Archive - Jun 23, 2011
MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury voters this fall will see the first of two votes on a major fix-up of the local fire department’s two firehouses.
Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD) officials last month unveiled a $5.2 million plan to replace their East Middlebury fire station and expand and renovate their Seymour Street headquarters. Officials at the time proposed a bond referendum for Town Meeting Day in March 2012.
ADDISON COUNTY — Many drunk driving offenders will have the ability to get on the road quicker beginning next month if they install a state-approved ignition interlock system designed to ensure they are not operating under the influence.
The reason is Act 126, a new state law passed by the Legislature in 2010 that takes effect on July 1.
MIDDLEBURY — The Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History will be marching to a new tune at its biggest annual fund-raiser on June 30 in order to add a little musical variety while cranking up the financial return.
For the past 18 years, the Sheldon Museum Pops Concert, which is hosted in the week leading up to the Fourth of July, had featured the Vermont Symphony Orchestra (VSO) as lead performer during an evening culminating in fireworks. The concert has yielded an important piece of the nonprofit Sheldon’s annual revenue stream.
VERGENNES — At Tuesday’s city council meeting, Vergennes Police Chief George Merkel honored several members of the city police department, and he and City Manager Mel Hawley swore in the newest member of the Vergennes force.
With two dozen of their family members looking on, Merkel praised all of the department’s officers for their willingness to work any hours and accept any duties he asked of them, and for their ability to create “peaceful resolutions” when faced with difficult situations.
VERGENNES — Aldermen at their regular meeting Tuesday adopted a budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year and set a new tax rate; see story, page 1A.
In other business, the city council:
ADDISON COUNTY — A New England nonprofit opposed to nuclear proliferation on Monday warned a group of 40 Addison County residents and legislators about the imminent dangers surrounding the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant and its possible closure next year.
BRISTOL — Members of the Bristol selectboard set their top-five priorities for the year ahead.
At Monday’s meeting, selectmen said those priorities are, in no particular order:
• Push forward the repair and replacement of three town bridges,
• Conduct a feasibility study for expanding the town’s septic system.
MIDDLEBURY —The Addison County Regional Planning Commission (ACRPC) purchased a used Toyota Prius on March 24 with funds from its regular operating budget. Then, at the end of May, the planning commission went to a third-party provider in Boston called Hymotion to convert the car into a plug-in hybrid using federal stimulus funds.
Essentially, what Hymotion did was take out the spare tire in the trunk and replace it with a rechargeable 5-kWh battery pack. The car is now a hybrid with extra energy storage in the back that is charged using an outlet.
