Archive - Jul 1, 2010 - Page

NEW HAVEN — State Rep. Christopher Bray, D-New Haven, has been traveling around the state as a candidate for lieutenant governor and has seen a lot of things that make him happy — the Green Mountains, productive farms and active schools, to mention a few things.

But there one thing in particular that brings a smile to his face.

“There is nothing that makes me happier than to see someone with a good job,” Bray said in a recent interview with the Addison Independent.

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VERGENNES — After learning they were working with a $180,000 budget surplus, Vergennes aldermen on Tuesday kept the municipal portion of the city’s tax rate level at 60.3 cents while also adding money into the 2010-2011 budget for more paving and for raises for city employees.

Aldermen did not pin down an exact general fund budget because the exact staff raises have yet to be determined, but — exclusive of the fee-based sewer budget — Vergennes spending for the fiscal year that runs from this July through June 30, 2011, will probably land at a little less than $1.69 million.

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ADDISON COUNTY — Four years after they got married, Sharon O’Daniel and Jason Fearon took a risk. The couple had good jobs in Boston, but they decided to move back to Addison County in June 2007, regardless of whether they had jobs waiting for them.

O’Daniel had given birth to their son Grey, and the couple knew they wanted to raise their family in the Vergennes area, where they both grew up.

“We couldn’t imagine raising a child in a city or suburbs,” O’Daniel said. “Vermont’s atmosphere, attitude, pride and people are what we wanted to share with our kids.”

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MIDDLEBURY — Last week, the Harris Farmhouse on the Middlebury College campus was strewn with papers and wooden models, and blueprints were tacked to various walls. In the main room, five Middlebury students threw around ideas for the solar-powered house that they will spend the next 14 months planning and building.

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BRISTOL — Proceedings got under way this week to determine if a proposed Bristol gravel pit conforms with Act 250, the state’s land use and development law.

The Act 250 hearing is the latest step in a years-long dispute about the gravel pit, which, if approved, would be located on a 65-acre parcel near the Bristol town center. The proposed excavation project would take up 26 acres on that property owned by Jim Lathrop, and Lathrop’s consultants estimate the pit could produce as much as 3 million cubic yards of gravel.

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ADDISON COUNTY — By now, Muffie Harvey is more than a week into the ride of her life. Or maybe it’s her mom’s life.

Carol Klein was first diagnosed with breast cancer when Harvey was 15 year old growing up in Connecticut. Eighteen years later, Klein was diagnosed again with cancer in her one remaining breast.

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ORWELL — At a special meeting on June 29, Orwell voters OK’d a plan for the school district to borrow $43,000 for repairs on the Orwell Village School building’s aging heating and ventilation system.

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BRISTOL — Members of the Bristol selectboard at their June 21 meeting discussed three openings on the Addison County Regional Planning Commission, as well as the seat on the town’s planning commission vacated recently by Jim Peabody.

The board appointed Bill Sayre, Peter Grant and Chico Martin to the regional planning commission, and decided to advertise the opening on the planning commission.

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