Category Archives: Northern Vermont

News and events in Nothern Vermont, including Franklin County and the Northeast Kingdom.

Woman rescued from floodwater in northern Vermont

Provided photo

Provided photo

A woman is safe after she was rescued from a truck stuck in rising Northern Vermont floodwaters by a Franklin County Sheriff’s corporal and a neighbor.

Cpl. McKenney was the first to respond to a distress call at about 5:30 on Tuesday, reporting a truck stuck on Longley Bridge Road in Montgomery, in far northern Vermont. State Police and Enosburg Rescue workers were also responding, among others, but flood waters and heavy mud made many roads to the scene impassible.

McKenney and a neighbor, Stanley Longley, saw a woman stuck in the truck, and became very worried she would be swept away by the flood.
The pair jumped into action: Longley brought his farm tractor to the edge of the water, and McKenney climbed on. Longley backed the tractor into the water to the truck, and McKenney was able to break a window and pull the woman out. With the help of Enosburg Rescue member Dean Scott, McKenney and the woman got onto the tractor and all were driven to safety by Longley.
The woman was not seriously injured and was transported to Northwest Medical Center for precautionary purposes.
Vermont State Police would like to remind the public the importance of not driving on submerged roadways. The National Weather Service reports each year more deaths occur due to flooding than from any other severe weather related hazard. The Centers for Disease Control report that over half of all flood-related deaths occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood water.

Volunteers needed for annual turtle nest site cleanup in North Hero

The annual spiny softshell turtle beach cleanup day is on Saturday, Oct. 26, at North Hero State Park between 10 and 11 a.m. Vermont Fish & Wildlife is looking for help pulling up vegetation on nesting beaches to prepare turtle nesting sites for next June.
Volunteers may also find a few hatchlings that occasionally remain in nests underground this late in the year. In addition to threatened spiny softshell turtles, these nest sites are also used by map turtles, painted turtles, and snapping turtles.
Fish & Wildlife biologist Steve Parren will have hatchling spiny softshell turtles in hand and will talk about his long-term recovery efforts with the species. Some hatchling turtles will be raised in captivity by the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center while they are small and most vulnerable to predation. They will be released back into Lake Champlain next spring.
“This is a great way to help conserve a threatened species in your own backyard,” said Parren in a release. “It’s also a fun way to learn more about the turtles and to see some recently hatched baby turtles.”
Participants are asked to dress in layers of warm clothes and to bring work gloves, a leaf rake, short-handled tools, and their own lunch. Families and kids are welcome. The cleanup may run until 4 p.m., although participants can choose how long to assist.
To get to North Hero State Park, follow Route 2 north past Carry Bay in North Hero. Take a right on Lakeview Drive, just before Route 2 swings west toward Alburg. Follow Lakeview almost to the end until you reach the North Hero State Park entrance sign on the left. Drive to the end of the road always bearing right.
For more information, please contact Eric Lazarus at 802-658-8505 or [email protected].

The annual spiny softshell turtle beach cleanup day is on Saturday, Oct. 26, at North Hero State Park between 10 and 11 a.m. Vermont Fish & Wildlife is looking for help pulling up vegetation on nesting beaches to prepare turtle nesting sites for next June.
Volunteers may also find a few hatchlings that occasionally remain in nests underground this late in the year. In addition to threatened spiny softshell turtles, these nest sites are also used by map turtles, painted turtles, and snapping turtles.
Fish & Wildlife biologist Steve Parren will have hatchling spiny softshell turtles in hand and will talk about his long-term recovery efforts with the species. Some hatchling turtles will be raised in captivity by the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center while they are small and most vulnerable to predation. They will be released back into Lake Champlain next spring.
“This is a great way to help conserve a threatened species in your own backyard,” said Parren in a release. “It’s also a fun way to learn more about the turtles and to see some recently hatched baby turtles.”
Participants are asked to dress in layers of warm clothes and to bring work gloves, a leaf rake, short-handled tools, and their own lunch. Families and kids are welcome. The cleanup may run until 4 p.m., although participants can choose how long to assist.
To get to North Hero State Park, follow Route 2 north past Carry Bay in North Hero. Take a right on Lakeview Drive, just before Route 2 swings west toward Alburg. Follow Lakeview almost to the end until you reach the North Hero State Park entrance sign on the left. Drive to the end of the road always bearing right.
For more information, please contact Eric Lazarus at 802-658-8505 or [email protected].

Fire in firehouse was intentionally set, police say

ALBANY — Officials say firefighters in Albany, Vt., were called to battle a blaze in their own fire house, and that the blaze is believed to have been intentionally set.
Troopers say Albany Fire Department personnel discovered one of their fire trucks ablaze while responding to a smoke alarm at their fire station early Sunday. The blaze quickly spread to the building.
Firefighters from Craftsbury, Irasburg and Orleans assisted in fighting the fire.
The Vermont State Police Fire Investigation Unit says a preliminary investigation indicates the fire was intentionally set. The blaze remains under investigation.

Man ordered to pay $52,000 for copper thefts

NEWPORT — A Vermont man sentenced for stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of copper wire from transformers has been ordered to pay $52,000 in restitution.
Raymond Earle of Wolcott was sentenced last year in Orleans Superior Court to 60 days in jail after pleading guilty to possession of stolen property.
The Caledonian Record reports (http://bit.ly/144pwbE) Earle was accused of stealing copper on several occasions from the Lowell Asbestos Mine and selling it to a metals company in Hardwick.

Police search for sword attack assailant

ST. ALBANS (AP) — Police are looking for a suspect in a sword attack on a man in St. Albans.
Police say 25-year-old Kyle Wallace got into a fight with his sister and her friend on Sunday.
WCAX-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1aHqo70) police said during the fight, Wallace allegedly swung a sword at the man. The sword had a sheath on it but it was torn, and the blade cut the man’s arm.
Police say Wallace fled with the sword. He is facing aggravated assault charges.

Father and son arrested for taking dogs from officer

HIGHGATE (AP) — A father and son have been arrested in Vermont after police said they removed two dogs from an animal control officer’s car that were considered vicious.
The animal control officer in Highgate obtained a search warrant for the dogs’ removal at the town’s request.
The officer had taken the dogs to a veterinarian for vaccinations. While he was inside the clinic, police said the dogs’ owner, 20-year-old Robbie Greenia, and his father, 46-year-old Robert Greenia, removed the dogs from the cage in the officer’s truck, put them in another vehicle, and left.
Police arrested the men on charge of impeding public officers and being an accessory aiding in commission of a felony.
Police said one dog was found in Swanton. The other is believed to be with someone in Georgia.

Firefighters battle brush fires across the state

WATERVILLE — Firefighters are working on a fire in Vermont that’s burned about 20 acres of woods.
Two firefighters have suffered minor injuries in the Waterville fire. It started Monday and has been contained.
No homes have been threatened by the fire.
There have been other brush fires around the state. Also Monday, 13 acres of forest were burned near the Prospect Mountain Nordic Ski Center in Woodford. Firefighters said it appeared to have started at an area known as “Camp Snook,” accessible only by all-terrain vehicles and four-wheel-drive trucks.
Firefighters believe it was started as a controlled burn to clear brush.

Three firefighters hurt when gas tank explodes

MORRISVILLE — Police say three Vermont firefighters were injured when a tank of welding gas exploded during a fire that destroyed a home and art gallery in Morrisville.
The fire was reported late Friday evening and when firefighters arrived the Foundry Street building was engulfed in flames.
The Morrisville Fire Department called for assistance from departments in Hyde Park, North Hyde Park and Elmore.
The firefighters injured by the explosion of the acetylene tank were treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital.
The building was considered a total loss.
Investigators concluded that the fire originated on the back side of the residence where tools and other items were stored. The exact cause of the fire is undetermined.

- AP

Driver killed, passenger injured in one-car crash

State police say that one person is dead and one person is in the hospital after a vehicle went off Boarding House Road in Sheldon and hit a building. The crash happened a little while before 3 a.m. this morning, police said.

The driver of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene, while the passenger was taken to Northwest Medical Center for treatment and evaluation, with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The names of the victim and passenger are being withheld, pending the notification of next of kin.  Boarding House Road was closed for approximately 3 and a half hours while the crash was being investigated.

State Police searching lake for man who went through ice

NEWPORT CENTER — Vermont State Police plan to resume their search for a man believed to have fallen through the ice on a lake while using a tractor to move an ice shanty.
Police searched Lake Memphremagog in Newport Center on Sunday, but didn’t recover a body.
They said they received a report about 7:30 p.m. Saturday of an ice shanty and tractor going through the ice. Police later determined it was likely that a man went into the lake, as well, and did not resurface.
The State Police Scuba Team, the Newport Center Fire Department and the U.S. Border Patrol searched for the man, whose name is being withheld pending notification of family.
Police said the tractor is submerged in about 25 feet of water, and the ice shanty is partially submerged.