community spirit and determination,’ said Central Vermont Public Service spokesman Steve Costello, one of the organizers. ‘The national record didn’t fall, but this was the largest per-capita blood drive in US history, the second-largest ever, and the region should be proud of what it accomplished.’

Former school board chair John Hollar today announced his candidacy for mayor of Montpelier. He made the announcement at Onion River Sports.

Governor Peter Shumlin today announced that Mental Health Commissioner Christine Oliver and Deputy Secretary Patrick Flood will swap positions, with Oliver assuming the role of Deputy Secretary and Flood becoming Commissioner of Mental Health.
The job swap meets two imperatives. First, the announcement of the Governor's long-term plan for mental health services in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene and the closing of the Vermont State Hospital has created a legislative and strategic challenge for which Patrick Flood is uniquely qualified to address. Irene gave Vermont an opportunity to build the best integrated mental health delivery system in the nation, where quality care and patient needs come first.
Meanwhile, the Agency of Human Services is facing a host of unanticipated management challenges due to both Irene and federal budget cuts. Christine Oliver's extensive management and legal experience match well with the Agency's current needs.

The Agency of Commerce and Community Development today announced that Joe Bookchin has been named the new director of the Office of the Creative Economy.
The OCE was created this year by Gov. Peter Shumlin and the Vermont Legislature in recognition of this growing sector of the Vermont economy. Creative enterprises’from web designers and software game programmers to architecture, e-commerce, graphic design, publishing and film and new media companies, among others’provide high-paying, skilled jobs that are critical to the state’s economic future.
‘Governor Shumlin and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development recognize that creative energy and entrepreneurial spirit are in abundant supply in Vermont,’ said Lawrence Miller, Vermont’s secretary of Commerce and Community Development. ‘This area has the potential to be a powerhouse for economic growth. We are delighted that Joe will be heading up this important new office.’