Archive - Jun 7, 2010 - Page
MIDDLEBURY — For the second year in a row, Helping Overcome Poverty’s Effects, commonly known as HOPE, has launched a special fund-raising campaign in order to meet the growing demand for services by Addison County residents still weathering tough economic times.
Jeanne Montross, executive director of HOPE, said her organization is seeking to raise $145,000 in donations and another $6,700 through special events — including a fashion show this fall to be called “Model Citizens.”
MIDDLEBURY — Jill Ryea, 19, can’t help but smile when she talks about receiving her high school diploma this week. That’s because life without a diploma hasn’t exactly been easy. Since she dropped out of Otter Valley Union High School a year and a half ago, she has applied for jobs at 15 businesses in Brandon, 20 in Rutland and 12 in Middlebury.
“I’ve had about five interviews and still no calls back,” said the Leicester resident. “The economy’s so bad and I’m looking really hard for a job.”
CORNWALL — William Conlon got his first up-close-and-personal taste of politics last month when he won election as next year’s 11th-grade class president at Middlebury Union High School.
It will be an abbreviated term for the new office-holder, but that’s OK. That’s because Conlon will be leaving MUHS next January to spend five months on arguably the biggest political stage in the world — Washington, D.C., where Conlon will spend about five months as a U.S. Senate page representing the state of Vermont.
VERGENNES — Goodrich Corp.’s Vergennes plant will benefit from the latest installment on a $300 million contract with the U.S. Army for the company’s Health and Usage Management Systems (HUMS), which are used to monitor the operating status of key engine and rotor parts on military and commercial helicopters, according to a Wednesday press release from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
VERGENNES — Vergennes aldermen on May 25 gave permission to Vergennes Opera House backers to sell the theater’s no-longer-used fixed chairs as a way to help pay for the sprinkler project that will benefit the Main Street building that houses both the theater and city offices.
The cost of that project to protect the building recently ballooned from about $60,000 to $80,000 when it was learned there was not enough water pressure in the original design to reach the top of the structure. City Manager Mel Hawley said an extra pump needed would add about $20,000 to the cost.
WALTHAM — When Tonya Beer drove through Addison County last year, it occurred to her that it would be a great place to start a kennel.
“I started coming to this area, and everywhere I went I saw dogs,” she said.
Beer, who had co-owned a kennel in the Northeast Kingdom, moved to Addison County in November. She and Matt LaValley, the groomer at her kennel, had already discussed the possibility of opening a business together, and after the move LaValley came down to help look for a space.
MONTPELIER — Gov. James Douglas on Thursday allowed a voluntary school consolidation bill to become law without his signature.
Douglas, a Middlebury Republican, declined to sign bill H.66 because he said it did not go far enough in promoting the merger of education resources during an era of rising school budgets and declining enrollment in Vermont.
NEW HAVEN — Motorists in New Haven can expect to put on the brakes when they head through the heart of the village for the next few weeks as work begins on 830 feet of the town’s first sidewalk.
Kennedy Construction of North Ferrisburgh is expected to break ground next week on the project, which will slightly enlarge the village green, install sidewalks along the green and North Street to Beeman Elementary School, and construct a safer crosswalk across Route 17 in New Haven.
