Archive - Jul 14, 2011
Proof I’m not a good gardener: I’m afraid of my tomatoes.
It’s not the kind of hair-trigger fear that enables me to leap backwards over a 6-foot tall row of beans when I see a spider. It’s more of a low-grade foreboding of things to come later in the summer. I have too many tomato plants and I’m scared.
MIDDLBEURY — The Middlebury selectboard recently set a 2011-2012 residential property tax rate of $2.5223 per $100 in property value, representing a 4-cent decrease compared to the tax year that ended June 30.
Officials attributed the decrease in large part to schools holding the line on expenses.
ADDISON COUNTY — Energy specialists across Addison County, like Ferrisburgh Energy Committee Chairman Bob McNary, have waited years for something to make solar technology more accessible to their friends and neighbors. Now, McNary and others believe that the something has arrived in the form of a new deal that cuts the cost of a solar thermal hot water system in half for county residents.
BRISTOL — The Bristol selectboard is exploring the possibility of moving the annual meeting of the Bristol police district from its usual late May date to the annual Town Meeting Day in March. The change could take place as soon as next year.
At their Monday meeting, selectboard members discussed the idea with Police Chief Kevin Gibbs, who supports the move.
MIDDLEBURY — As construction on the Middlebury College Solar Decathlon house continues, its ultimate resting place has come under scrutiny by the town’s Development Review Board and residents of the Chipman Park neighborhood.
MIDDLEBURY — Officials planning a major makeover of Middlebury Fire Department facilities have shaved more than $400,000 from the most recent $5.2 million estimate for the project.
That savings is derived in part from eliminating a proposed paved driveway on the southern side of the site that would have extended from Seymour Street to parking at the rear of the station.
BRISTOL — After months of changes to the town plan update, the Bristol Planning Commission unveiled its latest draft last week. In response to the draft and its editing process, the Independent has received numerous questions and concerns. To try and clear up several issues, reporter Andrew Stein met with planning commission Chairman Tom Wells after the planners’ Tuesday, July 12, meeting. Here’s what Wells had to say.
CORNWALL — A tractor-trailer carrying tons of processed whey overturned on Route 125 in Cornwall near the Lemon Fair bridge Monday at around 3:15 p.m. The driver was injured, but not badly, and those driving other vehicles through the scene faced short delays while Cornwall firefighters and other first responders cleaned up the accident site.
