Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) today announced the death of Roy Patten, an incarcerated individual receiving palliative care at the Jack Byrne Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Roy Patten, 73, of Lebanon, New Hampshire, was lodged at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in 2014 and transferred to Southern State Correctional Facility soon after. On April 9, 2024, Mr. Patten was transported to Springfield Hospital Emergency Room after exhibiting signs of medical distress. He was transferred to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for additional care and subsequently the Jack Byrne Center for palliative and hospice care. He passed away on April 22.

Vermont Business Magazine Maple Broadband has completed its initial build area and now offers high-speed fiber optic internet service across 143.5 miles, passing 1,647 households and businesses in portions of the towns of Cornwall, Orwell, Shoreham, Whiting, Salisbury, and Middlebury. Maple Broadband has also begun to launch service in its Phase Two build area, which consists of portions of Vergennes, Ferrisburgh, Waltham, Monkton, and New Haven.  This second build area consists of 68.0 miles and 1,468 passings. Service is now available in this area across 32.4 miles and 574 passings. The remaining Phase Two sections will be activated over the next several months.

Vermont Business Magazine Alan DeForest ’75, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Norwich University, announced the unanimous decision to elect Lieutenant General John Broadmeadow ’83, USMC (Retired), as the University’s 25th president on April 19, 2024. LtGen Broadmeadow will officially transition from his Board of Trustees position to the presidential office on May 1, 2024, which will mark the first time in more than three decades that a Norwich alumnus will lead the school as its president. Upon his promotion to LtGen, he became the highest-ranking Marine officer to ever graduate from the University. Now, he becomes the first Marine to take the mantle of president and the highest-ranking officer to be named president in Norwich University’s history. 

Vermont Business Magazine Mitch Wertlieb has been named permanent host of 'Vermont This Week,' the station has announced. His first show will be Friday, May 10 at 7 pm. Last summer, Wertlieb ended his 20-year run as local host of NPR’s 'Morning Edition' to become host and producer of Vermont Public’s daily news podcast, ‘The Frequency.’ Mitch will continue to host the daily podcast in addition to this new role. Wertlieb follows longtime 'Vermont This Week' Host Stewart Ledbetter, who stepped away from the program last spring after nearly 17 years. The program continued with a rotation of guest hosts, including Wertlieb, over the last year. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (VACCE) announces the election of Matt Harrington as the incoming Chair, effective June 2024. Harrington will succeed Betsy Bishop, who will be stepping down from her role as President of the Vermont Chamber and as the Chair of the VACCE organization. Harrington will be finishing out Bishop’s term before the next election cycle. VACCE, a nonprofit organization representing 30 chambers across Vermont, serves to unite chamber leadership in the state and enhance their professional development. Harrington, currently the executive director of the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce, brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of leadership within VACCE. 

Vermont Business Magazine A New Hampshire doctor made his initial appearance yesterday afternoon in federal court in Burlington and was arraigned on charges related to his alleged involvement in conspiracies to illegally distribute controlled substances and to commit health care fraud. According to court documents, Adnan S. Khan, M.D., 48, of Grantham, New Hampshire orchestrated his alleged illegal prescribing and health care fraud conspiracies through New England Medicine and Counseling Associates (NEMCA), which operated a network of clinics located in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Through NEMCA, Khan allegedly distributed drugs to individuals outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. Khan allegedly required that patients pay cash in exchange for their prescriptions, despite many of his patients having insurance through Medicare and Vermont Medicaid. Khan allegedly prescribed the drugs knowing that at least some of his patients were abusing and diverting the drugs. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) is starting the process to install traffic mitigation controls called “chicanes” on Vermont Route 108 on either side of Smugglers Notch in continued efforts to prevent tractor trailers and other oversized vehicles from attempting to traverse the narrow, windy road. AOT has been working with several partners for the past few years to find ways to prevent what have become known as “stuckages” in the Notch. Recent efforts have led to a steady decline in the annual number of trucks stuck in the Notch. Each "stuckage" closes the highway for a few hours to several hours, which causes traffic to back up and prevents access to businesses and locations on the Stowe and Cambridge sides of the mountain pass.

Vermont Business Magazine Consolidated Communications is celebrating the dedication of its employees in the communities where they live and work this National Volunteer Week (April 21 – 27), the annual week which recognizes the contributions of volunteers and the impact they have on organizations they serve. In support of Everybody Wins! Vermont, Jeff Austin, senior director of fiber build strategy for Consolidated Communications, exemplifies this volunteer spirit in Burlington. Everybody Wins! Vermont is a literacy-based mentoring program, with volunteers working with students during their lunch in 20 schools across the state. Jeff has been involved with Everybody Wins! Vermont since 2003, both as a mentor and serving on the organization's board of directors.  

Vermont Business Magazine CCTV Center for Media & Democracy has announced receipt of a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Humanities Collections and Reference Resources grant alongside 32 peer archival institutions across the country. This $49,927 grant award will support efforts to preserve and expand access to audio/visual community history materials in the CCTV Archives. The CCTV Archives include 42,000+ video programs dating back to the early 1980’s in Burlington, Vermont, a time of social and political transformation of the state’s largest city. Begun as the collection of a prolific local videographer and CCTV Co-Founder, Nat Ayer recording hometown events, CCTV quickly expanded into a collection of recordings by a legion of community media makers connecting community members while documenting local history and culture in the making.

Vermont Business Magazine The Snelling Center for Government has announced the graduates of the Early Childhood Leadership Institute Class of 2024. As the culminating event in their 6-month leadership journey, the Early Childhood Leadership Institute (ECLI) Class of 2024 celebrated their achievements with Graduation at Burke Mountain Resort in East Burke in Mid April. Family members, friends, and colleagues joined the cohort for a celebratory graduation luncheon. This year’s keynote address was delivered by Jubilee McGill, Legislator from Addison County. McGill reflected on the landscape of early childhood care in Vermont and the importance of this profession and leadership in the field. She thanked the cohort for their work and leadership.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health has confirmed a case of measles in an individual who is in Vermont as part of an international group program. This is the first confirmed case of measles in Vermont since 2018. The other 25 members of the group were also exposed before arriving in Vermont, but most have immunity and are protected from measles. On April 10, the Health Department was informed by the Georgia Department of Public Health that the group was exposed to a traveler who was determined to have measles following their arrival on an international flight to Atlanta. The Health Department is asking anyone who was inside the Hampton Inn in Colchester on Wednesday, April 17, to take the precautions listed below. Anyone with symptoms of measles should stay home, consider wearing a mask around others, and contact their healthcare provider immediately. DO NOT go to the doctor’s office, the hospital, or a public health clinic without first calling to let them know about your symptoms. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that COVID-19 cases fell from 56 to 42. In addition, hospitalizations also fell as COVID overall remains at a low level. There was one fatality last week. The pandemic death total now stands at 1,145 as of April 13, 2024 (the most recent data available). Total reported deaths in January were 28, which is the highest monthly total in a year, but only 16 in February, 11 in March and one in April. The VDH reported last week that COVID-19 hospitalizations were at a statewide total of 8, which is among the lowest they've been since last summer. COVID-19 activity remains in the "Low" range, according to the VDH. Of the total deaths to date, 924 have been of Vermonters 70 or older. There have been 3 deaths of Vermonters under 30 since the beginning of the pandemic.