Washington woman unhurt in crash

A Washington woman was uninjured in following a an accident where her vehicle rolled over.
Police reported on Monday morning Lorisa Holt, 20, was traveling north on Vt. Route 110 when she lost control of her 2005 Nissan Sentra on snow- and ice-covered roads. The vehicle rotated, went off the west side of the road, and rolled over.
The vehicle sustained damage to the right front and passenger side. Holt, who was wearing her seatbelt, was not injured. No tickets were issued by police.
The State Police were assisted on scene by Barre Town Ambulance, Washington Fire, and Barre Town Fire.

Supreme Court grants new bail hearing in baby murder trial

MONTPELIER — Alexander Stolte has won a new bail hearing after waiting nearly two years in prison for his second-degree murder trial. But now he is waiting for the date of that hearing to be set.

The Vermont Supreme Court on Friday overturned a judge’s decision to deny Stolte a bail review hearing in the case against him. He is accused of killing 1-year-old Kyleigh McDaniel, who was alone with him at his mother’s home in Chelsea just before she died.

The court ordered that Stolte, 21, will return to Chelsea criminal court, where Judge Harold Eaton will have to take into consideration DNA evidence that was not available at the initial bail review hearing in March 2010.

Read the full story from Daniel Staples in the Times Argus >>>

Hearing set for Berlin Walmart expansion

BERLIN — The District 5 Environmental Commission has declined a request to put expansion plans for the local Walmart in the Act 250 equivalent of the express lane.

Though owners of the Berlin Mall had hoped their request to build an 18,700-square-foot addition to the store would be treated by the commission as a minor application, the three-member panel recently decided that would not be appropriate.

Instead, the commission has scheduled a Feb. 27 hearing on the proposal and has asked for the help of the state Agency of Transportation in considering its traffic-related impacts.

Read the full story from David Delcore in the Times Argus >>>

High School sports recaps

There was plenty of action last night in hoops and hockey. For a Rutland-area roundup, visit the Rutland High School Sports page at the Rutland Herald, where you can find a writeup of the MSJ-Rutland matchup. MSJ took home the trophy and swept the season for the first time in recent memory.

We've got some great photo galleries of the fans and the game:

Game photos from MSJ - Rutland

Fan photos from MSJ - Rutland

Central Vermont also had a busy night, with Rivendell taking home its 11th straight win in boys basketball, and Harwood winning in girls hockey. For a photo gallery of the Harwood game, go here.

For the full recap of central Vermont high school sports, go to our Times Argus page here.

Barre man clocked at 100 mph on I-89

State Police pulled over a black 2003 Ford truck this morning that had been clocked at 100 miles per hour heading south on Interstate 89, police said.

The driver, Alex J. Wood of Barre, admitted to consuming alcohol, according to police, but was later found to have a blood alcohol level below the illegal limit. Wood was arrested and charged with negligent operation, and was cited to appear in court April 5 to answer to the charge.

Waterbury select board pases stable tax rate budget

WATERBURY — After some last minute adjustments, the Waterbury Select Board passed a budget on Monday night that would keep the tax rate steady at 34 cents.
Despite an approximately 5 percent decrease in the municipality's grand list and a large amount of unexpected expenses associated with Tropical Storm Irene, the Select Board tried to keep the cost to taxpayers down.
Select Board chairwoman Rebecca Ellis, who arrived late and did not chair last night's meeting, suggested the town take out a loan to finance a percentage of the storm related expenses, in anticipation of receiving reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 2012. She also suggested the town use a portion of the tax
stabilization fund and another reserve fund to off set some of the costs. A revised budget passed with Ellis' suggestions implemented.
If it is passed by voters at town meeting, a controversial article that would transfer the Waterbury Police Department budget from the village budget to the town would mean a 2 cent increase in taxes.

Mad River Sled goes global

WARREN — The Mad River Rocket Sled Company recently attended two events at Volkswagen’s Autostadt in Wolfsburg, Germany.
The RodelAction TestDrive was held on Jan. 14 and 15. In this event, a variety of sleds were test driven, and the Rocket was highlighted as the most advanced in the group. A member of the Warren staff was there to both demonstrate and instruct the participants.
The second event, the Snowboard and Ski Spectacle, will be held on Jan. 28 and 29. In this event the Mad River Rocket stunt team will perform alongside skiers and snowboarders.

Community hears options for future of East Montpelier school

EAST MONTPELIER -- At an informational community meeting at the East Montpelier Elementary School on Wednesday night architects presented three different options that met the requirements that the school board laid out a few months ago.

The plans, presented by David Epstein, an architect with Truex Cullins, a firm hired to work on the building, range from an estimated $9 million to $11 million.

Read the rest of this story here.

Police searching for Plainfield man

PLAINFIELD - State Police are searching for a 23-year-old Plainfield man who was reported missing on Tuesday afternoon.
Kemp Stickney Jr, who goes by his middle name "Crocker," was last seen on Tuesday leaving a Plainfield group home when he got into a black Toyota truck with a white camper in the bed. Witnesses told police the truck was headed toward Montpelier on Route 2.
Stickney has no known family or acquaintances in the immediate area. He was last seen wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, jeans and light brown hiking boots. Stickney was described as 6 feet tall and 175 pounds with short brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone who comes in contact with Stickney is asked to notify State Police in Middlesex at 802-229-9191.

Police investigate Warren break-in

WARREN - State Police are investigating a burglary and break-in at Mac’s Convenience store on Route 100.
State police were called to the store on Thursday to investigate the incident that occurred just after 4:30 a.m. Upon investigation, police found that a while male, who was approximately 5’10” and wearing a black jacket, black hooded sweatshirt, jeans, white sneakers and sunglasses, smashed the front door with a baseball bat at 4:32 a.m. The man entered and left the store by 4:34 a.m.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Vermont State Police at 802-229-9191.