Current News
by tim
Vermonts minimum wage rate will rise to $7 per hour as stated below.
Note: Effective since July 1, 1989, "if the minimum wage rate established by the U.S. Government is greater than the rate established for Vermont for any year, the Vermont minimum wage rate shall be the rate established by the U.S. Government".)
MINIMUM WAGE, effective thru 12/31/2004: $6.75 per hour worked
MINIMUM WAGE, effective 01/01/2005: $7.00 per hour worked.
Employers engaged in the hotel, motel, tourist place and restaurant industry shall receive a tip credit for tips actually earned and retained by *service or tipped employees. For service and tipped employees the basic wage rate** will be:
Minimum Base Rate ...... Maximum Tip
Credit Allowed
Current Rate, eff. 1/1/2004: $3.58/hr. ...... $3.17/hr.
by tim
Karen Kunz has joined Otter Creek Awnings & Patio Rooms as a marketing and customer service representative. Most recently, Kunz was a marketing representative for Total Care, a health insurance company in Syracuse, New York. Kunz will be responsible for assisting with the companys marketing and providing service for customers throughout Vermont and sections of New York and New Hampshire. Kunz earned her bachelors degree from Plymouth State University.
Laura Bent of Otter Creek Awnings & Patio Rooms has been promoted to oversee the sales and design of Otter Creeks new product, custom closets. In addition to custom closet sales and design, Bent is responsible for solar screen and residential awning sales. Bent has been with Otter Creek for four years and earned her bachelors degree from Iowa State University. Otter Creek designs and installs custom awnings, sunrooms and closets for homes and businesses throughout Vermont.
by tim
Polhemus of Colchester, the industry leader in 3D position tracking and digitizing systems, eye-tracking systems and handheld 3D scanners, has recently provided state-of-the-art motion tracking and scanning tools to Champlain College in Burlington.
Champlain students will learn to use the LIBERTY" and PATRIOT" Motion Tracking Systems, and two FastSCAN" 3D scanners as part of the Colleges innovative, high-tech degree programs. These products are invaluable tools in complementing the offered courseware.
In the Electronic Game & Interactive Design and Multimedia & Graphic Design programs, faculty members will integrate this equipment into a lab where students will use it to create high-end 3D animations. These tools have been used in blockbuster movies such as "The Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter III."
by tim
Governor James H. Douglas
Second Inaugural Address
"A Common Purpose"
January 6, 2005
Mr. President, Madame Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the General Assembly, distinguished guests, fellow Vermonters:
I am deeply honored to stand before you again and am humbled by the trust placed in me. I am proud to share this day with my family and especially my loving wife, Dorothy, and I thank them for their support throughout the years. I also want to thank Lt. Governor Dubie for his friendship, his leadership and his service to Vermont.
No person ever stands here alone. Even as I rose in this chamber for the first time, thirty-two years ago, as a freshman legislator, and raised my hand to take the oath of office, I stood tall on the shoulders of our ancestors.
by tim
Lyndonville Savings Bank Announces Transfer to
OTC Bulletin Board
LYNDONVILLE, VT-- Lyndonville Savings Bank
has announced that, effective January 4, 2005, the Bank's common stock will
trade on the OTC Bulletin Board. Previously, the common stock was quoted
on the "Pink Sheets". The Lyndonville Savings Bank common stock will
continue to trade under the symbol "LYSB". The new trading venue is
expected to provide more visibility for the bank's stock. Lyndonville
currently has about 255 stockholders with 1,055,126 shares outstanding.
The stock has recently traded in the $16.50 to $17.50 range and is
currently paying a dividend at the rate of $0.56 annually.
The Lyndonville Savings Bank is a $154 million state-chartered
commercial bank headquartered in Lyndonville, VT with 6 full
service offices throughout northern Vermont.
by tim
Lyndonville Savings Bank Increases Dividend,
Achieves 26% Increase in Net Income in 2004
LYNDONVILLE, VT-- Lyndonville Savings Bank has announced that the Bank will pay a dividend of $0.14 per share on January 11, 2005 to stockholders of record December 22, 2004. This represents a 7.6% increase in the quarterly dividend reflecting continued strength in the banks earnings, and the sixth increase in the quarterly dividend in the past two years.
Net income for the full year ended December 31, 2004 was $1,372,599 (un-audited) compared to $1,085,335 for 2003, a 26% increase. The annualized return on average assets was 0.92 in 2004 compared to 0.76 in 2003.
Total assets were $154,176,429 as of December 31, 2004 compared to $146,981,491 as of December 31, 2003.
by tim
Berlin, Vt. - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) has announced that complementary and alternative health care (CAM) services are now available to its members and their families through the health plans BlueExtras affinity discount program.
The states oldest and largest health insurer has teamed with American WholeHealth Networks, Inc. to add CAM and wellness services such as massage/bodywork, acupuncture, chiropractic services, nutritional counseling, mind/body therapies, spas, fitness centers, and other wellness services.
BCBSVT members simply visit a participating practitioner or facility in American WholeHealth Networks extensive network to receive significant discounts on their CAM care. This newest addition to the BlueExtras program also offers members savings on the newsstand rates of popular health and wellness magazines and discounts on vitamins and supplements.
by tim
RURAL DEVELOPMENT INVESTS IN VERMONT
USDA Rural Development for Vermont announced that during FY 2004
$50,236,513 was invested in Vermont loans and grants. Rural
Businesses in Vermont received almost $6.5 million in direct and
guaranteed loans from RD affecting approximately 254 jobs. Other
examples include $767,854 in grants to organizations striving to
improve the economic conditions of rural Vermont. Three agricultural
entities received a total of $165,737 in Value Added Market
Development Grants. More info? visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/vt
.
by tim
Winter brings exhilarating experiences and delicious comforts to Vermont. Theres no better way to participate in the season than a well-planned visit to the Green Mountain State with the Vermont Chamber 2005 Vermont Winter Guide and the Ski Vermont & Winter Activities Map.
The dynamic combination of the Guide and the Map points the way to Vermonts hot spots, on and off the slopes. At the end of the day, theres nothing like slipping into an outdoor hot tub while relaxing at a Vermont country inn, legendary for hometown charm and hospitality.
Need help choosing? The listings in the Vermont Winter Guide will help you find your B & B, country inn, resort, or hotel. Over highways and back roads, to resorts and beyond, the Ski Vermont & Winter Activities Map will bring you there. And if lodging near a ski resort is key, the Map points to the best.
by tim
BURLINGTON, Vt.--Champlain College Marketing Professor James E. McKee has been named a Professional Certified Marketer by the American Marketing Association. The professional certificate is highly regarded as an indicator of strong knowledge and performance in the marketing field.
Actively involved in the community, McKee has been coordinating The Kelley Marketing Group, a group of volunteers which provides marketing advice to nonprofit organizations in Vermont. Its beneficiaries include hundreds of organizations which run the gamut from The Vermont National Guard to the American Civil Liberties Union.
McKee is a resident of Colchester, Vt., who has taught for 27 years at Champlain College. He teaches marketing and advertising courses at the career-oriented, four-year college. McKee has a B.A. from St. Lawrence University and an M.B.A. from S.U.N.Y. Buffalo.
by tim
On the opening day of the biennium, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce is pleased to publish its 2005 Priorities for Job Creation and Retention.
Set a course to make health care more affordable, accessible, and financially stable:
Ï Involve both the private and public sectors.
Ï Eliminate cost shifting.
Ï Stimulate healthy life styles and heightened personal responsibility.
Ï Embrace market-driven methodologies that drive down costs.
Give Vermont job providers greater opportunity to maintain and create quality jobs:
Ï Exercise fiscal restraint in setting spending and revenue targets.
Ï Refuse to enact new mandates.
Ï Oppose raising taxes or approving new ones.
Ï Reduce the burden of high workers compensation costs on workers and employers.
Ï Require new social programs to be funded by currently available revenues.
Fund economic development programs that encourage economic vitality:
by tim
ForesTrade Inc. and the PPKGO Mobilize Relief Efforts in Aceh, Sumatra
Donations Channeled Through Coffee Kids and Café Femenino Foundation
January 3, 2005 - With a local presence already on the ground at the time
of the December 26 earthquake-tsunami disaster, local partners of Vermont
specialty importer ForesTrade Inc. were able to quickly mobilize relief
efforts in Aceh, Sumatra. The PPKGO (Gayo Organic Coffee Farmers
Association) Fair Trade coffee cooperative quickly responded in
substantial ways; providing shelter and refuge to people in the Takengon
Highlands left homeless from the earthquake and distributing food,
blankets and clothing to people in immediate need. The group has also
sent convoys to the devastated capital of Banda Aceh, where a number of
their children were being educated.
The response from ForesTrade's customers, investors, colleagues, financial