VERGENNES — Vergennes police last week helped a resident recover money from an apparently fraudulent sale of his car by a company that earlier this year briefly did business in the city.
The resident said he had left a car with the firm, which sold cars on a consignment basis, with the understanding the company would keep a percentage of the proceeds. The company then left Vergennes without contacting the resident, who could not find his car. 
Vergennes police said they discovered through a records search the car had been sold to a Chittenden County resident, and that the company had declared bankruptcy. Police then helped negotiate a payment for the resident for his car with the company’s attorney, noting that failure to pay could have resulted in charges of fraud. City police said the state’s attorney’s office signed off on the arrangement. 
Between Sept. 9 and 15 Vergennes police operated a dozen traffic-control patrols without issuing any tickets, and also: 
On Sept. 9:
•Asked youths skateboarding near Vergennes Union Elementary School at almost 1 a.m. to cease; police said they were polite and cooperative.
•Euthanized a wounded waterfowl, an action taken to aid a Fish and Wildlife game warden.
•Helped a motorist get into a locked car on Depot Road.
•Began trying to contact a motorist who passed a stopped school bus on East Street.
•Unsuccessfully tried to contact a family member at a West Main Street residence to check her welfare.
•Checked out a report of a man yelling while walking on Green Street and ended up giving him directions. 
•Helped Vergennes Union High School administrators and counselors deal with a case of threatening text messages at the school.
On Sept. 10 helped determine that a dog that had bitten a pedestrian on Short Street did not have rabies.
On Sept. 11 looked into a case of vandalism to and theft of gasoline from a car parked in a Main Street lot. 
On Sept. 12:
•Tried unsuccessfully to serve documents at a School Street residence from the Department for Children and Families.
•Calmed an unruly youth at a Second Street home at his mother’s request.
•Counseled a mother whose son had received an unwanted call on his cellphone. 
On Sept. 13:
•Looked for, but could not find, a man reported to be yelling and cursing in the Booth Woods neighborhood.
•Called the owner of a dog that had been struck by a car near Small City Market.
•Told a woman she could not spend the night outside a Monkton Road business.
•Checked out a suspicious vehicle in a Main Street parking lot and determined there was no problem.
On Sept. 14:
•Spoke to a woman reported to be in distress while walking along West Main Street and determined there was no problem.
•Called the Vergennes Area Rescue Squad (VARS) to take a woman to UVM Health Care because she was feeling despondent; police encountered her sitting on the city hall steps after responding to a 911 call for help. 
•Searched a West Main Street yard for a person caught in the yard on a home security camera walking through; police found nothing. 
•Checked the welfare of a child at the request of a family friend, but were told by the family there was no problem. 
•Helped VARS with a Main Street medical call.