Category Archives: St. Albans

Energizer plant closing in St. Albans; Bennington plant not affected

ST. ALBANS— Company officials at the Energizer plant in St. Albans, say the battery and flashlight plant is closing by next September, but the Bennington plant will not be affected.
The closing would leave about 165 people jobless.
In a press release, Energizer announced the closure of the St. Albans plant on Thursday along with plants in Missouri and Malaysia and streamlining at plants in North Carolina and, internationally, in Canada and China.
No changes were announced to the manufacturing facility in Bennington.
Lawrence Miller, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, said on Friday morning that when state officials talked to Energizer representatives about the closure of the St. Albans plant, he was concerned about what it would mean to the plant in Bennington.
However, Miller said he was told the changes to Energizer’s operations are expected to have no effect on the plant in Bennington, which makes batteries for hearing aids.
Company spokesman Ken Fields says people these days need fewer of the lithium batteries that St. Albans has making since 1989.
He says more people are using smartphones with rechargeable batteries. And they’re not using multiple devices like a pager and a camera.
The Burlington Free Press reports the company said the flashlight production will be moved to other Energizer plants or sourced from its global supplier network.
The St. Louis-based company announced Thursday it plans to cut roughly 10 percent of its workforce as part of a cost-cutting overhaul that would eliminate about 1,500 jobs.

Walmart developer to thank community

ST. ALBANS — After nearly 20 years of debate to get approval for a Walmart in St. Albans the developers are holding a ceremony to thank supporters.
Construction on the more than 140,000-square-foot store in a former hayfield started almost a month ago. The ceremony is being held Saturday.
The Burlington Free Press reports the store battle was over the desire for people in St. Albans to have easy access to inexpensive goods, versus the wish to preserve a historic downtown.
Downtown businesses, some of whom feared that Walmart would drive some people away from them, now think that the area can support both a giant discount retailer and city businesses.

Teens charged in glass-smashing

ST. ALBANS — Three teenagers are facing juvenile charges after allegedly going on a glass-smashing vandalism spree in St. Albans.
Police say a caller early Sunday reported that the Holy Angels Church was being vandalized. When police arrived, they found a window and glass-paneled door had been smashed, along with the windshield of a parked truck.
They later found a broken school bus window at the local elementary school and broken windows at the city pool.
Police say they found the three 16-year-old suspects hiding in a shed.

Teens charged in glass-smashing spree

ST. ALBANS — Three teenagers are facing juvenile charges after allegedly going on a glass-smashing vandalism spree in St. Albans.
Police say a caller early Sunday morning reported that the Holy Angels Church was being vandalized. When they arrived, they found a window and glass-paneled door had been smashed, along with the windshield of a parked truck.
Officials tell WPTZ-TV that the vandalism didn’t stop there.
They later found a broken school bus window at the local elementary school, and broken windows at the city pool.
Police say they found the three 16-year-old suspects hiding in a shed.

Court rejects sheriff’s police coverage lawsuit

ST ALBANS — The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled against a county sheriff who sued the city of St. Albans over providing police services to the town of the same name.
Last year, the town of St. Albans decided to replace its law enforcement coverage from sheriff’s deputies with police patrols from the adjoining city.
Town officials wanted 24-hour coverage. They felt Franklin County Sheriff Bob Norris was asking for more money than the city was. Norris sued the city, saying the bidding process was so unfair that it killed any competition.
Vermont Public Radio reports the court rejected that argument. It upheld a lower court’s finding that the sheriff’s office wasn’t denied something in which it had a legally protected interest.

Police seek information on missing teen

State Police in Saint Albans are requesting assistance in locating Jasmine StFrancis, 17, who has been missing from a residential facility in Massachusetts since June 9.

She has family/friend ties to the area of Franklin County, but nobody has heard from her recently.

Anyone with ANY information on Jasmine is asked to call VSP Saint Albans immediately.

Click on the attached bulletin for photo and original info put out by Fall River PD in Massachusetts.

Walmart opening delayed

ST. ALBANS — After nearly 20 years of debate to get approval for a Walmart in St. Albans there’s been another delay.
Developers planned to break ground on the store this month. But they said at a town meeting Monday that that’s more likely to happen in July.
WCAX-TV reported developer Jeff Davis said he wanted to have every permit in hand before any construction contracts are bid out.
The Walmart would open next year.
The Vermont Supreme Court last August upheld a state environmental court order giving the go-ahead for developer JLD Properties to build the 126,000-square-foot store near Route 7.
The court rejected an appeal by the Vermont Natural Resources Council, which had long opposed the store, saying it would bring in too much secondary development.

Wal-Mart groundbreaking planned in July

ST. ALBANS — After nearly 20 years of debate to get approval for a Wal-Mart in St. Albans, Vt., there’s been another delay.
Developers planned to break ground on the store this month. But they said at a town meeting Monday that that’s more likely to happen in July.
WCAX-TV reports developer Jeff Davis said he wanted to have every permit in hand before any construction contracts are bid out.
The Wal-Mart would open next year.
The Vermont Supreme Court last August upheld a state environmental court order giving the go-ahead for developer JLD Properties to build the 126,000-square-foot store near Route 7.
The court rejected an appeal by the Vermont Natural Resources Council, which had long opposed the store, saying it would bring in too much secondary development.

Deer hearings this week

 MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department will hold two public hearings this month on deer management.  The topics will include the 2011 hunting results and recommendations for an antlerless permitting and youth season this year. Last year, hunters took 12,132 deer during the archery, youth, rifle, and muzzleloader seasons in Vermont. Those totals will be discussed in detail at the hearings. The first hearing will be held today at the St. Albans Town Educational Center. The other will take place Tuesday in Springfield at the Riverside Junior High School cafeteria. Both hearings will run from 7-8:30 p.m.

Inmate accused of corrections officer assault

ST. ALBANS — The Vermont Department of Public Safety says an inmate who didn’t want to return to his cell threw a computer keyboard and other items at a corrections officer, hitting him.
Twenty-year-old Timothy Barrett, an inmate at the Northwest State Correction Facility in St. Albans, has been charged with assault and unlawful mischief offenses in connection with the March 7 incident.
Police said he threw items at corrections officers, including a sock filled with soap and a computer keyboard, which struck 60-year-old James Honsinger. The corrections officer was not seriously injured.