VERGENNES — Alcohol incidents kept Vergennes police busy between Nov. 3 and 9, including one case of driving under the influence of alcohol and two incidents this past Sunday in which city police took intoxicated women into protective custody before they were taken to Porter Hospital.
The DUI case came on Nov. 5. Police stopped a car that they allege was traveling 50 mph in the 30 mph West Main Street zone and said they saw signs that the driver was impaired and smelled alcohol. They said the driver, Stephen McHugh, 47, of Colchester, failed roadside sobriety tests and then tested with a blood-alcohol content of 0.16 percent at the station, double the legal limit for driving. Police then cited him.
On Sunday, Vergennes police received an anonymous 1 a.m. call that the clerk at the Champlain Farms convenience store appeared to be intoxicated. They went to the Main Street store and agreed with that assessment, especially after she allegedly threatened them with pepper spray. Police then took her into custody and arranged for the Vergennes Area Rescue Squad to take her to Porter.
A little after 5 p.m. that day they received a complaint that a resident of the Creekview Apartments on Hillside Drive was intoxicated and threatening other residents in a parking lot. Police took her into protective custody, and she was also taken to Porter.
In other incidents between Nov. 3 and 9, Vergennes police:
•  On Nov. 3 mediated a civil dispute between Booth Woods neighbors that was triggered by a tree one cut down that was believed to be on the other’s property.
•  On Nov. 3 dealt with a Panton Road noise complaint.
•  On Nov. 4 calmed South Water Street neighbors arguing about a concrete barrier one had put up to prevent drivers from parking on his property, but that the other believed was blocking access to his property.
•  On Nov. 4 dealt with a noise complaint in a Main Street apartment building and checked the welfare of a child involved. Police said neighbors complained about a parent yelling excessively at the child, who was determined to be OK.
•  On Nov. 5 aided VARS at a call on the Northlands Job Corps campus.
•  On Nov. 5 dealt with a two-car accident on South Water Street after which one driver required treatment from VARS that day and Porter Hospital the next for a neck injury.
•  On Nov. 5 helped a First Street car owner enter a locked vehicle.
•  On Nov. 7 heard that a suspicious vehicle had been parked in Falls Park the day before.
•  On Nov. 7 were told that a specialty firefighter license plate had been stolen from a car parked at Vergennes Union High School.
•  On Nov. 7 helped Vermont State Police and VARS at the scene of an untimely death at a Town Line Road home in Ferrisburgh.
•  On Nov. 7 helped VSP at a two-car accident in Ferrisburgh at the intersection of Route 7 and Greenbush Road.
•  On Nov. 7 told two people to move along from the city’s East Street recreation area after dark.
•  On Nov. 8 were told that a suspicious person tried to gain entry to a Panton Road home by offering a bowl of candy, and then drove off in a black SUV. Police believe he was selling vacuum cleaners.
•  On Nov. 8 went with the department’s police dog to help Middlebury police search for a missing person, who was later found at home.
•  On Nov. 8 tried unsuccessfully to find a homeless couple a place to stay; a citizen took them to Randolph.
•  On Nov. 8 helped VARS at a call on Middlebrook Road in Ferrisburgh.