Current News

Vermont Business Magazine On May 12, the Vermont Department of Labor’s Workforce Development Division participated in a graduation ceremony held by Vermont Technical College, honoring the 164 individuals graduating from the Registered Apprenticeship Program. The graduates came from all areas of Vermont, with every county represented, ranging in age from 20 to nearly 60 years old. The participants were each presented with a nationally recognized certification in their field, securing a career path for each. Registered Apprentices are paid while they learn and take coursework as a part of their program. This years’ graduates will be moving into occupations specializing in the electrical, plumbing, industrial sewing, and advanced manufacturing industries.

Vermont Business Magazine Due to new federal regulations, Vermont public water systems need to inventory the drinking water service lines that connect homes and buildings to the water main by October 16, 2024. The inventory of this vital infrastructure will help systems find and remove harmful lead service lines that deliver water to Vermonters. As the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recognizes Infrastructure Week, May 15 – 19, 2023, members of the public can support this important public health work by responding promptly if a water system professional contacts them to schedule a quick water line check.

Vermont State Police The Chief Medical Examiner’s Office has completed its autopsy findings regarding the March 23, 2023, death of Darrel Jones while in custody at the Bennington Police Department. The office determined that the cause of Jones’s death was acute mixed drug intoxication including fentanyl, heroin and cocaine, and the manner of death was an accident. The Vermont State Police investigation into this incident concluded that Jones had drugs concealed in his person when he was taken into custody by the Bennington Police Department. He subsequently ingested a large amount of drugs while in a holding cell before he experienced extreme medical distress and died in the cell.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) today announced Southern State Correctional Facility Superintendent Mike Lyon will immediately return to his position at the Springfield facility after an independent investigation determined a recent allegation of misconduct to be unfounded. Interim Superintendent Monique Sullivan will resume her position as Living Unit Supervisor.

Vermont Business Magazine The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that John Van Vught, 72, of Northfield, Vermont, was arrested on Friday, May 12, 2023 in Brunswick, Georgia. Van Vught is expected to have his initial appearance later today before a United States Magistrate Judge in Brunswick, Georgia. According to court records, on May 11, 2023, the federal grand jury in Burlington, Vermont returned a three-count wire fraud indictment related to Van Vught’s embezzlement of $560,000 from ValleyNet, a non-profit operating in the Upper Valley. Van Vught performed contract accounting work for ValleyNet between 2010 and July 2022. During that timeframe, Van Vught transferred $560,000 out of ValleyNet’s accounts into his personal bank account. Van Vught hid the transfers by underreporting the income ValleyNet received according to his accounting submissions. Van Vught also obfuscated his possession of the embezzled funds by purchasing properties in Georgia and Florida.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, US Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) held a press conference in Burlington calling for a stronger code of ethics of US Supreme Court Justices. Senator Welch, a member of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, was joined by Marilyn Skoglund, retired Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, and Andrew Manitsky, President of the Vermont Bar Association and legal ethics expert. Despite multiple requests for information from the Supreme Court and hearings in the Judiciary Committee, the Court has, to date, failed to outline meaningful steps it will take to establish robust ethical standards and processes.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont (UVM) today launched its Institute for Agroecology dedicated to advancing just, sustainable food systems, and supported by a $1 million grant from the Schmidt Family Foundation’s 11th Hour Project. The UVM Institute for Agroecology, approved by the UVM Board of Trustees earlier this year, will receive base funds from the university to begin its work immediately. It will build on more than a decade of work in agroecology at UVM, pursuing research, collaboration and movement building around the world. Early priorities for the Institute will include convening national and global agroecology summits, advancing agroecology through communications and shared learning, conducting participatory research alongside farmers, farmworkers and other researchers and developing a leadership program for emerging young agroecologists. Specific research programs will focus on agroecology in the South American Andes and Africa.

Vermont Business Magazine Lamoille Housing Partnership (LHP,) nonprofit affordable housing developer, was recently awarded a $175,000 Housing for Everyone grant from the TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank. LHP is one of 37 non-profit organizations selected from more than 450 applicants to receive a Housing for Everyone grant as part of the TD Charitable Foundation's signature grant initiative that has helped support organizations that are focused on providing affordable housing and affordable housing services since 2005. In recent years the housing affordability crisis has continued to be a financial burden on families. As individuals and families across the country struggle with inflation and an exponential rise in rental costs, affordable housing providers face increased hardship given the growing demand for affordable rental units and emergency rental assistance.

Vermont Business Magazine It's not uncommon for a corporate employee at Ben & Jerry's to have began their career as a scooper and then move onto a corporate position, many staying for decades. But going from a tour guide to CEO? That's something else. Ben & Jerry's named Dave Stever as its new CEO on May 8, 2023. The 34 year veteran has seen it all in his career. The lifelong Vermonter, started as a tour guide in 1988 at the company's Waterbury factory, which is the state's #1 tour attraction. Stever swiftly established himself in Marketing and management and over the past 12 years as Chief Marketing Officer. One of his strengths has been working cross functionally to create impactful partnerships with the likes of Dave Matthews Band, Stephen Colbert, Willie Nelson, Sir Elton John, Jimmy Fallon, Colin Kaepernick, Netflix, Chance the Rapper, Tony's Chocolonely and Ava DuVernay. While leading the company to remain as part of the cultural zeitgeist, Stever never lost focus on the critical differentiator for Ben & Jerry's: Its mission.