Category Archives: Montpelier

News and events in Montpelier, Vermont.

Man injured in Berlin crash; traffic snarled

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Rob Mitchell | Leave a comment

BERLIN — A car crash on the Barre-Montpelier Road briefly stopped traffic Saturday afternoon as paramedics tended to the wounds of a driver who was later taken by ambulance to Central Vermont Medical Center.
According to Berlin Police, the two-car accident occurred when a woman driving eastbound on Route 302 tried to make a left-hand turn into the shopping plaza next to McDonald’s. Her Ford Fusion collided with a Dodge Intrepid driven westbound by a middle-aged man.
Officers at the scene did not immediately identify either driver, neither of whom had any passengers.
Witnesses said the man emerged from his vehicle looking dazed and bleeding profusely from a large gash in his forehead. Bystanders convinced the man to lay on a patch of grass outside the shopping plaza, where paramedics bandaged the wound and strapped him to a backboard before loading him into a waiting Barre Town ambulance.
The woman was uninjured, police said.

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Posted in Central Vermont, Crash, Montpelier

Police looking for man who offered boys ride

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Darren Marcy | Leave a comment

MONTPELIER — Police are on the lookout for a man with a long beard who was driving an older black Toyota Tundra and offered to give two boys a ride.
The man is wanted for questioning regarding the incident Monday night. According to police, the boys were leaving the Meadow Mart on Elm Street when the man drove up and asked to give them a ride. The boys said no. The man then insisted on giving them a ride, and the boys ran away.
The man is described as middle-aged with gray hair and a white beard down to his chest.
Anyone with information about the man fitting the description or who may have witnessed the incident is asked to contact Cpl. Matt Knisley at 223-3445.

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Posted in Montpelier

Failed court software raises concerns

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Darren Marcy | Leave a comment

MONTPELIER — Three years after the Vermont Judiciary started upgrading its computer system to a web-based case management system, it has little to show for the nearly $2 million that was spent on the project.
The judiciary had been working with a software company to implement a system that would have allowed everyone from state troopers to court clerks to access court information around the clock. But the judiciary pulled out of the contract last year, citing concerns that the software didn’t work.
Court Administrator Bob Greemore tells WCAX-TV that none of the system was salvageable, because the project had to be complete for it to be usable. Lawmakers say the experience highlights the need for greater coordination and a higher level of expertise when it comes to vetting technology contracts.

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Posted in Court, Montpelier

Forum will address human rights

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Darren Marcy | Leave a comment

MONTPELIER — The People’s Human Rights Council will host a forum tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. at Montpelier High School.
The council is composed of labor organizations, immigrant justice organizations, community groups, disability rights groups and environmentalists.
The forum is one of 13 the council has planned.
At the forums, Vermont residents will share their stories about the interconnected crises relating to health care, the state budget, workers’ rights, a healthy environment and livable planet, and the rights of immigrants and people with disabilities.
“We expect our elected officials to respect, protect and fulfill our human rights,” said Vermont Workers’ Center Director James Haslam in a statement, “and we’re going to put the legislative candidates on notice that we will hold them accountable to our human-rights vision of government that puts people first.”

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Posted in Montpelier

NECI chef is part of Chicago event

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Darren Marcy | Leave a comment

MONTPELIER — A New England Culinary Institute chef will feature Vermont-made food at a fundraiser in Chicago.
Vermont maple-roasted mixed nuts will be made by Chicago-based chef Margaret Checchi at the “A Taste for Change” restaurant-tasting fundraiser Thursday evening to benefit the Shriver Center for Poverty Law.
The center has worked to improve lives through the development of innovative and effective programs and policies that advance justice and opportunity.
The fundraiser will be at the Hilton Chicago on Michigan Avenue.

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Posted in Food and Drink, Montpelier

College looks at buying Savoy

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Darren Marcy | Leave a comment

MONTPELIER — The Vermont College of Fine Arts is in talks to acquire the Savoy Theater.
The school’s president, Thomas Greene, said the talks have been going on for a month but that nothing is imminent. He said the school is potentially interested in the Main Street theater because of its cultural significance.
Greene said the purchase is a “complex process” and the college has to do its due diligence to see if purchasing the theater makes sense for the school.
In June, Savoy owner Terrence Youk raised $30,000 from the public to stay open. Youk bought the theater, which dates back to at least 1905, from Rick Winston and Andrea Serota in 2009.

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Posted in Education, Montpelier

Police still looking for missing man

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Darren Marcy | 1 Comment

Benjamin Dowlin, 36, East Montpelier

From the Vermont State Police:

On August 17, 2012 at approximately 11:30AM a missing person report was filed for Benjamin J. Dowlin, a 36 year old male from East Montpelier. Family and friends had not heard from Dawlin since August 8. Continue reading →

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Posted in Montpelier

Foliage starting to turn

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Cristina Kumka | Leave a comment

Hight hilltops are turning color as the foliage season is just starting to erupt.

According to the VT Department of Tourism: “Rutland County Forester Chris Stone notes Route 103 is revealing 5-20 percent early stages. Stone says trees are just starting to lose some green and hints of yellow and orange are starting to show at higher elevations. Some scattered individual red maples are turning at higher elevation wetlands. While the color has yet to really show, there is a hint of fall on the hillsides.

Your best bet to see foliage as it begins are in the higher elevation areas in the northernmost regions that will offer the most panoramic views of emerging color across the valleys. Many low-lying marsh areas will offer some of the most vivid and varied early season change. Route 108 through Smugglers’ Notch between Stowe and Cambridge is showing color, as are Routes 242 and 100 near Jay Peak; plus Routes 16 and 5A in the Lake Willoughby area. The Worcester Range and Mount Elmore along Route 12 north of Montpelier are tinged with early color, as are views from Route 14 in the Hardwick and Craftsbury region.

Sam Schenski, the Windham and Windsor County Forester also suggests Rt. 106 through Perkinsville; Tyson Rd. from Reading to Plymouth and East Hill Rd. in Andover – all of which, he notes are in early stages of foliage.

Visit www.vermontvacation.com/fall to plan Vermont Fall Foliage travel.

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Posted in Addison County, Environment, Fairs & Festivals, Killington, Montpelier, News, Northeast Kingdom, Northern Vermont, Okemo Valley, Outdoors, Rutland, Rutland County, Southern Vermont, Vermont News

Sanders in Plainfield today

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Cristina Kumka | Leave a comment

Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders will be in Plainfield today at a 10:30 a.m. ceremony at The Health Center of Plainfield where a $1.2 million expansion project has been completed.

“As chairman of the subcommittee on primary health care, I am proud that we have helped lead the fight to more than double funding for community health centers to address the primary health crisis in Vermont and America,” Sanders said. He secured $12.5 billion in the Affordable Care Act to expand health centers, train primary care physicians and double to 40 million the number of patients served nationwide over the next five years.

Vermont in the past decade has gone from two Federally Qualified Health Centers to eight, including 47 sites where more than 120,000 Vermonters get primary health care, dental care, mental health counseling and low-cost prescription drugs.

Joining Sanders will be Paul Garstki, president and chairman of the board of directors, and Dr. John Matthew, the center’s medical director.

The health center is located at 157 Towne Ave.

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Posted in Bernard Sanders, Montpelier, News, Vermont News