News 2008-04-29 Andanh.com

Report flunks Vermont for lack of transparency on child abuse Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Vermont and nine other states earned F's in a report examining how forthcoming states are in releasing information about their roles in cases of severe child abuse.

Trial begins in rape case that led to officer's firing Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
A trial began Monday for a Burlington man accused of a 2006 sexual assault that led to the firing of a Winooski police officer.

Crane 309 overcomes wanderlust Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Sometimes when you lay an egg, it can be a good thing.

Panel to issue stimulus plan report Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
In a report coming out today, lawmakers will recommend some, but not the entire 15-point economic stimulus package outlined 10 days ago by Gov. Jim Douglas.

UVM begins search for interim CFO Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
The University of Vermont has begun a search for an interim chief financial officer and plans to hire an outside consultant to investigate the contractual irregularities that led the top financial officer to resign this month.

Colchester's Rathskeller Restaurant closing Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
The owner of The Rathskeller Restaurant and Lounge in Colchester must close the business Wednesday to make way for a car wash.

Milton school budget goes to voters Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Milton voters head back to the polls today for what school officials hope is the last school budget vote this year.

Author suggests tips for taking Fido on the trail Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Lisa Densmore has detailed 60 hikes in a guide to dog-friendly trails called "Best Hikes with Dogs: New Hampshire and Vermont."

More schools miss progress goals Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:33:00 EST
Shifting benchmarks have administrators feeling left behind

Police: Mass. man set Intervale fire Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:03:00 EST
Burlington police say they have located a suspect in connection with a fire that destroyed a historic barn owned by Burlington's Intervale Center on Sunday.

Police solve kidnapping from 1976 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Incarcerated man confesses to murder

Compost operation caught in cliffhanger Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Will Intervale's service close?

'Sir Elton' finally visits Vermont Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
The knighted British popstar will be coming to the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction on July 21.

Work's victims remembered at City Hall Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Fourteen Vermonters were killed in 2006 accidents

Mount Snow installs green snow guns Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
The effort will eliminate need for 16 diesel compressors

Steak secrets of the meatmen Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Find the cut that fits your needs

Table Talk: Questions of some interest, little import Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Not that it matters, but ...

Horoscope Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Today's predictions

My Turn: Renters' rights deserve protection Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:20:00 EST
Most landlords are good landlords, and most tenants are good tenants.

Editorial: What needs to be done as adjournment nears Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Several key issues remain

My Turn: Landlord-tenant bill makes fair changes Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Any legislator who reviews this bill will find it reasonable and fair.

Letters to the Editor Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Each year the Free Press receives thousands of letters. Here are today's letters.

Sunday's scores Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
As reported to the Free Press

SMC selects men's soccer coach Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Franklin begins work in May

UVM men's basketball Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Curtis not coming

Vermonter runs sub four-minute mile Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Norwich's Wheating wins Oregon Relays in milestone time of 3:58.12

GMVS slips by Knights Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
H.S. girls lacrosse

College Honors Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
As reported to the Free Press Sports Department:

Weekly Bowling Report Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Yankees Lanes

Scores and Schedules Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Monday's scores and Tuesday's schedule

Monday's College roundup Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Green Mountain captures regional softball championship

High School lacrosse Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
GMVS beats Milton

Risky business Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
The Legislature has passed a bill requiring that Entergy Vermont, the owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, guarantee full funding for the eventual decommissioning of the plant. ...

Louras, board clear air over water and sewer Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
There was tough talk by some city aldermen and Mayor Christopher Louras hours before they got together Monday to talk about the mayor's ongoing negotiations with Rutland Town. ... - By BRENT CURTIS Herald Staff

Village gravel pit hits snag Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
WALLINGFORD -- Applicants seeking an amended Act 250 permit for a controversial village gravel-pit project failed to clear a major hurdle in an attempt to win state approval for the proposal. ... - By SANDI SWITZER Herald Correspondent

Bomb threats clear Stafford, high school Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Matching threats penned on two bathroom stalls compelled Rutland City school officials and police to evacuate 1,200 students from the high school and Stafford Technical Center Monday afternoon. ... - By BRENT CURTIS Herald Staff

Police charge 12-year-old in vandalism Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Police have charged a 12-year-old in connection with shooting a vehicle window on West Street in Rutland. ... - By DAWSON RASPUZZI Herald Staff

Mother's Day flower pot sale Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Flower pots with seeds are on sale at $10 each for Mother's Day on Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Rutland Regional Medical Center main hallway, next to the gift shop. Proceeds to benefit Kids on the Move rehabilitation center. ...

Friday Night Live seeks volunteers Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
The Downtown Rutland Partnership is looking for volunteers to help set up, take down and provide information to the public for Friday Night Live events. ...

Remove feeders to avoid bears Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
Vermont's black bears have emerged from their winter dens and are looking for springtime food sources. ...

Pit closed again for soil testing Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
The parking lot on the corner of Wales and Center streets in Rutland will be closed for today and Wednesday to allow for more soil testing. ...

April showers, May flowers Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:59:00 EST
A Price Chopper worker collects shopping carts from the parking lot in the rain Monday evening in Rutland. ...

Dartmouth class to go high-tech in cannon search Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:44:00 EST
BENNINGTON -- Indiana Jones isn't the only college professor looking for mysterious treasures this year. Associate Professor Leslie Sonder and her Earth Sciences 64 class will be examining Dartmouth College's Memorial Field today for signs of a World War I cannon that may have been stolen from in front of the Vermont Veterans Home and buried under the field. "I think it has a certain appeal to the students to have something tangible to look for and dig up that maybe has some Dartmouth history. They're excited to go treasure hunting, so to speak," Sonder said. Sonder said students in the geophysics class will be examining the stadium's grounds with a magnetometer looking for magnetic field anomalies that could indicate the presence of a large metal object. If something is found, the next step would be to do a search using ground-penetrating radar. Police in Hanover, N.H., have been investigating the cannon mystery since at least December, according to Colleen Rundell, administrator of the Vermont Veterans Home. Rundell said police told them they had been approached by a man who told them that in the 1960s he had stolen a cannon from the veterans home and buried it under the field at Dartmouth. An empty ammunition carriage under the bleachers at Memorial Field provided some evidence that the man may have been telling the truth, but officials at Dartmouth said no one seemed quite sure how the carriage got there or how long it had been under the bleachers. Staff at the veterans home were not able to shed much more light on the situation. While Rundell has a postcard she believes may show the missing cannon, no records have been brought to light that indicate a cannon ever went missing from the home. Michelle Burgess, director of therapeutic recreation and a longtime employee at the home, said earlier this month some believed because the cannons were stored out of sight for some time in a barn on the grounds, the cannon could have just been forgotten as employees came and went. Some of the mystery may begin to clear up during today's investigation. Sonder said members of her class, who are all upperclassmen and earth science majors this year, will be on the field at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. The students will survey the grounds using a magnetometer to look for anomalies in the earth's magnetic field in the area. Sonder said the students will need to filter out anomalies that would be expected to be part of any stadium like the presence of I-beams and electrical currents from cables under the ground. The magnetometer won't tell the students how deep an object is buried or exactly where it's located either as part of what Sonder said would be a "crude survey." There will be four students in the morning and five in the afternoon, whom Sonder expects to be divided up between running the magnetometer's scanner, reading its results and surveying the grounds to create a logical search pattern. "It's a fabulous kind of project. You don't have something like this fall into your lap every day," Sonder said. When the police first approached Sonder about using her students to continue the investigation, she thought it was "really kind of perfect," she said on Monday. "It's local enough for the students to get a handle on and we'll be using techniques that the students will be learning in class," she said. Contact Patrick McArdle at patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com. ... - By PATRICK McARDLE Herald Staff

Man charged in alleged assault on ex's new boyfriend Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION -- A Windsor man has been charged with allegedly threatening his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend with a gun. Last week, Brad J. Isaacs, 29, pleaded innocent in White River Junction District Court to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, domestic assault and reckless endangerment. The maximum penalty for all the charges is seven years in prison and $11,000 in fines. According to an affidavit filed with the court by Officer Emmit Green with the Windsor Police Department, at about 5 a.m. April 19, Windsor dispatch received a call from Josh Langlois, who claimed he had just been threatened with a gun while at the apartment of his girlfriend, Heidi Ferrell. Police said the man told them that he was asleep in his girlfriend's bed when Isaacs entered the bedroom, pointed a gun at him and told him to get out. The man described the gun as a black and gray .45 caliber pistol, police said. "I was scared of being shot," the man wrote in a sworn statement. "Yes, I was threatened. I thought my life was in jeopardy." Police said the man fled the apartment and drove toward his home in Claremont, N.H., where he called Claremont Police. They told him to return and make a complaint with Windsor Police. Police responded to the apartment and spoke with the woman, who confirmed that Isaacs had pointed a gun at her boyfriend and ordered him out of the apartment, police said. The woman told police that at the time of the incident, her two children -- ages 3 and 5 -- stood in the bedroom doorway and watched what was happening, police said. Police said the woman told them she asked Isaacs to leave several times before Isaacs ripped the air conditioner from the window and left the apartment. "I was scared and I just wanted him to leave and not come back," the woman wrote in a sworn statement. Police searched the apartment and did not find any sign of forced entry, but did find the back door unlocked. Police said the boyfriend and the girlfriend met at the police station, where they both gave sworn statements and the girlfriend took out a restraining order against Isaacs. While there, police said Isaacs called both of them on their cell phones, telling the boyfriend to "man up" and call him back and telling the girlfriend that if she didn't call him back, he would return to her apartment. Police returned to the girlfriend's apartment and saw a green Jeep Cherokee parked outside. When police ran the registration, they found the Jeep belonged to Isaacs and also learned there was a warrant out for Isaacs's arrest for failure to appear in White River Junction District Court to answer charges of narcotics possession. When police approached the apartment they encountered a man who identified himself as Isaacs. Police said that Isaacs was taken into custody after a brief struggle and a search of his person revealed a loaded Laseraim .45 caliber pistol in his front jacket pocket. As police escorted Isaacs into the station, police said Isaacs muttered, "She cheats on me. What does she expect?" Police issued Isaacs a copy of the restraining order against him and a citation to appear in District Court. Isaacs was transported to Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield on $5,000 bail, police said. Police also took Isaacs's key to the woman's apartment, police said. After pleading innocent, Isaacs was released on a number of conditions, including that he not come within 100 yards of his alleged victims. Contact Josh O'Gorman at josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com. ... - By JOSH O'GORMAN Herald Staff

New charges for Bennington man in alleged knife attack Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
BENNINGTON -- The state has filed new charges against Elliot S. "Face" Russell, who was accused in December of attacking two men with a knife, about three months after pleading guilty to stabbing a third man in March 2007. Russell was charged with two felony counts of second-degree attempted murder in December. On Monday, the charges were modified in Bennington County District Court to include two felony charges each of attempted involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault with a weapon. Russell has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. According to a police affidavit, the charges stem from a fight on Main Street in Bennington on Dec. 10 outside the Red Rascal bar. Police said Todd Merrow, 32, and Felix Rivera, 38, of Bennington, said Russell stabbed Merrow and tried to stab Rivera while another witness provided a statement that said Rivera used a knife as well during the fight. Different accounts agreed that Merrow and Rivera talked with Russell and a friend of Russell's inside the bar. Russell and his friend told police that Merrow made a pass at the friend's girlfriend which led to the fight outside. Police said Merrow was stabbed in the chest, the abdomen and near the right eye. Bennington County Chief Deputy Christina Rainville said on Monday that the law allowed the state to add the new charges, all of which involved the already-named alleged victims, Merrow and Rivera, even though they all stemmed from the same action. In court on Monday, Russell's attorney, Matthew Harnett, told Judge Katherine Hayes that he may file motions about the new charges and questioned whether "attempted involuntary manslaughter" was even listed as a crime in Vermont. In September 2007, Russell pleaded guilty to a felony charge of aggravated assault as part of a plea agreement that called for a sentence of one to three years in prison, all suspended except eight months. In that case, Russell pleaded guilty to stabbing Paul Adams, 31, of Bennington, which police said caused Adams' right lung to collapse. A few days before the Dec. 10 incident, Russell was charged with violating his parole after Jeffrey Allard, Vermont Department of Corrections probation and parole officer, said Russell tested positive for cocaine use. Russell was sentenced on Monday for that violation. Rainville argued that the new charges and the use of cocaine so soon after Russell's release from prison indicated that Russell was "completely out of control." However, Hayes said she couldn't consider the pending charges and sentenced Russell to time he had served both before and after the Dec. 10 incident. At the end of the hearing, Hayes said the sentencing hadn't changed much for Russell, but did eliminate any of the pending charges except for those stemming from the allegations from December. Russell is being held in Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland. Contact Patrick McArdle at patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com. ... - By PATRICK McARDLE Herald Staff

Greener Mount Snow with new snow guns Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
WEST DOVER -- Aiming to green up its snowmaking operations, Mount Snow ski resort plans to install more than 150 more energy-efficient fan guns, boosting its total to 261, officials said Monday. The guns, which run on electricity and use on-board compressors, will be installed this summer along well-trafficked trails. Combined with 101 of the guns installed last summer, the guns will eliminate the need for 16 diesel compressors and save about 200,000 gallons of diesel full annually, according to Kelly Pawlak, Mount Snow's general manager. "It certainly became very clear to us that fan guns are the real deal, as we were the first ski area to open in Vermont -- with top-to-bottom skiing and a terrain park on day one -- and we were among the last to close in late April," said Pawlak. In addition to the $5 million snowmaking expansion, new owners Peak Resorts are planning to spend $1.4 million on painting chair lifts, improving a guest locker room and upgrading the resort's golf course. ...

Man charged in domestic assault Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
MARLBORO -- A Brattleboro man with three previous domestic assault convictions was once again charged with domestic assault on Saturday. Shortly before 7:30 p.m., police received a 911 call from a woman at the Golden Eagle Motel on Route 9 who claimed she had just been assaulted. After an investigation, police arrested William O. Brewer, 43, and charged him with aggravated domestic assault. Brewer was lodged at Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield on $25,000 bail, police said. On Monday, Brewer pleaded not guilty to aggravated domestic assault and is currently being held on $10,000 bail, said a clerk with the court. According to police, Brewer has two prior convictions for domestic assault and one prior conviction for second degree aggravated domestic assault. ...

2nd student appeals in cheating scandal Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
HANOVER, N.H. -- A second student convicted in the Hanover High School cheating scandal has filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court. Jason Hadley of Norwich, Vt., was convicted last month of being an accomplice to the theft of final exams that were stolen from the school last June. Another student, Paul Formella, was found guilty of being an accomplice in November and appealed his conviction the next month. Hadley's appeal asks the court to decide whether the conviction can stand if prosecutors presented no evidence that a crime had taken place. Ten students from Hanover and Norwich have been charged with being involved in the scandal. -- Staff and wire reports ...

Big day for Vt.: Two former players head for NFL Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:00:00 EST
Considering there have been just two colleges playing football in Vermont in recent decades, both NCAA Division III at that, the NFL draft weekend was pretty significant in the state. ... - By TOM HALEY Herald Staff

Kentucky Derby clings to history on dirt Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The dirt will be flying when 20 horses stampede around the first turn at the Kentucky Derby, and more than 150,000 fans will hear the thundering of hooves down the stretch to the finish line. ... - By BETH HARRIS The Associated Press

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