January 18, 2014
Senate Education Committee passes early educators right to organize, 5-0 From news & staff reports newmarketpress@ denpubs.com MONTPELIER — The Vermont Senate Education Committee voted unanimously to support the Early Educators’ Right to Organize bill Jan. 8. The committee chose to pass a bill that mirrors the bill the committee supported last year as an amendment to the Miscellaneous Education bill. The amendment was ruled non-germane on the Senate floor, and so the full Senate did not have a chance for a full Senate vote. This year, the Education Committee chose to offer a stand-alone bill. The vote occurred at approximately 2:45 pm, and was a unanimous, 5-0 vote, with the full committee present. The Chairman, Senator Dick McCormack, indicated that he will report the bill on the Senate floor. The bill is expected to be referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee before moving on to the full Senate. “We are grateful for this show of support from the committee. We have had a tremendous amount of support from the families in our community, and are hopeful that soon we will be able to organize together,” according to Judy Pransky, director of Emerson Falls PlayCare, Inc.
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Fire destroys auto business
VERMONT LANDSCAPE
By Lou Varricchio newmarketpress@denpubs.com WEST RUTLAND — A fire in West Rutland destroyed East Creek Motors, a retail automobile business located at 277 West St. (U.S. Route 4), during the mid afternoon hours of Jan. 8. According to Fire Chief Robert Schlachter of the Rutland Fire Department, East Creek owner Joseph Kravetz, with help from his spouse, attempted to extinguish the blaze from inside the building, but to no avail. The blaze was considered to be a dangerous fire to firefighters; large clouds of dark smoke from the event were seen by eyewitnesses within a 10-mile radius of the site. The fire also prompted Green Mountain Power to shut down a narrow area of the local power line. A GMP official in Rutland reported that a limited power failure—affecting 1,000 downtown customers—was the result of utility taking safety precautions by closing feed lines to an overhead power line located near the blaze. No injuries were reported at press time.
Photographer Melanie Considine, whose photographs show quintessential Vermont scenes, will be part of the first annual Compass Music and Arts Center Winter Art Mart. The mart will show the work of Considine, and other local artists, Jan. 15 through March 31. Compass Music and Arts Center is located at 333 Jones Dr. in Brandon Vt. Photo of Reading, Vt., by Melanie Considine
Middlebury River ice jam may flood highways By Lou Varricchio
newmarketpress@denpubs.com
Ice jam flooding of the Middlebury River as seen along U.S. Route 7 south of Middlebury Beef Supply in East Middlebury Jan. 8. Photo by Lou Varricchio
MIDDLEBURY — Due to the presence of ice jams on the Middlebury River, in both East Middlebury and easterly up the mountain, the potential exists for flooding as a result of the warmer weather and heavy rain currently forecast for this coming weekend. East Middlebury residents whose properties are prone to flooding should initiate the appropriate precautions. Both Route 125 and Route 7 in the area of the river may also be impacted by flooding. The Middlebury Police Department will continue to monitor conditions closely over the next several days. The Public Works Department and Vermont Emergency Management have also been alerted.