Woman accused of taking $10,000 from Vt. co-op

PUTNEY, Vt. — A Vermont woman has been charged with embezzling about $10,000 from a food co-op.
Forty-year-old Sarah Tirrell-Baker worked at the Putney Food Co-op as a substitute cashier. WCAX-TV reports (http://bit.ly/vmSCcH) she allegedly took the money over a four-month period.
She was arraigned in Windham Superior Court on Thursday.

Christmas Bird Count continues this weekend

BARRE — This is the season for bird-watching, and there are several chances for bird lovers to have their observations included in the annual Christmas Bird Count.

The 112th running of this event goes through Jan. 5, and tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas take part. Audubon and other organizations use data collected in this longest-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations and help guide conservation.

Last year’s count shattered records. A total of 2,215 counts and 62,624 people tallied more than 60 million birds. Counts took place in all 50 states and all Canadian provinces, plus 107 count circles in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific islands.

Each count occurs in a designated circle, 15 miles in diameter, and is led by an experienced birder, or designated compiler.

The count is the longest-running citizen science program in the world. It began on Christmas Day in 1900 when ornithologist and birder Frank Chapman posed an alternative to an earlier traditional holiday “side hunt.” Chapman proposed “hunting” birds to record their numbers.

There is a specific methodology to the count, and birds need to be counted within an existing circle. Even beginning birders are able to join a group that includes at least one experienced bird-watcher. If a person’s home is within the boundaries of a bird count circle, he or she can stay home and report the birds that visit feeders. For more information about the counts contact the Vermont Center for Ecostudies at 802-649-1431.

Remaining counts are scheduled for Saturday in Hinesburg-Huntington (contact Paul Wieczoreck at [email protected]) and Rutland (contact Roy Pilcher in [email protected]), and Sunday in Barnet (contact Charlie Brown at [email protected]) and Norwich-Hanover, N.H. (contact Daniel Crook at [email protected]).

Good Morning - Cold, with a chance of cold

Good morning, and it looks like winter is still here for the New Year, with temperatures in the single digits in northern and central Vermont, and the teens and twenties across southern Vermont. It is, however, forecast to be much warmer today than yesterday up north - in the 20s across central Vermont, and in the 30s across the south. It's unfortunately looking like there will be some weather for the New Years weekend - rain, snow, ice, you name it, as temps go up above freezing and some weather patterns move in from the west.

Welcome, 2012. But, we did have great news yesterday - the last state highway closed by Irene, Rte. 107, reopened for traffic. It's an engineering marvel - they've built it for "Irene + 2", or Irene flooding plus 2 feet, and they did it in 4 months to the day. Great work.

The National Weather Service in Burlington issued the following Winter Weather Advisory:

Winter Weather Advisory in effect from 8 PM this evening to noon EST Saturday...

Bennington wins $150k grant to help with post-Irene restoration

BENNINGTON – The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation has awarded a $150,000 ecosystem restoration grant to the town of Bennington to assist in efforts to restore the Roaring Branch from damage that occurred during Tropical Storm Irene.
Town officials have hired contractors to restore the flood plains accessed by the Roaring Branch between Park Street and the bridge known locally as the “Brooklyn Bridge.” The work is expected to mitigate potential flood damage in the future by providing somewhere for water to go and preventing the water from leaving the river’s banks.
Bennington has spent more than $3 million on river work since Irene.
The grant the town received is typically awarded to a municipality, nonprofit organization or citizens group which is working to improve stream stability, protect against flood hazards, improve and protect habitats or similar purposes.
The work is expected to be finished in January.

Car vs. moose injures driver

BRATTLEBORO — A 19-year-old was taken to hospital on Thursday after she struck a moose crossing Interstate 91.
Ashley Helander of Guilford was driving south on I-91 when she collided with the animal. Her 2001 Subaru Forester was totaled in the crash, according to State Trooper Daniel Bennett.
Helander was taken to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and treated for minor injuries. She was released shortly afterward.

Green Mountain Club surpasses fundraising goal

BARRE — The Green Mountain Club reached and then surpassed its year-end fundraising goal.
In a thank you message to supporters, Maisie Howard, director of development at GMC, announced that more than $7,000 in online gifts had been sold before the end of the year.
The amount raised surpassed the year-end goal of $5,000.
Howard said the money would be used in part to repair current trails and blaze new trails through the Winooski River Valley and the Kingdom Heritage Lands.

Shumlin names Minter recovery czar (updated 12:40 p.m.)

Gov. Peter Shumlin announced that Sue Minter will replace Neale Lunderville as the Irene Recovery Officer this morning.

Minter is the deputy secretary of the state’s Agency of Transportation. Minter’s appointment will be for a period of three months, and will be re-evaluated at that time.

No one will take over Minter’s role as deputy secretary while she is serving as Irene Recovery Officer, said Shumlin.

Company donates $7,000 for Irene

A company that provides vanity 800 numbers and web-based call tracking announced a big donation toward the continued recovery from Tropical Storm Irene.

The company, 800response, of Burlington is donating $7,000 to charitable organizations throughout the state in support of the local communities and families affected by Irene.

Rutland home heavily damaged in fire

Vyto Starinskas / Staff Photo A fire on Giorgetti Blvd. destroyed the garage on a house and a vehicle during the early morning Thursday.

Flames consumed most of a home on Giorgetti Boulevard in Rutland on Wednesday night.

Firefighters were called to 20 Giorgetti Blvd. at 11:20 p.m. after the home's owners, Robert McGinness and Wendy Mattison, discovered smoke coming out of the garage.

Deputy Fire Chief Bradley LaFaso said the fire quickly spread into the attic of the home.

By 2:30 a.m., the fire was doused, but the garage and a quarter of the home was destroyed, LaFaso said.

No one was hurt in the blaze but the home is uninhabitable, LaFaso said.

-- Brent Curtis / Staff Writer

Professors to talk about Mosher

PLAINFIELD — The Cutler Memorial Library will host two presentations on the works of Vermont author Howard Frank Mosher tonight at 6 p.m.
The talks by two visiting English professors from Purdue University, James Saunders and Renae Shackelford, will serve as the inaugural event for the Howard Frank Mosher Society.
Saunders’ presentation, titled “Howard Frank Mosher’s ‘A Stranger in the Kingdom’ and Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’” will examine the parallels between Mosher’s story and Lee’s timeless tale.
Shackelford’s talk, called “My Conversations with Howard Frank Mosher: A Photographic Presentation of His Northeast Kingdom,” is a series of photos taken in many of the towns where Mosher set his stories.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information visit www.cutlerlibrary.org or call 802-454-8504.