Archive - Apr 2012 - News Article
April 10th
NEWPORT CITY – Vermont Electric Co-Op (VEC) is working on getting a greener portfolio.
CEO Dave Hallquist told the Newport Rotary Club Tuesday that he and others at VEC learned a lot about what people understood about energy when they did community outreach with Kingdom Community Wind.
Kingdom Community Wind refers to the wind project on Lowell Mountain.
Hallquist, a retired engineer, said there are no easy choices as far as energy goes.
DERBY – Several opponents of the proposed Derby Line Wind Project have stated concerns over potential property value decline and cite, as an example, a Derby property that was listed on the tax roles at a lower value after the owner complained about a wind turbine on a neighboring property.
The George Buzzell property in Derby was reduced in 2008 by approximately ten percent of its assessed value after Buzzell said that the turbine on Sen. Vince Illuzzi's property impacted Buzzell's property.
April 9th
NEWPORT CITY – A Maine resident who led police on a 22.5-mile chase Easter Sunday will undergo a psychiatric examination to determine her competency and sanity. Until then, Judge Robert Bent ordered Kimberly Saunders, 46, of Portland, ME, held on $15,000 bail.
Saunders faces a felony charge of operating a motor vehicle in an attempt to elude law enforcement officers and misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana, reckless endangerment, driving under the influence, and operating a motor vehicle in a reckless or grossly negligence manner.
NEWPORT CITY – Hundreds of Vermonters plan to converge on the steps of the State House, Tuesday, May 1, for Worker’s Rights Day.
Diane Peel, a member of the Northeast Kingdom 99 Percent, said there is minimum wage and there is livable wage. During Monday’s Legislative Breakfast, held at the Eastside Restaurant, Peel said, “For a single person with no children, the livable wage in a rural area is $16.41, the livable wage in an urban area is $17.08. The average is $16.75.”
DERBY - Steve Gendreau is stepping down as the Derby Road Commissioner as of June 1.
He made the announcement at the Derby Select Board last week.
Gendreau has served in the position over the last several years without pay.
He said he was on-call 24-hour as day, seven days a week, and no longer has time for the job.
Gendreau also serves as a member of the Derby Select Board.
April 8th
NEWPORT CITY – A Putnam, CT, man who faces a charge of attempted second-degree murder and a charge of aggravated assault with a weapon wants the Orleans County District Court to suppress a photo identification of him.
Judge Robert Bent heard arguments from both sides Friday.
Oct. 14, 2010, Detective Sgt. Darren Annis of the state police responded to a report of a shooting on Route 5A in West Charleston. Dispatchers told Annis that a woman had been shot outside her home and two men, one white and one black, had fled the scene in a silver pick-up truck.
NEWPORT - Dr. Leslie Lockridge, the oncologist who was terminated from North County Hospital, is opening a private practice in Newport.
Lockridge will continue his oncology work and also provide primary care for adults, he said in an interview Friday. Lockridge will share a building located about a mile from North Country Hospital with Dr. Paul Julien, who is an otolaryngologist.
April 5th
NEWPORT CITY – A summer tradition is about to end for good. North Country Federal Credit Union wants to tear down the well-known LB Snack Bar on the Derby Road and replace it with a new branch building.
The Newport Development Review Board will take up the permit request Wednesday, April 11. The sale of the property is contingent on the issuance of the permits. According to the application, the project involves demolishing the snack bar and surrounding buildings and constructing a new 2,750 square foot facility with two drive-through lanes and an ATM.
DERBY LINE – The Village of Derby Line is getting new sidewalks. Voters at the annual village meeting Tuesday gave a unanimous yes for village officials to move forward on the project.
The sidewalks are crumbling in many places in the village and near the Haskell Library; walkers are forced to cross the street in one area. But that's about to change.
The village is expecting a $300,000 grant from the Vermont Department of Transportation for the project; the village must contribute 20 percent or $60,000. Half of that amount, or $30,000, can be in the form of in-kind services.
April 4th
NEWPORT CITY – There are thousands of new fish in the Clyde River this week, thanks to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. The department dumped three truckloads of fish off the Clyde Street Bridge Monday and Tuesday.
The hatchery stocks 30,000 salmon smolts in the Clyde River every spring. The hatchery stocked another 3,000 fish total in Seymour and Willoughby lakes Tuesday afternoon.Â
