Current News

The world’s metals industries lost a pioneer in the field of continuous casting and Vermont lost a remarkable engineer and employer with the passing of R William (Bill) Hazelett at age 91, on June 27, 2010. Son of CW Hazelett, the inventor of the twin-belt casting machine, Bill founded the Hazelett Strip-Casting Corporation and commercialized the design. The Hazelett twin-belt caster is employed extensively in nonferrous strip casting and is the heart of the Contirod continuous copper rod casting process used in the production of over 30 percent of the world’s copper wire.

Moody’s Investors Services has announced that it has downgraded the City of Burlington’s general obligation credit rating two notches from Aa3 to A2. Moody’s moved the City’s status from a ‘negative watch’ to ‘negative outlook,’ which means that the credit rating company will not review Burlington’s status until the City next pursues a bond sale. The Moody’s action follows its decision in March of this year to downgrade the City’s credit rating and place Burlington on a 90-day negative watch period. That action resulted in an A2 rating, which was subsequently raised back to Aa3 when Moody’s recalibrated all municipal credit ratings to reflect general improvements in the municipal bond arena.

Native Americans and European settlers used the ancient waterways of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) for commerce and trade. Today this 740-mile recreation trail echoes the past by providing both an economic stimulus for businesses and outdoor adventure along its path.
USDA Rural Development has supported the trail’s recreation and development efforts through three states since 2008 ‘ with Rural Business Enterprise Grants of $290,000 in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. These funds have been used to assist small businesses, create regional linkages, work on product development, promote tourism near the trail route and ensure sustainability for the future.

Play at the New England Women’s Golf Association Championship concluded yesterday with Samantha Morrell of Laurel Lane Golf Club (RI) winning with three consecutive rounds of 74 for a final score of 6 over at the Killington Golf Club. Tara Joy Connelly of Cohasset Golf Club (MA) was second at 8 over. Mary Chamberlain of Cummaquid Country Club (MA) was third at 9 over.
The Legend Champion was Nancy Chaffee of RI. The Senior Champion was Joanne Catlin (MA). The Junior Champion was Kristen Garabedian (VT) who also placed 9th overall.
Massachusetts continued their domination of the Cartin Competition winning for the 11th straight year. Massachusetts edged out Vermont by 6 stokes winning 654 to 661.

1

Samantha Morrell
NoLambert's Point GC
74
74
74
222

2

Tara Joy-Connelly
Cohasset GC
73
76
75
224

An officer with the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles today arrested Brian Wells, 26, of Boston, Massachusetts at the DMV branch office on North Avenue in Burlington and charged him with attempting to obtain an operator’s license using a stolen identity.
Vermont DMV Detective Peter Bottino responded to the Burlington DMV office after receiving a call from DMV Customer Service Specialist Sara Jelen. Wells is also suspected of obtaining two other Vermont photo operator’s licenses containing stolen identities: one from the Springfield DMV branch and the other from the Bennington office.
Wells’ photo was distributed to DMV counter staff, who were instructed to be on the lookout for him. Wells is suspected of committing numerous frauds in California and Massachusetts using fraudulently obtained Vermont licenses. Charges are also expected in those jurisdictions.

The Vermont Public Service Board, which is the chief regulator in the state of Vermont, will hold a public hearing on whether to extend the license of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon. The event will be held at 7 pm at the Brattleboro Union High School. Vermont Yankee owner Entergy wants to keep operating the plant 20 years beyond the 2010 license expiration.

Bob Young, who as president led Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE-CV) through a cultural, service and environmental transformation, today announced his planned retirement. Young will remain as chairman, president and chief executive officer until next May to allow for an orderly search and transition.
"Bob turned CV into a lean, progressive and caring company that placed customer service, reliability, the environment and corporate citizenship as its cornerstones," said Lead Director Bill Sayre. "Through his leadership, CV became one of the most respected and professional utilities in the U.S., and has provided a solid value for shareholders and customers alike."
Sayre said Russell Reynolds Associates, a leading executive search firm, will assist CV with an internal and national search for Young's successor. CV's ongoing succession planning should ensure a smooth process, Sayre said. CV announced Young's plans now so the company could begin the search.

Jay Break Resort broke ground yesterday in what will be the largest water park in the New England. The 60,000-square-foot park will have a retractable roof and a wave pool. The park is the last grand piece of a vision to develop a four-season resort available during any season. Jay Peak has already completed its ice arena to go along with its famous skiing and new golf course.
Senator Patrick Leahy spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony for the 275,000-square-foot Hotel Jay, which features 170 suites and the largest water park in New England. Leahy commended Bill Stenger, president and co-owner of Jay Peak Ski Resort, for employing Vermonters in the surrounding areas.

New fish samples taken from the Connecticut River on April 23 and analyzed by Vermont Yankee’s contract laboratory have tested positive for strontium-90 (Sr-90). Concentrations of Sr-90 detected in the inedible portions of these fish are in the range of what would be expected as a result of fallout from nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s, and the Chernobyl release in 1986.
Specifically, the laboratory results for Sr-90 were 70 pCi/kg from fish taken near the plant in the Vernon Pool, and 100 pCi/kg from fish taken about 5 miles upstream, near the Route 9 bridge as it crosses the river north of Brattleboro. A New York study found background levels of Sr-90 in fish to be in the range of 120 to 360 pCi/kg (see New York Fish Study below).

Killington, VT. (July 7, 2010): The second round of play at the New England Women’s Golf Association Championship was completed Wednesday. Teo Poplawski of Champlain Country Club (Vermont) fired a 71 to take the lead. Samantha Morrell of Laurel Lane Golf Club (RI) was in second with a 148. Tara Joy Connelly of Cohasset Golf Club (MA) was in third place with a 149. First round leader Sarah Whitney was in fourth place with a 151.
Vermont took the lead in the team competition for the Cartin Trophy with a two day total of 438. Massachusetts is in second place with 440. Massachusetts has won or tied for the Cartin Trophy the last 10 years.
For the results of the full field and pairing for today's final round, see below.

Vermont Attorney General William H Sorrell has filed suit against CSA-Credit Solutions of America, LLC, a debt settlement company based in Dallas, Texas, and its current and former chief executive officers, Doug Van Arsdale and Matt Reivitt, alleging multiple violations of the Vermont Consumer Fraud Act. A debt settlement company is one that offers to negotiate reductions in the principal amount of consumers’ debts.
In a Complaint filed in Washington Superior Court, Attorney General Sorrell alleges that the defendants (1) used unsubstantiated ‘results’ claims to advertise their debt settlement services on the Internet, (2) failed to properly notify consumers of their right to cancel their contract with the company, (3) charged their fees up front in a manner that amounted to an unfair trade practice, and (4) did business in Vermont without first obtaining the required license from the Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration.

The check is in the mail. State officials hope to see that statement quickly become a quaint reference to a by-gone era as vendors receiving payment from the State of Vermont switch to electronic payment. The state anticipates that it could save taxpayers upwards of $600,000 a year. At the same time, vendors would get paid more quickly. In 2009, the state issued 194,926 checks. The Department of Finance and Management "conservatively" estimates that the state will save $400,000 a year, which assumes a savings of $2 per check. As of now, about 15 percent of vendors use the electronic service.