Archive - Sep 26, 2011
WEYBRIDGE — “What has been most inspiring about Vermont is that I’ve been able to stay put here. Nothing is as good as stability for getting your work done.”
Julia Alvarez, a Weybridge writer who has also taught at Middlebury College for nearly 25 years, wrote those lines in her essay “A Vermont Writer from the Dominican Republic.”
BRANDON — Sixteen emus on a farm in Brandon have died in what is Vermont’s first documented case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis.
Area veterinarian Keely Henderson sent brain tissue and blood samples from the dead emus to a University of New Hampshire lab last Wednesday, Sept. 21, and the results were received late next day.
MIDDLEBURY — An Addison Central Supervisory Union (ACSU) committee will spend the next three months studying the feasibility of offering a second-language program to students throughout the seven-town school district.
Most students in the ACSU currently do not have access to second language instruction until grade 8, though Weybridge Elementary currently operates a successful Spanish program. Officials at Mary Hogan Elementary in Middlebury are also now exploring the prospect of offering a second language.
MIDDLEBURY — People in Addison County and surrounding areas who were affected by the floods from Tropical Storm Irene will find it a little easier to seek disaster assistance this week when federal emergency management officials open a mobile disaster recovery center in Middlebury on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
STARKSBORO — A Starksboro family is coping in the wake of the loss of their home to a fire on Monday, Sept. 19.
Eric Cota, a longtime employee of the Bristol Road Department and a volunteer firefighter, his wife Catina and their two children, Matthew and Jordyn, were not injured in the fire, but the family lost their two dogs, Rascal and Sheba, to the blaze.
MIDDLEBURY — The president of eCorp English acknowledged on Thursday that her company’s Middlebury launch has been slowed by low cash flow and a major loan agreement that fell apart, but said a recent infusion of new money and the imminent unveiling of its new software product should right eCorp’s ship and put it back on schedule to becoming a major employer in the area.
“The message is, ‘We are not going belly-up, we are not leaving Middlebury,’” said Deborah Schwarz, founder and president of eCorp English.
MIDDLEBURY — The Addison Central Supervisory Union’s former business manager is suing her past employer, claiming — among other things — that she was bullied by the district’s top executive and then placed on administrative leave after she complained about his behavior.
Sharon L. Stearns, who served as ACSU business manager for nine years prior to resigning last spring, filed her four-count civil suit in Rutland County Superior Court on Sept. 13.
BRISTOL — At a selectboard meeting Monday, town officials in Bristol were tallying up the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, exploring plans for more infrastructure repairs and discussing how much help they could get from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“All the roads are back open and we’re working with FEMA to put in all of our costs,” said Chairman Joel Bouvier.
But exactly what those costs will add up to is still unknown.
