News 2008-05-02 Andanh.com

A deeper hole Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
As the session nears its close, the Legislature is patching together a budget under extremely trying circumstances, hoping to address a variety of competing interests. ...

The Wright stuff Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
Barack Obama has tried to quiet the controversy caused by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, holding a press conference on Tuesday where he renounced his former pastor in no uncertain terms. ...

OutdoorsVT: Water bottle wars heat up over BPA: Swiss-made SIGG containers gaining favor among outdo Thu, 01 May 2008 12:33:00 EST
What's a health-conscious outdoor type to do now that some are saying their favorite water bottle might not be the healthiest thing around? ... - By DARREN MARCY

Westside man recalled at funeral Fri, 02 May 2008 00:07:00 EST
He didn't like to have his picture taken, but it's the smiling, often camera-mugging images of Sean Grant that his friends and relatives said Thursday summed him up the most. ... - By BRENT CURTIS Herald Staff

Comcast expands cable services : 90 miles of line to be built in county Thu, 01 May 2008 23:51:00 EST
Comcast is extending its telecommunications services to Tinmouth and two other towns in Vermont for the first time. ... - By BRUCE EDWARDS Herald Staff

Soil tests continue at downtown lot Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
What's under the Pit at the corner of Center and Wales Streets will have a lot to do with what's built on top of the vacant lot, according to officials working to develop the prime slice of downtown Rutland real estate. ... - By BRENT CURTIS Herald Staff

Remembering Holocaust victims Thu, 01 May 2008 23:51:00 EST
Ten flickering white candles represented the millions of people killed in the Holocaust and other genocides of the 20th and 21st century. ... - By SARA-MEGAN WALSH Herald Staff

You can always go downtown Fri, 02 May 2008 00:13:00 EST
Christopher Faris plays music by Bach on his church bass, which looks similar to a cello, Thursday for passersby in downtown Rutland. ...

Troopers investigate air gun vandalism Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
Vermont State Police are investigating a rash of vandalism Wednesday night to vehicles in Clarendon. ...

Repairs cut service for CVPS customers Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
Approximately 1,600 customers were expected to be left in the dark Thursday night as Central Vermont Power Service made plans to make an emergency repair. ...

Alyssa chooses to be a Husky Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:23:00 EST
Editor's note: Alyssa Pollard agreed to let the Herald follow her through her senior year of high school. Through her experience, readers learned about the process many high school students go through when choosing a college. Vermont loses many high school graduates to out-of-state post-secondary institutions and employment opportunities. This was a look into how one student weighed her choices as she prepared for life after high school. ... - By SARAH HINCKLEY Times Argus Staff

Bank job suspect released on conditions Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
A Delaware man charged with robbing a bank in Poultney answered to charges in U.S. District Court in Rutland on Wednesday. ... - By BRENT CURTIS Herald Staff

Vermont set for annual greening Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
It's that time of year when Vermonters roll up their sleeves and put on rubber gloves to become part of the green army in the annual battle against the trash-tossing litterbugs who bombard public roadways and parks with cigarette butts, coffee cups, fast food wrappers and more. ... - By SARA-MEGAN WALSH Herald Staff

Where to go, what to do Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
Rutland County is celebrating the annual Green Up Day in a variety of ways early this Saturday. ... - By SARA-MEGAN WALSH Herald Staff

CSJ programs focus on substance abuse Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
With the need for professionals in the alcohol and substance abuse services field, the College of St. Joseph in Rutland is offering an opportunity for students. ... - By DAWSON RASPUZZI Herald Staff

Chamber takes over cycle rally Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
The Killington Classic motorcycle rally is under new and local management. ... - By BRENT CURTIS Herald Staff

Alien offender jailed, set to be deported Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
A 42-year-old man indicted last year by a federal grand jury in Rutland on charges of entering the United States after being previously deported is heading to prison. ...

Barstow School to mark founding Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
CHITTENDEN -- The Barstow Memorial School in Chittenden will be celebrating 75 years since its founding in 1933 with a homecoming celebration starting Friday. ...

The Home Depot to close Brattleboro location, 14 others Fri, 02 May 2008 00:12:00 EST
Hit with a slowing economy and sluggish housing market, The Home Depot announced Thursday it will close its four-year-old Brattleboro store -- one of 15 stores the giant home improvement chain will close nationwide. "We had taken a look at the financials at a number of our stores and came up with a number that didn't meet the targeted returns and unfortunately Brattleboro was one of them," Home Depot corporate spokeswoman Jean Niemi said Thursday. Opened in 2004, the Brattleboro store employs 83 workers. Niemi said the 60,800- square-foot-store closed at 7 p.m. Thursday but will reopen Saturday to sell out its remaining inventory. She estimated the store will close in seven weeks. Niemi said the other Vermont stores, including the 114,814-square-foot Rutland store, the 84,714- square-foot Bennington store and the 102,811-square-foot Williston store, are meeting their financial targets. Although the Brattleboro store is just across the Connecticut River from Keene, N.H., where Home Deport has a store, Niemi said the proximity of the stores to each other was not a factor in the decision to close the Brattleboro store. The company also has a store in nearby Greenfield, Mass. At 60,800 square feet, she said the Brattleboro location was smaller than an average Home Depot, which measures 100,000 square feet. Niemi said the company is putting together a severance package for Brattleboro store workers. Home Deport will close 15 underperforming U.S. stores, which represent less than 1 percent of the chain's 2,258 stores worldwide. The company will also close stores in Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Niemi said while the closings in part reflect "a tough economy right now," the company periodically takes a look at store performance. The closings will affect approximately 1,300 workers. Store managers and assistant store managers will be offered other store management positions while the company will attempt to place other employees in comparable store positions where available. "Closing a store is always a difficult decision because it affects both our people and our communities," Frank Blake, Home Depot chairman and CEO said in a statement. "But, as with our decision to slow future store growth, this is the right decision and will bring long-term benefits to our associates and to our shareholders." For the current fiscal year, the company said it will follow through on the opening of 55 new stores, including 36 stores in the United States. However, the home improvement chain said it will freeze plans for opening approximately 50 stores that have been in the planning stages, in some cases for more than 10 years. The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,258 stores in 50 states, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico, China, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. In fiscal 2007, the company reported sales of $77.3 billion and earnings of $4.2 billion. The company has more than 300,000 employees. Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HD. The stock gained $1.07 Thursday to close at $29.87 a share. Contact Bruce Edwards at bruce.edwards@rutlandherald.com. ... - By BRUCE EDWARDS Herald Staff

Apple Blossom season : Youngsters sharpen dance moves for annual Cotillion Fri, 02 May 2008 00:09:00 EST
SPRINGFIELD -- Tonight and Saturday, 44 teenagers and 44 elementary school pupils will perform in the 52nd annual Apple Blossom Cotillion at Riverside Middle School, and if their dance steps appear flawless, it's the result of practice, practice, practice. Since January, 22 high school senior girls and their escorts have met every Sunday to practice dance steps to enable the girls to compete for the crown of Apple Blossom Queen. In what many people call Springfield's largest single community event, as many as 1,500 people are expected to turn out. With only days before the competition, contestants have met every night this week to hone their dance steps and to put a final polish on the production. At the start of practice, the 22 couples formed a circle around Cotillion producers Pam Church and Carrie Patch as the two paired up to demonstrate the cha cha. The Cotillion is definitely a throwback to an earlier time when ballroom dancing skills were more common. Originally, the cotillion was a "coming out" ceremony for young women who would be presented to the community on the arm of a prominent businessman. This year's theme, "It Takes Two," draws music from famous duos, including Sonny and Cher, Ike and Tina Turner and Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond. The Cotillion is a fundraising event for the Springfield Hospital Foundation, which since 1991 has used ticket sales to award more than $92,000 in scholarships to local high school seniors who intend to seek a career in medicine. Last year, proceeds from the Cotillion enabled the foundation to award three $2,000 scholarships and six $1,000 scholarships. In addition to the contestants and their escorts, 44 elementary age children will perform as well, some of them aspiring to compete when they are seniors. Cassidy Otis, 9, said that this was the second year she will perform as a future Cotillionaire. "I think it's pretty fun," Otis said. "We get to dance and we get to be with older kids." Otis said that she hoped to one day be the Apple Blossom Queen. Levi Perham, 7, said he liked the dancing too, but found the fast dancing to be difficult. On the other side of the gymnasium, the older kids sat on the bleachers between dance numbers and the escorts waited to be called for their tuxedo fitting. William Race, 18, of Claremont, said that he was no longer feeling self-conscious about singing and dancing in public. "The first few times it was awkward," Race said, "but when you're stuck together for hours, you get to know people." Josh Bruce, 17, of Springfield, said he has learned a couple of valuable lessons during the four months of practice. "There's always somebody who's a worse singer and there's always somebody who's a worse dancer," Bruce said. Green Mountain High School student Sam Joynas said the amount of practice involved was a bit of a surprise. "I was asked a year ago," Joynas said, noting that the girls ask the boys, "so long ago that I had no idea how much commitment it would take." Caitlin Chaffee, 17, has dreamed of the Apple Blossom Cotillion for years. "I heard about it when I was a sophomore and I wanted to do it, but then I found out it was only open to seniors," Chaffee said. Chaffee, who is a senior at Fall Mountain Regional High School in Langdon, N.H., saw the Cotillion as an opportunity to be social. "I like to do things in other towns so I can meet other people," Chaffee said. "This has been great." While Chaffee has waited two years for the Cotillion, Springfield High School senior Taryn Sidney, 17, has been looking forward to this for a lot longer than that. Sidney first performed as a future Cotillionaire when she was in kindergarten and has been looking forward to competing for the title of Apple Blossom Queen ever since. "Can you imagine if I win?" Sidney asked her friend Chaffee, and despite the competition, the two encouraged each other. There will be two performances -- tonight and Saturday -- of the Apple Blossom Cotillion in the gymnasium at Riverside Middle School. Doors open at 6 p.m. each night, with performances beginning at 7:30. Judges will crown the Apple Blossom Queen and her court at the conclusion of Saturday's performance. Tickets for Friday's performance are $8 and will be available at the door. Tickets for Saturday's performance are $10 and are on sale at Arlene's Hallmark Shop, Hidden Treasures eBay store on Main Street and the Corner Gift Shop in the Springfield Hospital lobby. Contact Josh O'Gorman at josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com. ... - By JOSH O'GORMAN Herald Staff

National Outdoor Book Award winner makes Manchester appearance Fri, 02 May 2008 15:44:00 EST
When Lou Ureneck and his 18-year-old son, Adam, shoved their raft into the Kanektok River deep in the Alaskan mountains near the Arctic Circle for a week-long fishing trip, Ureneck was hoping to salvage the troubled relationship between the two. When they pulled out 110 miles later near the Bering Sea, not only was the relationship with his son much improved and headed in the right direction, but Ureneck had recovered something within himself he never even realized he had lost. A memoir about the 2000 trip and Ureneck's life leading up to the epic journey has become a raging literary success, winning a 2007 National Outdoor Book Award for outdoor literature. Ureneck will present his novel "Backcast: Fatherhood, Fly-Fishing and a River Journey through the Heart of Alaska," at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester. As Ureneck takes readers down the river, he also takes them back through his life and how he was brought to that Alaska river. He reveals that his own father abandoned him when he was 7 years old, and a stepfather, who was really the only father figure he knew, also walked away when Ureneck was in college. Throughout his youth, Ureneck turned to fishing and the outdoors for comfort. "The outdoors saved me," Ureneck said. "It gave me a place to go to that was beautiful and serene and peaceful. Nature became an important part of my life as a boy." Losing two fathers, Ureneck vowed never to divorce and when it happened, he said, his son took it very hard. Adam lived with his father during high school, but grew more and more angry approaching his high school graduation. "Through that time, he and I were close," Ureneck said. "But the relation was deeply strained. I saw the anger deepening into something more permanent." A six-year-old promise to fish Alaska found Ureneck financially and emotionally devastated by the divorce, but he knew he had to keep his word or, he believed, he risked losing his son forever. A trip was put together on a shoestring. The trip started poorly with Adam angry and the pair bickering. But a difficult stretch of river while lost forced them to work together and began a new chapter of the trip. "There was a lot that was great about the trip," Ureneck said. "The wildlife, the scenery, the fishing. But there was a lot of trouble between Adam and me, particularly at the beginning of the trip. But things got better as we went down the river." There were also moments of terror and uncertainty. Perhaps the most harrowing was an encounter with a female brown bear and her cub, when Ureneck and Adam rounded a sharp bend in the river and surprised the sow and cub. "Typically, bears, if you leave them alone, they leave you alone," Ureneck said. "The guaranteed exception is if you surprise a bear, particularly a female bear with a cub." The river was very narrow -- about three times as wide as the raft -- and the pair quickly pulled the raft to shore and stepped out about 40 yards away from the bruins. Ureneck knew it was a bad situation and grabbed the double-barreled shotgun loaded with slugs as the sow's eyes locked on Adam. The teen started walking away from the bear and then broke into a jog -- exactly the wrong move when confronted by a bear. The sow went after Adam and Ureneck raised the shotgun and yelled for Adam to stop. He kept running and so did the bear. Just before he was going to pull the trigger, he yelled again. Adam stopped and so did the bear -- at 20 yards away. Ureneck said she turned toward her cub, which had scampered into the brush during the excitement, and after a moment of indecision, turned to go look for her cub. Heart-pounding moments like those helped Ureneck rediscover a piece of himself lost in the divorce. "Nature had always been important to me," he said. "I had lost my connection in recent years with nature. Being out there brought me back to life and stirred up my old confidence. I was changed by my time in the outdoors of Alaska. The experience of that wild river and breathtaking landscape changed me." That renewed strength carried over into his role as a father. "One of the things that happened along the way is I regained my confidence as a father," Ureneck said. "(The trip) gave me the strength and confidence to start being a father again. I had lost my ability to be a father and it was contributing to the problems between Adam and me." When he started writing, the book started as a fishing story, but he quickly realized his youth and the impact it had on who he had become was a big part of the tale. "Initially, the book was just going to be the story of Adam and me making our way down the river," Ureneck said. "As I began writing, I felt the undertow of my own childhood. It was the story of me growing up as a boy without a father and loving to fish." While Ureneck immediately recognized some of the changes the trip had on him, it was several years before he better understood all the benefits the trip brought to his life. Contact Darren Marcy at darren.marcy@rutlandherald.com. ... - By DARREN MARCY Herald Staff

Bellows Falls hydro gate repaired Fri, 02 May 2008 09:17:00 EST
BELLOWS FALLS -- TransCanada confirmed late Thursday that its workers had finally been able to get the stuck roller gate at its Bellows Falls hydroelectric dam back into place. TransCanada spokeswoman Shela Shapiro said in an e-mail that the gate was finally operational. "We successfully lowered (the) gate this afternoon," she wrote. Shapiro praised the work of its employees in tackling the problem at the hydro station on the Connecticut River. The gate has been stuck open for more than two weeks, and as a result was drawing down the level of the river impoundment behind the dam, raising concerns of boaters and fishermen. She said while the gate was being repaired, the hydroelectric station had continued to operate "within the limitations imposed by its federal operating license." Shapiro said no license compliance issues had been raised. "No property damage or safety concerns have been brought to our attention during this period of work," she said. "Our crews have worked safely and diligently under difficult conditions to address the repair remedy." TransCanada bought the Bellows Falls dam, along with other hydro dams on the Connecticut and Deerfield rivers in 2005 from U.S. Gen, which had only owned the hydro system for a few years after it purchased it from longtime owner New England Power Co. The town of Rockingham almost bought the dam back in 2005, but reversed an earlier decision and voted not to purchase the 80-year-old dam. The state of Vermont considered buying the entire dam network, but the Douglas administration rejected the idea as too expensive. ... - Herald Staff

Brattleboro's Home Depot set to shutter Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
BRATTLEBORO -- The Home Depot's tenure in Brattleboro, which was greeted with protests and in part prompted an ordinance designed to control big-box retailers in town, is ending. The closing of the local Home Depot Store on Putney Road, one of 15 home improvement stores the nationwide chain will close -- a tiny location compared to the chain's usual size store -- was announced by Home Depot's corporate headquarters Thursday morning. It will put more than 80 people out of work. The store, which offered discounts on items from lawn rakes to refrigerators to light bulbs and lawnmowers, lumber, electrical supplies and carpeting, closed its doors Thursday evening and will reopen on Saturday for a clear-out sale. The reason for the closing? Brattleboro's small Home Depot store wasn't meeting its financial targets or projections, according to Home Depot's corporate spokesmen. The 60,000-square-foot Brattleboro store was far smaller than a newer Home Depot store in nearby, tax-free Keene, N.H., and another store, less than 20 miles away in Greenfield, Mass. The average size is 100,000 square feet. When Home Depot came to Brattleboro and opened its store four years ago, it was greeted with some controversy, recalled Jerry Goldberg, executive director of the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce. When it set up shop, it was the largest and most visible presence of the nation's so-called big box stores. Of major retail chains, only Staples and Peebles have stores in Brattleboro, except for the chain supermarkets and fast food restaurants. "I'm sure when Brattleboro came to town, there were people who vowed to never set foot in the store. I don't think that happened," he said. "Home Depot was accepted as a fact of life." Goldberg said his heart went out to the people working at the store who would lose their jobs. "It's always sad to see that, I really feel for those people," said Goldberg, adding that Home Depot had joined the local Chamber of Commerce and had contributed to the community. "A lot of people are employed by Home Depot." He said when the company came to town, it brought some managers with it, but it hired locally. "I would hate to see that knowledge leave the community," he said. Goldberg said he was always impressed with the variety of the goods offered at the store. When he needed a new stainless steel sink, he had 15 models to choose from, he said. Goldberg said Brattleboro had debated the issue of big-box stores vigorously after Home Depot came to town. According to former Brattleboro Planning Director Jim Mullen, Home Depot easily got all the permits it needed in Brattleboro because it was replacing another store, discount retailer Ames Department Store. "It was just retail for retail," said Mullen. But the issue of large stores presenting unfair competition to small, homegrown businesses was on Brattleboro area residents' minds, both Mullen and Goldberg said. "There was a lot of back and forth on big-box stores, and what was the definition of a big-box store," said Goldberg. Goldberg said Brattleboro's beloved family-owned hardware store Brown & Roberts "has never been healthier." And he said the other hardware store in town, Fireside TruValue, which was directly across Putney Road from Home Depot, was doing well, as were the two building supply stores in the area: Leader Home Center in West Brattleboro and Perkins Home Center in neighboring Chesterfield, N.H. Mullen, who is now town manager in his hometown of Rockingham, said Brattleboro passed a zoning ordinance that would require any store larger than 65,000 square feet go for state Act 250 land use permits, in addition to local permits, but he said there was "no connection" to Home Depot's arrival. "I guess it's survival of the fittest," Goldberg said. "It's very easy to hop over to Keene and get your Home Depot fix." Contact Susan Smallheer at susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com. ... - By SUSAN SMALLHEER Herald Staff

Okla. woman cited after Route 9 crash Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
WOODFORD -- Police are citing an Oklahoma woman for several driving violations that resulted in an accident on Route 9 on April 23 that caused her tractor trailer to tip over, trapping her inside. Deborah Brown, 43, of Haworth, Okla., was cited for driving too fast for the conditions of the road, failing to keep right, driving a vehicle showing license plates that belonged to another vehicle, driving with defective equipment and keeping a false log. Vermont State Police Trooper Todd Wilkins said in a press release that investigators determined the accident was caused by the speed Brown was driving and the truck's defective brakes. Wilkins said Brown admitted she knew the brakes were not working properly on April 23. The brakes gave out while Brown was driving downhill, but she passed an emergency truck exit ramp because she was afraid the truck would crash and tip over, according to police. Exactly a week before Brown's accident, a New Jersey truck driver, Kenneth A. Middlebusher, 42, of Deptford, had a similar accident in the same area that killed two local men. He is facing a felony charge of grossly negligent operation of a motor vehicle resulting in a fatality as a result. Middlebusher was being held in Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland on $50,000 bail but Judge Katherine Hayes reduced it to $20,000 on April 25 and Middlebusher made bail on April 28. The driver in a second car who was hurt in the April 16 accident was listed in serious condition at Albany Medical Center Hospital on Thursday. Brown was taken to the Albany hospital by helicopter after her accident but was released the next day. On Wednesday Bennington County legislators met with state employees in Montpelier to look for options that would improve the safety of a corridor of Route 9 where these accidents occurred. -- Staff report ...

Name set for nuclear plant spin-off Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
BRATTLEBORO -- A California business strategy firm that has done work for Sony, Verizon Wireless and the premium flashlight firm Mag-Lite, has come up with the new name for the owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant: Enexus Energy Corp. Entergy Corp. announced the new name of its spin-off company via a press release, and noted the name of the new operating company of its six nuclear power plants would be equally crafted: EquaGen LLC. Entergy said the new name, Enexus, was a combination of the two words "energy" and "nexus" and was designed to convey what the company called "the appeal of reliable nuclear power, which it claims is virtually emissions-free. "'Enexus' describes nuclear power's role in the nexus between the world's growing energy demand and the United States' need for clean, environmentally friendly power," said Yolanda Pollard, a spokeswoman for Entergy in New Orleans. Enexus, like Entergy Nuclear, will be based in Jackson, Miss., and its corporate leadership will include many key leaders from Entergy Nuclear. The company said Enexus will have its own board of directors and be publicly traded. The names, along with corporate logos and mottos, were the work of RiechesBaird Co. of Irving, Calif., which according to its Web site works in the areas of business strategy, brand development and integrated marketing. There was no mention of Entergy on its Web site. Alex Schott, a spokesman for Entergy in New Orleans, said Wednesday the new names would not be used until the tax-free spin-off is approved by state and federal regulators. The spin-off, which had been called SpinCo., NewCo and JV, for joint venture, has to be approved by the New York Public Utilities Board, the Vermont Public Service Board, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Schott said the states of Massachusetts and Michigan, home to two of the nuclear reactors included in the proposed new company, did not have to approve the change because each state's laws do not regulate wholesale power producers, so-called "merchant plants." Scott said the employees at the nuclear plants would still be employees of Entergy Nuclear. While Vermont state legislators have cast a skeptical eye on the proposed restructuring and have passed legislation that would require the new company's corporate parent Entergy provide some kind of financial guarantee that it would be responsible for Vermont Yankee's ultimate decommissioning, Entergy has said it plans to go ahead with the restructuring with or without Vermont. Vermont Yankee's decommissioning trust fund is current at about $425 million, but the latest estimates are that $800 million will be needed to fully dismantle and clean up the Vernon site, once the plant shuts down. Gov. James Douglas so far has not signed the bill, saying he needs additional information about the status of the fund. Contact Susan Smallheer at susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com. ... - By SUSAN SMALLHEER Herald Staff

75-year-old fights off home invader Thu, 01 May 2008 10:27:00 EST
POWNAL -- Vermont State Police said they are looking for a man who broke into a home in Pownal late Tuesday night and assaulted a 75-year-old man with a small baseball bat before fleeing after the wounded man got a handgun. Police said Samuel Hibbard, 75, and his wife were in their home on Maple Grove Road around 11 p.m. Tuesday when Hibbard looked up and saw an unidentified man standing in the home brandishing a knife and a miniature baseball bat. Police said Hibbard asked the man what he was doing and the man demanded the couple's money. Police said Hibbard, fearing for his and his wife's safety, grabbed the man and wrestled with him. The assailant repeatedly struck Hibbard in the head with the bat, causing several wounds to Hibbard, police said. Hibbard was able to break free and get upstairs where he got a handgun, according to police. The suspect had followed Hibbard up the stairs, but once he saw that Hibbard had a firearm he fled the residence, police said. Hibbard's wife then called police. Samuel Hibbard was taken to the hospital in Bennington where he was treated for his injuries and later released. Hibbard declined an interview request when contacted Wednesday. Meanwhile, State Police Lt. Timothy Oliver said investigators were "following up on a few leads" as they search for the assailant. Police are looking for the suspect, who is described as standing about 5-feet, 7-inches or 5-feet, 8-inches tall and weighing between 150 and 160 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to call State Police at 442-5421. ... - Staff Report

Stuck gate challenges TransCanada Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
BELLOWS FALLS -- Workers from TransCanada Hydro Northeast returned to the stuck roller gate at the Bellows Falls hydroelectric dam Wednesday. TransCanada spokeswoman Kiersten Tucker said the gate was not fixed, and that workers were still trying to free it. She declined further comment. Meanwhile, because of the large volume of water in the recent rain and spring run-off engorged Connecticut River, TransCanada opened the second roller gate to increase the flow of the river over the dam. The stuck gate, one of two large metal gates that control the flow of the Connecticut River over the dam, became stuck in the up position two weeks ago during routine maintenance. Paul Piszczek, an environmental scientist with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Science, said Wednesday that as far as he knew, the gate had not been repaired enough that it could be lowered back into place. "They have a design in place, but the question is how to do it," he said, referring to lowering the giant metal gate, which is 80 years old and part of the original equipment of the hydroelectric dam. Piszczek said while the rain Monday and Tuesday helped cushion the impact of the river draw-down because of the dam problems on the impoundment behind the dam, state officials would be concerned if the problem continued much longer. Piszczek said that U.S. Geological Service has an automatic sensor at the dam, which measured the height of the river and its flow. He said the river's flow or discharge peaked sometime Wednesday afternoon, after climbing steadily since Monday night, and was starting to come down. "I've been in contact with the utilities and they're still doing quite a bit of work," said Piszczek, who said he had been getting updates throughout the day. New Hampshire actually owns the river to the traditional low-point on the Vermont bank. "The flows have topped off and they're starting to come down. We're not too concerned right now," said Piszczek, referring to the impact on fisheries and recreation on the impoundment behind the dam. He said the river peaked slightly above 50,000 cubic feet per second, which he said wasn't unusual for this time of year. "But we're still keeping our finger on it," he said, noting the river reached a low point Monday before the rain started having an effect. Everett Hammond, the public works director for the town of Rockingham, who is acting town manager this week, said again Wednesday he had been told by a TransCanada official that the gate was repaired, but that workers weren't ready to lower it back into place. Contact Susan Smallheer at susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com. ... - By SUSAN SMALLHEER Herald Staff

Legislators, state workers discuss deadly section on Route 9 Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
WOODFORD -- Bennington County legislators met with state employees on Wednesday in Montpelier to look for options that would improve the safety of a corridor of Route 9 where two serious accidents took place this month leaving two people dead. On April 16, a tractor trailer driven by Kenneth A. Middlebusher, 42, of Deptford, N.J., overturned and collided with two oncoming vehicles. Two local men, Jeffrey Lamore, 29, of Stamford, and Thomas Peterson, 31, of Readsboro, were killed. Middlebusher is facing a felony charge of grossly negligent operation of a motor vehicle resulting in a fatality after police said they believed Middlebusher caused the accident by driving too fast and in too high a gear and failing to secure his load of heavy, large rolls of paper. One week later, there was another crash in the same area of Route 9 that left a driver, Deborah Brown, 43, of Haworth, Okla., trapped inside her truck. State Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, organized a meeting on Wednesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee room in the capital to see what the state could do to make the area safer. "Any one of us or our families could have been riding on the highway that day. Innocent people are getting killed," Sears said. The meeting was attended by other Bennington County legislators, Reps. Bill Botzow, who represents Woodford, and Timothy Corcoran II, a member of the House Transportation Committee and Sen. Robert Hartwell, as well as representatives of the Vermont Agency of Transportation, Department of Public Safety and Department of Motor Vehicles. Vermont State Police have already made plans to increase patrols in the area by 20 to 30 percent with a focus on looking at the tractor trailer traffic. However, officers said it was difficult to do tractor trailer inspections along the Woodford corridor because there was little room to safely stop a truck. Police have the right to stop tractor trailers to check its equipment, cargo and the driver's credentials but need somewhere that has enough room for the truck, a police vehicle and space for traffic to continue to pass. Signs that reacted visibly to speeding traffic were discussed, but the Agency of Transportation representatives said the technology was still expensive. Scott Rogers, a traffic safety engineer with the agency, said the area is marked well with signs although enforcement officials pointed out that signs are only effective when truckers pay attention to the warnings. Botzow said he believed there was an education problem because of the unusual nature of the mountain. When drivers are coming west into Bennington and down the hill, they most likely believe the descent is the most perilous part of that stretch, not knowing about the curve at the bottom. By the time it becomes visible, it's too late for a tractor trailer to effectively drop its speed, Botzow said. Botzow suggested the trucking industry, which has a stake in preventing tractor trailer accidents, could be an ally in spreading word about the dangers on the road. According to Sears, truckers are seeking out Route 9 because it allows them to avoid hairpin turns and tolls that are part of other east-west highways in the area. But new drivers, like the out-of-state drivers involved in both this month's accidents, may not know how to handle Route 9 in Woodford. Hartwell suggested that increased police patrols may help to reduce the speed of tractor trailers in the area as the word spreads among the trucking community while Corcoran asked if global positioning system technology could be used to make sure that only trucks appropriate for the road were using it. Despite the serious nature of the accidents, the problem in the area seems more anecdotal right now than statistical. Capt. William "Jake" Elovirta, chief of safety with the enforcement division of the Department of Motor Vehicles, said after the accident he and his colleagues took a look at the Route 9 corridor in Bennington, Brattleboro, Marlboro, Searsburg, Wilmington and Woodford and found that in Woodford, there had only been up to three serious accidents in the last six years. Sears scheduled a second meeting at 9 a.m. June 4 at the Bennington town offices so the state employees could provide more information about the practicality of implementing some of the suggestions raised on Wednesday and the effectiveness of the measures the state had already put in place. Contact Patrick McArdle at patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com. ... - By PATRICK McARDLE Herald Staff

Calif. man convicted in fatal shooting of Dartmouth student Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
OAKLAND, Calif. -- A jury has convicted a Hayward, Calif., man of voluntary manslaughter for fatally shooting a Dartmouth College friend who had called him for help after a run-in with a group of college football players. The Alameda County jury on Tuesday also found Christopher Hollis guilty of assault with a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm in the shooting death of Meleia Willis-Starbuck, a 19-year-old Dartmouth College student. Witnesses say she had called Hollis for help during an argument with football players at University of California, Berkeley, and told him to bring a gun. Hollis' attorneys say their client meant to shoot over the football players' heads to scare them, but he accidentally shot Willis-Starbuck instead. Hollis could face six to 21 years in prison when he is sentenced July 14. ... - The Associated Press

Dorset student wins National Merit honor Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
DORSET -- Long Trail School student and Pawlet resident Nora Fiore has been designated a National Merit Scholarship winner. In the first round of the National Merit Competition, Fiore competed with 1.4 million students taking the PSAT, of which 16,000 students were selected based upon their test scores to advance to the next round of competition. Students were judged not just by their test scores, but by grades, contributions to school and community and an essay. Fiore is one of only 1,100 students to be designated a National Merit Scholar and will receive a $2,500 scholarship. Fiore will attend Middlebury College this fall and hopes to major in neuroscience and music. -- Staff and wire reports ...

School district faces accounting questions Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
ROCKINGHAM -- A draft state report says the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union may have not properly accounted for more than $1 million in federal special education funds. The Department of Education's final audit of the 2004-05 school year spending is expected to be less than the approximately $1.6 million discrepancy initially discovered by auditors. Superintendent Johanna Harpster says administrators are going through old records to reconcile the differences. She says some problem areas have been found. Harpster says she expects most of the money will be accounted for. ...

Doughnut shop burglar at large Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
BENNINGTON -- Police are investigating a suspected burglary they believe took place on Wednesday at Dunkin' Donuts on North Street. Bennington Police Detective David Rowland said the burglary took place sometime between midnight and 5 a.m. when the business opened. Security surveillance equipment indicated only one person entered the restaurant but others may have been involved outside. Rowland said more than $500 in rolled change was reported missing. Police are asking anyone who has information about the incident call the Bennington Police Department at 442-1030. ...

Light moment Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:14:00 EST
Harold Molo, who works for the Equinox Hotel, fixes a lamppost Wednesday on Route 7A in Manchester. ...

Colonels, Grandy hold off Bulldogs down the stretch Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
MANCHESTER -- The goalie position with the Brattleboro girls lacrosse team went to Mary Grandy by default when she was an freshman. Now a senior, Grandy is a star in the net and proved how valuable she was on Thursday in preserving an 11-8 victory over Burr and Burton. ... - By CHUCK CLARINO Herald Staff

Big Brown delivering Derby buzz Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- No one knows Big Brown better than Michelle Nevin. ... - By RICHARD ROSENBLATT The Associated Press

Reality check: Hawks need a road win to advance vs. Celtics Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
ATLANTA -- The Hawks were back home Thursday, feeling a lot more comfortable as they watched film and practiced for nearly two hours at Philips Arena. ... - The Associated Press

Hughes rib injury deals another blow to Yankees Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
NEW YORK -- Phil Hughes has a stress fracture in one of his ribs, and the New York Yankees' pitcher is expected to be sidelined for at least two months. ... - The Associated Press

Murphy making the most of PGA Tour opportunity Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
When St. Johnsbury's Trevor Murphy saw the Wachovia Championship coming to town, he said, what the heck, and teed it up. ... - By BOB FREDETTE Staff Writer

Houston, perfect Raiders rap Pats Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
In Bennington, Leah Houston poured in six goals and added an assist while Ashley Boucher added four goals as Rutland High School moved to 8-0 with a 14-9 victory over Mount Anthony in girls lacrosse on Thursday. ... - Staff Reports

Rebels plow past Chieftains Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
CHESTER -- It was probably a day that heavily favored Leland & Gray was ready to be upset. After all, four Rebel starters were sitting on the bench next to coach Keith Lyman, riding out minor discipline infractions. However, one of those players was not hurler Tyler Chapin and the southpaw played an instrumental role in the Rebels' 10-2 Marble Valley League win over Green Mountain Thursday at Paul Adams Field. ... - By POODY WALSH Herald Correspondent

Forgotten Toms leads Wachovia Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The picture of David Toms in his blue winner's jacket is just a few feet from Tiger Woods' smiling mug near the first tee at Quail Hollow Club. ... - The Associated Press

Cannon voted to college hall a second time Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
NEW YORK -- Lou Holtz, Billy Cannon and Troy Aikman were among 15 former players and coaches elected Thursday to the College Football Hall of Fame. ... - The Associated Press

Rogers honored Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
Shortstop Laura Rogers of Castleton State College's women's softball team has been named to the North Atlantic Conference first team. ...

CSJ softball Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
The women's softball team at College of St. Joseph will compete at the NAIA regional tournament in Canton, Ohio, on May 7 and 8. The Saints recently won their second straight Sunrise Conference title and are 13-5 overall. ...

Kids expo Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
Rutland Regional Fieldhouse is hosting its first annual "Kids Sports and Recreation Expo" on June 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ...

North-South softball Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
Two tryout sessions will be held for the annual North-South Senior Softball Series, a three-game series featuring Vermont's top high school players, to be held at Lyndon State College on June 27-29. These tryouts will be for southern team members. ...

Youth lacrosse Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
SHELBURNE -- The Proctor Marble Valley Boys Lacrosse Club finished with an undefeated record capped by a 4-3 win over South Burlington in the championship game of the Ethan Allen Tournament last weekend. This was the second time both teams met during the tournament. Earlier, the PMVL squad beat South Burlington 8-4 to go along with wins over Essex, Barre, and Westford. ...

Spartans women surge into lax title game Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST
CASTLETON -- Teamwork has become hallmark of the Castleton State women's lacrosse team and with each win, the Spartans are gaining confidence and belief in themselves. ... - By CHUCK CLARINO Herald Staff

Sales tax holiday approved Fri, 02 May 2008 11:45:00 EST
MONTPELIER -- Legislative leaders said Thursday they hated the idea of a sales tax holiday, they doubted it would provide much economic activity, and it would likely be of little help to poor Vermonters. ... - By LOUIS PORTER Vermont Press Bureau

Tentative agreement on prison overhaul : Deal would close Waterbury jail Fri, 02 May 2008 00:14:00 EST
MONTPELIER -- House and Senate lawmakers reached a tentative compromise Thursday on a massive plan to overhaul Vermont's prison system. ... - By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau

1 2 3 4 Next

Chinese Dir