Current News

VSECU (Vermont State Employees Credit Union) donated $10,000 to the six charities through an employee directed giving program called We Care 2. The Central Vermont Humane Society received $5,000, while five other charities, Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, the Vermont Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, Camp Ta-Kum-Ta and Project Independence in Barre, each received $1,000.
From the beginning of the employee directed giving program, VSECU hoped to engage Vermonters around the state in a discussion about how the $10,000 should be distributed. Even though it would be VSECU employees who would choose the charities, they wanted to give others outside the credit union the opportunity to suggest charities and why they should be supported.

C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., announced today a long-term agreement under which C&S will provide procurement and distribution services for all 97 Marsh stores across Indiana and Ohio. With this agreement, Marsh will be leaving the logistics business. With C&S managing the efficient purchasing, inventory management and timely distribution of groceries and products from its distribution centers, Marsh will realize greater operational efficiencies and will focus exclusively on its core retail business.

Saint Michael’s College welcomes new students on Thursday, August 25, with a full day of spirited events, involving the traditional SMC raucous welcome with whistles, balloons, posters, and help moving in. The process starts in the Ross Sports Center between 9 a.m. and noon. New students will meet with their resident assistants in the afternoon; and will attend several other meetings, followed by New Student Convocation at 7 p.m. in the SMC Chapel with the principal address to be given by Dr. Richard Kujawa, geology professor.
Professor Kujawa received the 2010 Joanne Rathgeb Teaching Award, and as such, is the designated speaker for this year’s convocation. The new class is ceremonially presented to the faculty, the alma mater is sung, and President John J. Neuhauser also addresses the class and their families. Classes begin for all students Monday, August 29.
New Liberal Studies Curriculum

The Attorney General’s Office announced today that Williston-based home improvement contractor Donald Bevins was sentenced to thirty days in jail for violating Vermont’s workers’ compensations laws.
On June 23, 2011, Bevins, who operated under both ‘Twin City Roofing’ and ‘Around the Clock Property Maintenance,’ pled guilty in Chittenden Superior Court, Criminal Division, to two counts of failing to maintain workers’ compensation insurance. The charges stemmed from an investigation conducted by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the Vermont Department of Labor, which revealed that Bevins was operating without workers’ compensation insurance and in violation of a Vermont Department of Labor stop work order. The investigation also determined that, during the time frame that Bevins did not maintain insurance, two of his employees were seriously injured while working.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) announced the award of several new grants for Vermont from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT). These new federal investments will support safety improvements to railroad crossings, innovative paving techniques, transportation demand management in Chittenden County and three Vermont Byways.
‘I’m proud of the work VTrans staff did to develop very competitive applications for important safety programs,’ stated VTrans Secretary, Brian Searles. ‘At a time of diminishing federal and state funds for transportation, I’m very pleased that VTrans and Vermont communities have secured additional federal funds to assist in the rebuilding of our infrastructure,’ he said.

MicroStrain Inc. provided NASA Kennedy Space Center with the wireless sensor technology to remotely monitor lift off acoustics and vibration generated during the launch of both Endeavour and Atlantis space shuttles. The noise generated by rocket exhaust affects the safety of spacecraft, ground facilities and hazardous equipment. Data gathered by MicroStrain's sensors was used in corroborating prediction models. The deployed sensor network provides NASA with the means to implement scalable, wireless sensors capable of proactively monitoring high-value, hazardous systems.

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), one of the nation's leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services, today announced the roll-out of an updated Chamber and Trade Association Referral Program in Vermont as part of an ongoing strategy to help small businesses through advanced communications solutions. This program builds on the success and popularity of the company's Chamber Rewards Program and offers Chambers of Commerce and select trade associations even more opportunities to offer their members discounts on select tiers of Comcast Business Class Internet and Comcast Business Class Voice products.

The American Red Cross today announced the retirement of Susan Parmer, RN, CEO of the American Red Cross Blood Services Northern New England Region, effective October 4. Her retirement will conclude a career of close to 30 years.
Parmer began her career with the American Red Cross in 1982 as a staff nurse, traveling to blood drives throughout Vermont and northern New Hampshire. She served as an instructor for new staff and was appointed to positions of increasing responsibility throughout her tenure, including Director of Nursing, Director of Vermont Operations, Senior Director of Collections and Donor Recruitment and Regional Director of Donor Services and has served as CEO of the Northern New England Region, directing close to 400 employees within Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, since 2005.

Vermont’s congressional delegation ‘ Sen. Patrick Leahy (D), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) and Rep. Peter Welch (D) ‘ today announced a one million dollar grant to the Montpelier-based Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC).
Through the grant, ISC will work with the joint HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities (PSC), which coordinates federal housing, transportation, water, and other infrastructure investments to make neighborhoods more prosperous, allow people to live closer to jobs, save households time and money, and reduce pollution.

The grant will allow ISC to create a National Sustainability Learning Network to help streamline and increase the effectiveness of PSC’s efforts. Through online and in-person, peer-to-peer mentoring, the Network will identify, showcase and disseminate the most promising practices, valuable tools and resources that advance sustainable communities and integrated regional development.

Gov. Peter Shumlin and Jean Charest, Premier of Quebec, called today for the creation of an international task force with representatives from the United States and Canada to study issues related to flooding on Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River. They also announced that they are inviting the State of New York and the federal government to a conference of scientific and policy experts to discuss ways to reduce the harm and damage from future flooding events.
In a letter signed by both leaders, addressed to President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Shumlin and Charest cited the spring flooding in which ‘hundreds of residents in Québec and Vermont suffered serious material damages and, in some cases, were forced to evacuate their homes. The governments of Québec and Vermont are currently making considerable efforts to come to the aid of those affected by this disaster and contain the damage.’

Northfield Savings Bank is pleased to announce the beneficiary of the 34th Annual Flying Pig Footrace will be Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports. The footrace takes place Saturday, September 3, in downtown Northfield, and is presented in cooperation with the Central Vermont Runners Club. The Bank will be making a donation of $5.00 per runner, up to a maximum of $3,000.
Several hundred runners are expected to participate in this fully accredited event. In addition to the adult 5K race, a 1-mile kids race for children ages 5-13 will kick off the day’s events at 9:30AM. The adult race starts at 10:30AM.
Applications are now available and can be picked up at any NSB branch or downloaded from the NSB website at www.nsbvt.com.

Gifford Medical Center is now participating in a federal drug pricing program called 340B.
Administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Office of Pharmacy Affairs, the program has been around since 1992, but expanded last year to Critical Access Hospitals like Gifford as part of the Affordable Care Act.
The program allows Gifford to generate some revenue and cut some costs, which allows the hospital to reduce inflation for future patient rates. It works when Gifford patients fill their non-generic, non-narcotic prescriptions at pharmacies also participating in the program.
So far, Kinney Drugs in Randolph is participating and hospital officials are hoping that other Kinney locations, Northfield Pharmacy and Rite Aid will also soon join in.
The program has no effect on patient and customers’ costs, but does help Gifford at a critical time.