Current News

Week Ending August 30, 2008
There were 606 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, a decrease of 251 from the week before. Altogether 7,019 new and continuing claims were filed, 206 less than a week ago and 2,057 more than a year earlier. In addition, the Department processed 1,801 claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008, a decrease of 132 from last week.
The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/

Previously released Unemployment Weekly Reports and other UI reports can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/lmipub.htm#uc

Champlain College Class of 2012 Arrives
Orientation Weekend includes Convocation, Activities and Special Events
(Sept. 1, 2008) - The Champlain College Class of 2012 arrived Friday for an information-packed, fun-filled, four-day orientation. The incoming class of 615 students represents 28 states and eight countries. Residential move-in began Friday morning followed by a lunch for parents, students and friends. On Friday afternoon, Champlain College Provost Robin Abramson, College Vice Presidents and Champlain faculty in full academic regalia - were led in to the Convocation ceremony on Perry Hall lawn by the St. Andrews Pipe Band of Vermont.

Champlain College Dedicates Schillhammer Hall
BURLINGTON, Vt. Champlain College recently honored trustee emeritus and alumnus Richard W. Schillhammer Class of 1934 and founder of Queen City Printers (QCP), and his family, with the dedication of Schillhammer Hall.
The building, located at 109 Summit St., formerly known as East Hall, has served as a residence hall since being acquired by Champlain in 1994.
Dick has long been a respected community citizen and leader, said Champlain College President Dave Finney. For three generations, Champlain College has been entrusted with the education of the Schillhammers. In addition to Dick, his son John and daughter-in-law Ann are graduates of the College classes of 1960 and 1962, respectively. His granddaughter Shari and her husband Randy attended Champlain and earned their degrees in 1983. We are very fortunate to have the Schillhammer family as our alums and trusted friends.

Gubernatorial Appointments Made in May, June and July
Montpelier Vt.- Governor Jim Douglas has released the list of appointments made in May, June and July, 2008.
Commission on Alzheimer's Disease & Related Disorders:
Alden Launer, Greensboro
Patrice Thabault, Burlington
Vermont Aviation Advisory Council:
George Coy, Swanton
John McNerney, New Haven
Mary Paull, Newport
State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind & Visually Impaired:
Claire Bruno, Worcester
Building Bright Futures Council:
Ann Dillenbeck, Charlotte
Capital Debt Affordability Advisory Committee:
David Coates, Colchester
John Valente, Rutland
Vermont Commission on Women:
Anne McClaughry, Kirby
Marion Milne, Washington

RICHARD SARGENT AND JIM LOOP, EACH IN THEIR FORTIETH YEAR WITH THE COMPANY, WILL PLACE IN POSITION THE FIRST PIECE OF THE LARGEST CASTING MACHINE EVER MANUFACTURED BY HAZELETT STRIP-CASTING CORPORATION
Richard Sargent and Jim Loop will place in position the first piece of the new casting machine at a noontime celebration on Thursday, September 4 at the Hazelett factory in Colchester, Vermont. The occasion will mark the fortieth anniversary of their employment with Hazelett and also begin the manufacture of a 120-ton casting machine, the largest ever produced by the company in its fifty-two year history.
The two started just days apart forty years ago.
Richard Sargent was hired by his neighbor, Bill Hazelett, founder of Hazelett Strip-Casting. Richard and Hazelett Strip-Casting have grown up together in the Malletts Bay area of Colchester.

Vermont Agriculture Hall of Fame Awards Announced
WHAT: 6th Annual Vermont Agriculture Hall of Fame Awards Brunch
The Agriculture Hall of Fame Awards honor outstanding farmers, industry supporters and others dedicated to the success of our agricultural community. Farming is an integral part of the fabric and history of Vermont and these individuals are being honored for their commitment to promoting the economic and environmental stability of agriculture.
This year's recipients are:
Senator Patrick Leahy
Dean Merrill
Senator Justin Smith Morrill
Philip K. Grime
WHEN: Sunday, August 31, 2008 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction, Vermont

Expo North Building

Green Mountain Coffee Reveals New Packaging for Its 10- & 12-Ounce Coffees

WATERBURY, Vt. (August 28, 2008) (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Green Mountain Coffee, the coffee division of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR), today unveiled new, unique packaging for its 10-ounce and 12-ounce coffee lines including Signature, Fair Trade Organic, Flavored and Seasonal coffees. This completes the packaging makeover that began with roll-outs of the Newman's Own(r) Organics and Single Origin lines of coffee. The redesigned packaging will start to appear on store shelves in late August.

Route 2 Moretown/Middlesex Bridge Now Open
MONTPELIER (August 28, 2008) The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) today opened a one-lane temporary bridge along Route 2 that spans the Winooski River and connects the towns of Middlesex and Moretown.
The temporary bridge was installed following the May 30 closure of an 80-year-old truss bridge that was deemed unsafe after an inspection. Transportation crews removed the old bridge, and in its place erected a one-lane temporary bridge that will remain in place until a new, permanent bridge can be constructed.
Because the temporary bridge is only one lane, a traffic light was installed to safely allow traffic flow in both directions. The bridge officially opened to traffic at 12:30 p.m.
The temporary bridge, originally scheduled to open on Labor Day, was opened to traffic four days early.

Governor Announces 'Next Generation' Internship Grants
Internship program connects hundreds of students with job opportunities
Castleton, Vt. - At Hubbardton Forge today, Governor Jim Douglas announced 14 Next Generation grants that will allow nearly 500 high school and post-secondary students to participate in career development internship programs.
This year's grants, totaling $530,000, are part of the Next Generation college scholarship and workforce training initiative proposed by Governor Douglas and passed by the Legislature in 2007. Last year, the program provided more than $800,000 in internship grants and connected 670 students with career opportunities.

Sovernet adds Winooski VT to its OC 192 SONET Network
Bellows Falls, VT August 26, 2008 - Sovernet, a leading provider of telecommunications services in Northern New England, announces the extension of Winooski, VT to their Redundant OC 192 SONET Network.
"As part of our continuing next-generation network strategy, we want to evolve our network to one that maximizes service opportunities, reduces overall costs and quickly adapts to changing customer requirements," says Brandon Peyton, Sovernet's Director of Operations. "The flexibility of the SONET Network enables us to deliver a mix of services from a variety of locations to quickly support our customers without changing the network."
Three years ago, Huawei and Sovernet teamed up to implement an all-new SONET Network. This addition further enhanced the reliability of Sovernet's local, long distance, and Internet services, plus added new service capabilities such as Gigabit Ethernet.

Vermont Aerospace & Aviation Association Open House at GE Aviation Rutland

Vermont Tech Ranked Among Top 25 Schools in the North
RANDOLPH CENTER, Vt-Vermont Technical College this week was named among the top 25 Baccalaureate Colleges in the North by U.S.News & World Report.
In its 2009 "Best Colleges" issue, Vermont Tech this year came in at number 24, up six slots from its number 30 ranking one year ago.
"As you might imagine, we're very pleased with this kind recognition," said college president Ty Handy. "A lot of people put in a lot of long hours to make Vermont Tech the unique and special institution that it is, and it's very gratifying, not only to be recognized for our efforts, but also to be among the few public institutions to make it into the rankings."

According to its web site, the U.S. News rankings system rests on two pillars: quantitative measures that education experts have proposed as reliable indicators of academic quality, and its own nonpartisan view of what matters in education.