Update: Suspicious object in car was a gas mask, not land mine

PITTSFORD - A suspected landmine found inside a used car at a dealership in town turned out to be a harmless gas mask component that only happened to closely resemble an anti-personnel mine, according to state police.
State and local police were called to Brandon Auto South on Route 7 at about 9:45 a.m. Monday when an employee at the used car dealership found a green disc-shaped device covered with words printed in a foreign language under the front seat of a car that the shop's owner recently purchased at auction.
Pittsford police along with the state police bomb squad and agents from the FBI and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were called to the scene where further research and an x-ray of the device revealed its true nature.
Traffic on Route 7, which passes about 50 feet from the garage, proceeded uninterrupted during the roughly four hours that police were on the scene.

Rug braiding workshops to begin in Wallingford

From our Rutland County Express Wallingford columnist Tammy Heffernan:

Recently, I had the opportunity to have a delicious lunch with three of the rug braiders that will be volunteering their time for the Gilbert Hart Library’s annual rug braiding workshop that will start in a couple weeks at the library.
These women, Lois Johnstone, Ellen Moyer and Angela Hinscuin were quick to correct me when I referred to them as rug braiding teachers or experts, maintaining that they are only there to help others get started in the craft or help along others with projects that are already in the works.
Rug braiding is sometimes referred to as an American Art. Its history comes from our early colonial settlers particularly here in New England, where scraps of used clothing would be repurposed into braided rugs to cover bare floors and provide additional warmth. While a braided rug has a home anywhere, it is particularly found in the farmhouses that make up a majority of Vermont and New England landscape.

Judge sides with Entergy in federal case; Yankee can stay open

After weeks of waiting, the 102-page decision on Entergy Louisiana's lawsuit against the state of Vermont has been released. We have breaking coverage of this story, and we'll be following as it develops tomorrow.

From Susan Smallheer in the southern Vermont bureau:

BRATTLEBORO — The Vermont Legislature was motivated by concerns about nuclear safety at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, and overstepped its authority onto federal territory, U.S. District Judge J. Garvan Murtha ruled late Thursday afternoon.

In a long-awaited decision, Murtha sided with Entergy Corp., the owner of Vermont Yankee, which had filed suit against the state of Vermont, claiming the state was usurping authority that belonged solely with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

“This court holds there is overwhelming evidence in the legislative record that Act 160 was grounded in radiological safety concerns and the concomitant desire to empower the Legislature to act on those concerns in deciding the question of Vermont Yankee’s continued operation,” Murtha’s 102-page decision stated.

The ruling means that Vermont Yankee will not shut down on March 21 this year, when its original state permit runs out. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has already granted Entergy a 20-year extension to its original 1972 license.

The ruling also stated Vermont regulators cannot require Entergy to give Vermont utilities favorable, below-market power contracts as a condition of continued operation.

Act 160 was passed by the Legislature in May 2006 and concerned the creation of a high-level radioactive waste facility next to the Vermont Yankee plant in Vernon. It also gave the Vermont Legislature veto power over its continued operation, since legislative approval was necessary before the state Public Service Board could act on any request for a certificate of public good to operate.

Murtha ruled that three Vermont laws were preempted or made moot by federal law and that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has sole jurisdiction on safety issues.

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Woman charged with knife threat

WOODFORD — A woman was cited on Saturday for assaulting another woman, threatening the woman with a knife and illegal possession of a drug, according to Vermont State Police Trooper Lewis Hatch.
Julea Larsen, 34, of Woodford, was being held in the Rutland jail as of Monday afternoon.
Hatch said police were called to a Woodford Road home in Woodford on Saturday around 9:30 p.m. Police said they believed Larsen was involved in a physical altercation with a Bennington woman in which she struck the woman in the face. Larsen was also accused of grabbing a kitchen knife and approaching the woman in a threatening manner.
According to Hatch, police took Larsen into custody and found she had both a regulated narcotic and a depressant.
Larsen has also been cited for violating conditions of release from custody. Hatch didn’t provide details on the charge Larsen was facing which resulted in her being released from custody with court-ordered conditions.

Cause of fatal Bridgewater crash still unclear

From today's Rutland Herald: 

Asia Hickory was carrying plates to one of her tables when she happened to look out the window at Route 4 just moments before a fatal crash Sunday.

The 18-year-old waitress was used to seeing cars travelling at high speeds outside Blanche and Bill’s Pancake House in Bridgewater, but the scene she saw just moments before a 2004 GMC Envoy and a 2001 Ford Escape collided head-on Sunday afternoon didn’t involve a passing attempt on the straight-away section of highway.

“There was no third car,” she said Tuesday.

What Hickory saw was the Envoy, travelling west toward Killington, driving slightly over the yellow line into the eastbound lane. Just a moment before impact, she saw the Envoy make a sharp swerve back into the westbound lane. But by then, she said it was too late.

“Neither car tried to brake,” she said. “I’m not sure if the driver (of the Envoy) was distracted or something and he tried to correct himself at the end. The other driver (of the Escape) never swerved.”

Read the full story on RutlandHerald.com >>>

Brattleboro selectboard discusses ballot item

From the community blog iBrattleboro comes a full report of Tuesday's selectboard meeting.

Town finances, the Town budget for FY13, and articles for inclusion on ballots and meeting agendas dominated the discussion at Tuesday evening’s Selectboard meeting in Brattleboro.

Taxpayers learned of a proposed 1% increase in the municipal tax levy to cover the expected $14.6 million dollar budget.

The Selectboard, though, spent most of their time discussing a requested ballot question on the topic of Citizens United, campaign contributions, and corporate personhood. After much debate, the board united around an edited version of the requested ballot language that removed all mention of corporate personhood. Read on for full details.

Read the full report here>>>

Entomologists raise concerns over stink bug sighting in Vermont

BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. — A stink bug sighting is causing some concern among farmers and entomologists in a Vermont town.
The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug was spotted on Dec. 19 in a Bellows Falls apartment.
This species of stink bug has been prolific in at least 33 states, but not in Vermont. The bug can harm crops during the growing season.
The Brattleboro Reformer reports (http://bit.ly/sisBMG) entomologists hope it’s an isolated case and they’re trying to find out if the woman who lives in the apartment recently traveled out of state.
Vermont is home to several other species of stink bugs. The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug has a geometric pattern on its lower abdomen and two white bands on its antennae.

Bob Engel to Speak on “Citizen Science” at Putney Mountain Assoc. Annual Meeting

From iPutney.com:

Putney Mountain Association is excited - and fortunate - that Bob Engels will be speaking on the subject of Citizen Science at our annual meeting on January 8th. The meeting will be held at 4:00 p.m. in the Putney Library. All are invited.

PMA has been involved in "citizen science" projects for over a decade; we look forward to Bob's insight and helpful hints. Bob will speak on the value of citizen science, and its strengths and weaknesses. “There is nothing magical about science; anyone can do it with a decent premise and attention to method.”

Recently retired, Bob Engel taught biology at Marlboro College for many years. With his uncanny ability to keep audiences captivated regardless of the subject matter, Bob most recently enthralled an overflow OSHER crowd with his six session lecture series on Birds this past spring. By popular demand, he will be returning to present another series in a future OSHER session.

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.

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.