VERGENNES — Vergennes police are advising residents it’s that time of the year — the city’s winter ban on overnight parking on city streets is now in effect and will be through March.
Vehicles may not be left on city streets between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Those that are may be ticketed and towed, with owners responsible for towing and storage fees. 
On the night of Nov. 25 city officers placed notices of the parking ban, which went into effect on Dec. 1, on about 100 cars parked on city streets. 
The streets must be clear, officials said, to allow public works employees to plow and treat them in the case of a snow and/or ice storm. 
On the enforcement and protection front between Nov. 23 and 29, Vergennes police conducted 14 motorized and two foot patrols and two property watches, and also:
On Nov. 24:
• Counseled a Main Street resident who had been victimized for $5,000 by mail and phone fraud. Police said thieves posing as Aquafina representatives convinced the victim to send them the money after promising to pay $500 to place company stickers on family vehicles. Police told the victim how to contact the FBI and the phone company and also advised reaching out to the bank involved in the cash withdrawal.
• Took a report of the alleged theft of methadone from a North Street residence.
• Following a complaint from a Walker Avenue resident asked two people not to show up at the resident’s apartment uninvited and linger there. 
On Nov. 25: 
• Helped Charlotte Rescue on High Street with a resident experiencing emotional distress. Police said they helped convince the person to go with rescue personnel to a hospital to seek counseling.
• Helped the Vergennes Area Rescue Squad lift a client on Walker Avenue.
• Served a no-stalking order on behalf of a female city resident. Police said they did so verbally when the man involved refused to tell them where he was.
• On Nov. 26 processed one of drivers involved in a minor two-vehicle accident on Green Street for an outstanding warrant. Police took Benjamin E. Smith, 41, of Addison to the Main Street station to do so. 
On Nov. 27:
• Spoke to the father of a 4-year-old who wandered unattended into the Small City Market. The parent said the child had left without his knowledge from a nearby residence.
• Dealt with a minor two-vehicle accident on Main Street. 
• After an alert from VSP, tried unsuccessfully to find a vehicle being driven erratically on Route 7.
• Dealt with anonymous threats made to a Main Street resident. A man called to say his daughter had received threats via two numbers she did not recognize, one a text and one a call. Police said they tried to contact both numbers without any luck and are working to identify their owners. 
On Nov. 29 accepted a wallet found at the Ferrisburgh McDonald’s and contacted its owners’ mother.