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May 14, 2016
Korrine Rodrigue
Rodrigue to run for state Senate RUTLAND TOWN Ñ Self-described moderate Democrat Korrine Rodrigue, the co-founder of Project VISION, announced last week that she is running for Rutland County State Senate in the 2016 election. “I am thrilled to announce that after three years of leading a grassroots effort as a community volunteer to tackle important issues affecting our region such as the substance abuse epidemic, crime, and overall quality of life issues, I have decided to run for office in order to bring my skills to Montpelier to bring about needed change,” Rodrigue said. “There have been incredible initiatives over the last few years from revitalizing our downtown, Project VISION, Rutland Blooms, the Rutland Young Professionals, with many people working tirelessly to change the negative perception and conversation about Rutland, but more work needs to be done.” Rodrigue said that her campaign will be focused on providing researchbased solutions to Vermont’s opiate epidemic, focusing on children “that are on the front lines” of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
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Vergennes Boys & Girls Club: a place of hope and opportunity
Serving more than 30,000 Readers Weekly
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By Lou Varricchio
lou@addison-eagle.com
VERGENNES Ñ The Boys & Girls Club of America began its long heritage of service to AmericaÕ s youth right here in New England, just one year before the first shots of the Civil War were fired. In 1860, only inner city boys in Connecticut and Massachusetts were served by the fledgling organization. Today, lots more has changed. Today, American young people face far more challenges compared to those of the 19th century. In the Little City of Vergennes, the Boys & Girls Club in its current form dates to the closing years of the 20th century; it continues to provide local girls and boys with a safe place to learn and grow, deep-forming relationships with caring, adult professionals CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
Alexa Kuzmik, a naturalist and bird handler from the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, joined an informal group of Orwell residents for a presentation about owls and hawks April 30. The event, which featured a live owl, was sponsored by Friends of Orwell Library. Photo by Christy Alger
Vermont House asks Congress to let students file for bankruptcy By Michael Bielawski Vermont Watchdog Report
Members of the Vermont House gave preliminary approval to J.R.H. 27, a joint resolution that calls for “federal action to alleviate the national student loan debt crisis.” Federal bankruptcy code prohibits student loan borrowers from declaring bankruptcy in most cases.
RUTLAND — With national student loan debt tripling to more than $1 trillion over the past decade and Vermont’s graduates stuck with the highest debt-to-earnings ratio, state lawmakers are urging Congress to let students file for bankruptcy. Members of the Vermont House gave preliminary approval to J.R.H. 27, a joint resolution that calls for “federal action to alleviate the national student loan debt crisis.” Federal bankruptcy code prohibits student loan borrowers from declaring bankruptcy in most cases. “The General Assembly requests Congress to amend the federal bankruptcy code to eliminate the prohibition on relief from federal or private student loan debt through the federal bankruptcy system,” the resolution states. J.R.H. 27 highlights sobering statistics illustrating the scope of problem. Nationwide, almost 7 million student loan borrowers, or 17 percent, are in default as of summer 2015. This is up 400,000 de CONTINUED ON PAGE 10