Archive - Jul 27, 2006

By JOHN FLOWERS

MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury selectmen on Tuesday served notice they are far from sold on the state’s latest plans to replace the deteriorating railroad overpass on Merchants Row.

Board members this week got their first glimpse of the Vermont Agency of Transportation’s (AOT) draft plans to replace next summer the portion of the road that passes over the railroad. Plans submitted by AOT Project Manager Roger Whitcomb call for:

• Removal of the existing pier columns at the bottom of the new deck, which would be around eight inches thicker than the current deck.

• A rise in street level of around 13 inches at the project site, which would require installation of a grade-separated, split sidewalk near the main entrance of the Battell Block.

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By JOHN FLOWERS

ADDISON COUNTY — A spirited, six-candidate race for Addison-3’s two House seats figures to provide the most excitement in what is otherwise shaping up as one of the least-contested Vermont House and Senate election slates that Addison County has seen in at least two decades.

Information provided by Addison County Superior Court and local town clerks shows that incumbent Democrats are unopposed in their re-election bids for Addison County and Brandon’s two state Senate seats, as well as in two of the area’s six House districts.

Candidates had until Monday, July 17, to file their nomination papers to get on the November ballot.

Paul Forlenza, chairman of the Addison County Democratic Committee, said the lack of competition could be construed as an endorsement of the job the incumbents have been doing in Montpelier.

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By JOHN FLOWERS

WEYBRIDGE — The town of Weybridge will spend $40,000 to form its own “insect control district,” an organization that should be in place in time to give citizens some relief from mosquitoes beginning next spring.

The move earned approval from a decisive majority of the approximately 70 voters who showed up at a special town meeting on Tuesday to discuss the issue. A local resident had requested the meeting and vote through a citizens’ petition filed this spring.

Weybridge residents had rejected an insect control program last March at town meeting. But an onslaught of mosquitoes spawned by this spring’s wet weather prompted some citizens to bring the issue back to the fore.

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