Weekly Roundup - Norwich News, for week ending March 16, 2013

Gala A Success; Fraser Family Says Thank You 

From the listserv

The Fraser family wishes to thank the Norwich Women’s Club and all of the members who worked so hard to organize the Gala event that was held on Friday night, March 15. We were humbled to be honored as this year’s recipient.  It was a wonderful evening that was flawlessly organized and every detail was perfect- Great food, nice drinks, fun neighbors!   For those of you that have not attended before, it is a night of celebration that allows for everyone in town to come together and enjoy what is so special about Norwich.  It should not to be missed.  The money raised is well spent on town projects that the Women’s club undertakes. Previous projects such as the welcome sign, the water fountain on the school green, supporting the school, library, scholarships and all the other things these  incredibly ladies do for the town!! Keeping the money local is what it is all about.  The event was a near sell out, so be sure to buy your tickets next year as soon as they go on sale so you don’t miss the festivities.

More photos at:  http://www.norwichwomensclub.org/
LINKS:
http://lists.valley.net/lists/arc/norwich/2013-03/msg00311.html
http://lists.valley.net/lists/arc/norwich/2013-03/msg00320.html

No Decision On Tower By Selectboard 

The Selectboard made no decisions about the emergency communication tower at its March 13 meeting. Despite the 2-1 vote at Town Meeting in favor of a town-owned tower, the VTel option was not eliminated and discussed in executive session.  Also at the meeting, Town Manager Fulton proposed that the Town build a temporary tower to comply with conditions in two grants and that the Town hold a Special Town Meeting to authorize additional bond authority.

Norwich Board Signals on Tower

By Sarah Brubeck, Valley News Staff Writer

March 14, 2013 

The Selectboard made no firm decisions last night about how it will proceed with the controversial emergency communications tower, but it strongly indicated it was leaning toward backing out of a previous deal with VTel and instead elect to build the structure on its own.

Last week, residents passed an article at Town Meeting that authorized the town to borrow $275,000 to help finance construction of the tower. The vote, which passed 689-341, signaled to the Selectboard that residents were willing to underwrite the cost of the tower rather than accept VTel’s offer to build the tower in exchange for using it for its own commercial purpose.

The town has said it needs the tower to improve impaired radio communication for the police, fire and public works departments. The Selectboard voted 3-2 in August to allow VTel, a Springfield, Vt.-based telecommunications company, to build and own the tower while allowing Norwich to place it’s antennas on top of the structure. But residents have opposed the deal and urged the Selectboard to choose a town-owned option.

Read the rest of the story. 

LINK:

http://www.vnews.com/news/5101890-95/town-tower-selectboard-fulton

7 Make UVM Deans List For Fall 2012 

The Valley News reported on Tuesday that the following student from Norwich, Vermont  earned Dean's List honors at the University of Vermont: Erica C. Andrus, Daniel M. Degan, Daniel F. Elliott, Beryl R. Frishtick, Dylan B. Ness, Eva S. Sachsse,and Emma C. Waters.

LINK: http://www.vnews.com/news/4966397-95/store-center-students-norwich

State Rep Cheney Pushes for Energy Efficiency With Tax On Heating Oil

VPR reports that State Rep. Margaret Cheney, D-Norwich, is pushing one of the few climate change related bills that is likely to see a vote by the Legislature this session. The measure, which comes from a thermal efficiency task force, raises money for Vermonters to insulate their buildings - both commercial and residential - by adding a tax on home heating oil.

As Legislature Reconvenes, Lawmakers Push for Energy Efficiency
Kirk Carapezza, Statehouse Digital Reporter
March 11, 2013 

Lawmakers reconvene for the second half of the legislative session on Tuesday. And, despite budget woes and federal cuts, some of them are hoping to stay focused on a goal set at the beginning of the session: fighting climate change and promoting energy efficiency at the same time.
Given the climate crisis, one of the things legislators agree Vermont must do is to reduce its use of energy. Rep. Margaret Cheney, D-Norwich, is pushing one of the few climate change related bills likely to be voted on. It's a measure that proposes to make it easier for Vermonters to insulate their buildings - both commercial and residential - so they can save money on their heating bills and cut down on their carbon emissions.
"We have done well with electricity - with our efficiency and our ramping up of renewables - but we have not tackled the thermal problem, which is the heat problem, and we haven't tackled the transportation problem," Cheney said. "They're much harder to solve."

Read the rest of the story.
LINK: http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/97751/as-legislature-reconvenes-lawmakers-push-for-energ/

A subscription may be required for access to the Valley News stories. 

The Norwich Observer is in Norwich, Vermont 

Are Legislators Dragging Feet On Gun Control? State Rep Masland Says No

Despite overwhelming support at Town Meeting in six Upper Valley towns for gun control, the Valley News reported on Friday that gun control advocates "have all but given up hope" that any legislation will get enacted this year in Montpelier. A listserv post, 898 to 132, intimated that our local state representatives Jim Masland and Margaret Cheney were not doing enough to ban assault weapons. State Rep Masland disagreed, saying that despite the Valley News report, "a sensible [gun control] bill will emerge from House Judiciary and pass over to the Senate." 

Read the debate: 

Gun Control In Vermont: Not This Year
http://www.vnews.com/news/4933082-95/gun-control-bill-vermont
Letter: Vermonters Have Spoken
http://www.vnews.com/opinion/5101006-95/gun-sensible-enacting-legislation
898 to 132 (and some but not all follow-ups)http://lists.valley.net/lists/arc/norwich/2013-03/msg00291.htmlhttp://lists.valley.net/lists/arc/norwich/2013-03/msg00303.htmlhttp://lists.valley.net/lists/arc/norwich/2013-03/msg00303.htmlhttp://lists.valley.net/lists/arc/norwich/2013-03/msg00293.htmlResponse to Don Kreishttp://lists.valley.net/lists/arc/norwich/2013-03/msg00319.html

Weekly Roundup - Norwich News, for week ending March 9, 2013

Election March 2013

All budgets and other articles passed. Incumbents survived in all uncontested races. Of significant note was the passage of Article 34, petitioned on the ballot by Norwich residents and opposed by the Town Manager.  The bond vote was largely viewed as a referendum on whether Norwich or VTel should build and own the emergency communication tower.  Voters resoundingly supported Town ownership with 689 voting yes to 341 voting no.

Official Election Results
Official election results for Norwich are on the Town web site.
LINK: http://norwich.vt.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/VotingResults030513.pdf

Dresden Teachers Contracts, Budgets Pass
By Sarah Brubeck, Valley News Staff Writer
March 6, 2013
After going two years without a contract, Dresden and Hanover teachers yesterday won voter approval for new contracts as residents also approved the Hanover and Dresden school budgets and all accompanying warrant articles.
The Dresden contract passed by a ratio of 2-to-1 with 1,221 in favor and 574 against, and the Hanover contract passed 584-198.
Hanover School Board Chairman Robin Carpenter said he wasn’t surprised by the overwhelming support for the Hanover and Dresden districts, but the margins were larger than he had guessed.
“When an article is in trouble there is a buzz about it, letters to the editor and phone calls. I didn’t get any of that,” Carpenter said.
Read the rest of the story.
LINK:
http://www.vnews.com/news/4908909-95/hanover-contract-dresden-teachers

Norwich Balks At Tower Deal
By Sarah Brubeck, Valley News Staff Writer
March 6, 2013
 Voters sent a firm message to the Selectboard yesterday by voting overwhelmingly in favor of borrowing money to build a communication tower rather than have the town partner on the project with a private firm.
Selectman Steve Flanders, who in the past has supported the agreement with Springfield, Vt.-based VTel, said last night that the results likely means that the town would try to fund and manage the construction of the tower on its own.
“I will respect the fact that I’m pretty sure that the people voting thought that the town should have the tower itself instead of going through VTel and I will proceed with that expectation,” Flanders said.
Selectboard Chairman Christopher Ashley and Selectwoman Linda Cook both stood in front of the polls yesterday with signs that said they each supported the warning article for the communication tower.
Read the rest of the story.
LINK:
http://www.vnews.com/news/4876377-95/town-tower-vtel-selectboard?ID=abcde&CSAuthResp=62892%3A24547117%3A248%3A15%3A24%3Asuccess%3ADDA9E51B83A1515E8EF9F989E9729525

Shumlin taps Michael Kainen as State’s Attorney

By Christian Avard, Rutland Herald Staff Writer
March 09, 2013
Gov. Peter Shumlin appointed Michael Kainen as Windsor County state’s attorney on Friday.
Kainen is an Orange County deputy state’s attorney in Chelsea and ill replace Robert Sand who will be assisting the Department of Public Safety in redefining drunk-driving sentencing and treatment efforts in Vermont.
Kainen was informed of the governor’s decision Thursday. He will begin his new job March 23 and said he is pleased to represent Windsor County.
“I’m happy to have the appointment,” Kainen said. “I’ll be working on some transition items while in White River Junction and button up what’s left up here in Orange County and go from there.”
Shumlin said in a statement that Kainen is known for his common-sense approach to law and is seen by many as a consensus builder. Kainen attributed these traits to Sand, with whom he worked at the state’s attorney’s office in Windsor County for 15 years.
Windsor County Democrats nominated Kainen and Windsor County Deputy State’s Attorney David Cahill of Norwich as candidates to succeed Sand. The committee thought both candidates were well qualified for the job.
Cahill also heard about the governor’s selection Thursday and congratulated Kainen in his new role.
“It was a hard fought campaign among colleagues and I wish him the best,” Cahill said in an email. “It was an honor to have earned the trust and confidence of the many people who do the difficult, often thankless work of delivering justice to crime victims, offenders, and the taxpaying public. I look forward to playing a continued role in public service and in modernizing our criminal justice system for the benefit of all of its stakeholders.”
Read the rest of the story.
LINK:
http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130309/NEWS02/703099914/1003

VTDigger Named Best Political Blog in Vermont 

Kudos to VTDigger for being named by Washington Post as the best political blog in Vermont for 2013.  In 2011, VTDigger shared the honor with Green Mountain Daily and Vermont Daily Briefing.
The VTDigger story is here and the Washington Post's 50 state rundown is here.
LINKS:
http://vtdigger.org/2013/03/06/washpo-puts-vtdigger-on-best-state-based-political-blog-list/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/03/05/the-fixs-best-state-based-political-blogs-list-is-here/

A subscription may be required for access to the Valley News stories.

Town Meeting 2013

Norwich Divided Over Tower

By Sarah Brubeck, Valley News Staff Writer
March 5, 2013
Residents and Selectboard members last night were once again divided over whether a proposed communication tower should be owned by VTel or the town, and they haggled over salary increases for some department heads.

More than 160 people filled Tracy Hall for the discussion portion of Norwich’s Town Meeting, with voting to take place by Australian ballot today from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

After a 40-minute budget presentation by Town Manager Neil Fulton, Town Treasurer Cheryl Lindberg, a member of the Norwich Finance Committee, noted that the panel voted 4-0 not to support the proposed budget. In the town report, the Finance Committee cited large salary increases for several town employees.

The proposed $4 million municipal budget is essentially flat this year and is $10,000 less than the current budget. The budget includes large salary increases for the planning, finance and recreations directors of about 14 percent, 19 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

Selectboard Chairman Christopher Ashley soon stood up and spoke his mind.

“Our director of planning, director of finance and our director of recreation, I think we owe them a legitimate salary on what they currently do,” Ashley said.

But as is accustomed in Norwich, not all agreed. Both Selectboard members Linda Cook and Keith Moran said they didn’t support the increases because they didn’t think a $15,000 salary-comparison study conducted by Condrey & Associates for the town was accurate.

Read the rest of the story.
LINK:
http://www.vnews.com/home/4873651-95/town-tower-norwich-vtel

A subscription may be required for access to the Valley News stories. 

Norwich, VT 05055 

Weekly Roundup - Norwich News, for week ending March 2, 2013

Dresden Election Brochures Are MIA

Informational brochures about the election and annual meeting mailers were late going in the mail.  I guess the dog ate the memo. Read the brochure here. Valley News Staffer Sarah Brubeck reports about the annual  meeting in the story below.
Dresden Contracts Questioned
By Sarah Brubeck, Valley News Staff Writer
March 1, 2013
Hanover — The number of School Board members rivaled the number of attendees at last night’s annual meeting for the Dresden budget, and it might have been because people didn’t receive mailers announcing the meeting.
At the end of last night’s hour-long meeting, former School Board member Kari Asmus took to the microphone and criticized the board for not getting information out to voters in a timely fashion.
The School Board decided not to mail out annual reports to each household this year because they are expensive and many residents toss them aside.
Instead, annual reports are available at town halls, libraries and the SAU 70 office, and small informational mailers would be sent out.
When Asmus didn’t receive a mailer before last night’s meeting, she was a little taken aback. But she shrugged it off and said she thought, “Oh well. I can come to this meeting and learn what I need to learn.”
So she headed to Hanover High School, but to her surprise, the doors were locked. Without the mailer, she hadn’t realized that the meeting had been moved to Richmond Middle School.

Read the rest of the story.
LINKS:
http://www.sau70.org/budgets/13-14_budget/brochures/Dresden_Brochure.v3a.pdf
http://www.vnews.com/news/schools/4767060-95/board-contract-meeting-teachers

Opinion

Does democracy suffer when the Town Manager has an agenda? Is the ballot box an adequate remedy?
Column: Direct Democracy Is Struggling in Norwich and Other Towns
Watt Alexander, For the Valley News
February 26, 2013
“Practice makes perfect,” it’s often said, but surely not in reference to democracy. We’re clearly not getting any better at it.

The democratic debate over competing interests — from New England town meeting to state legislatures to the U.S. Congress — remains as fractious and messy as ever. Messier, maybe, as that democratic debate is increasingly filtered through a vast and growing bureaucratic layer of government administrative roles and regulation.

Indeed, throughout the Upper Valley, New England’s experiment with direct democracy is giving way to a more modern, suburban bureaucracy. More and more town meetings are replacing customary floor debates and votes with annual Australian ballots. Volunteer selectboards cede ever more authority to professional administrators, signaling that American government, even in small communities, may no longer be a matter for amateurs.

Here in Norwich, our experiment with professional administration began in 2002 when we hired our first town manager. Barely 10 years later, convulsed by a series of public controversies, we’re on to our fourth town manager with new controversies brewing. While the details of these spats are fascinating to the participants — and make for good Valley News headlines — the underlying struggle they signify is relevant to all of your readers: Where do we, the amateur citizen-taxpayers, fit within this increasingly bureaucratized democracy?

Read the rest of the story.
LINK:
http://www.vnews.com/opinion/columns/4692948-95/town-democracy-manager-selectboard

A subscription may be required for access to the Valley News stories. 

Percent Increase In Wages

This Chart shows the increase by percent in wages for each of the stated positions.  Benefits are not included.  

Position	Last Yr. Increase %	Proposed Increase %
Town Manager	16.5	8.77
Town Manager Asst	18.35	7.79
Town Clerk	3.50	15.25
Finance Director	5.00	18.52
Finance Asst	108.00	23.97
Planning Director	3.50	13.90
Planning Asst	3.50	26.12
Recreation Director	3.50	26.51
Police Chief	3.00	4.00
Fire Chief	6.28	1.76
Director of Public Works	3.50	3.16
Social Security	3.60	1.70

All "Proposed Increase %" numbers are as reported in the recently released Town Report for 2012.  The numbers listed in "Last Yr. Increase %" are from the 2011 Town Report.  Social Security numbers are from SSA.gov/cola.

Weekly Roundup - Norwich News, for week ending February 16, 2013

CoreValue Software Helps Small and Medium Businesses Find Value

CoreValue Software in Norwich, VT, co-founded by Chuck Richards and Lisa Kable, creates web-based software to help owners of private companies build valuable companies. A profile of the firm appeared on February 10, 2013 in the Valley News.

Finding Hidden Value: Norwich Firm Helps Small Businesses Figure Out What They're Worth 
By Warren Johnston Valley News Staff
February 10, 2013
The mission of CoreValue Software is easy to see, although it’s not readily apparent.
Clues — large photographs of aged, closed factories, steam locomotives, rusted, discarded machinery — populate the office walls of the global company that operates in the back of a two-story building with no sign on Main Street to announce its presence.
However, even the poster-sized black-and-white photos don’t give a clear picture of what CoreValue is about. The bright office, functionally furnished with sensible desks and chairs, computers, an occasional dog bowl under a desk and bags of canine treats covering an entry shelf, could house any number of businesses — perhaps a real estate firm that sells off shuttered or dying factories or an equipment brokerage that finds buyers for obsolete machines.
But instead of hovering over the decaying carcasses of outmoded industries, CoreValue’s plan is to swoop and save them with a software program that makes closely held small- and medium-sized businesses look deeply at their operations with an eye on the future.
“The photographs are a reminder of what we do, and what we’re trying to prevent,” said Lisa Kable, the president of CoreValue, who co-founded the company with Chief Executive Officer Chuck Richards.
“We feel like we’re reaching and helping business owners, and when they transfer their business, it will be a net job generator — that the business will do well and jobs will be created,” Kable said.

Read the rest of the story.
CoreValue Software Web Site
LINKS:
http://www.vnews.com/home/4102921-95/business-corevalue-businesses-companies
http://www.corevaluesoftware.com/

Former Chef at Carpenter &  Main In Minneapolis

"Man, this guy can cook" reports the Star Tribune

Lynn on Bryant: A neighborhood gem of a restaurant
By Rick Nelson, Star Tribune
February 14, 2013

REVIEW: A transplanted Vermont chef sets up a great-looking shop in south Minneapolis. Are there more chefs like him?

The Twin Cities area has more than its share of local-chefs-made-good stories, but the culinary scene has also prospered from the fresh perspectives and enviable skills brought here by gifted out-of-towners.

Including Peter Ireland. The Vermont native cooked for big-name chefs in Chicago, New York and France — then ran his own acclaimed restaurant, Carpenter & Main, in his hometown of Norwich, Vt. — before relocating to Minneapolis (where his wife, Rebecca, was enrolled in law school) and opening the Lynn on Bryant.

The name is a reference to the surrounding Lynnhurst neighborhood. That only seems right, since the Lynn is billed as a neighborhood restaurant, and its breakfast-lunch-dinner format bears that out. But with Ireland at the helm, it’s also so much more.

Man, this guy can cook. The menu is tightly focused. At dinner, it’s just six appetizers and as many entrees, which could feel limited, but doesn’t. What makes the Lynn such a remarkable dining experience is Ireland’s intrinsic ability to subtly manipulate and balance outcomes up and down the continuums of flavor and texture: bitter-sweet, tangy-mellow, crispy-silky; all masterfully exploited.

Read the rest of the story.
LINK:
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/taste/191058101.html?refer=y

Preview Of Town Meeting

Sarah Brubeck of the Valley News nicely summarizes the big topics for Town Meting 2013

Cell Tower On Warning In Norwich

By Sarah Brubeck Valley News Staff Writer
February 14, 2013

Norwich town and school budgets will be discussed Monday, March 4 at 7 p.m. in Tracy Hall. Voting for town officers and all warning articles will be done by Australian ballot on Tuesday, March 5 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Tracy Hall.

Norwich — This year’s Town Meeting warning isn’t lacking for controversy with one nonbinding article that would authorize the Selectboard to spend $275,000 to build a new communications tower, undercutting a deal the Selectboard struck with a private telecommunications company.

Voters will also decide whether an assistant town clerk who has been working full time will have her hours reduced to part time.

The tower flap started last fall when the Selectboard authorized Town Manager Neil Fulton to sign a letter of intent with VTel, a Springfield, Vt.-based telecommunications company, that would allow the firm to lease property on New Boston Road in order to build a communications tower to provide high-speed Internet service to the area. In return, the town could freely use the tower to upgrade radio communication among the police, fire and public works departments.

Norwich residents petitioned the article that calls on the town to build and own the tower itself. Proponents said passage would show the Selectboard that there is widespread opposition in town over the deal with VTel. The article is not legally binding, however, and if it does pass ... .

Read the rest of the story.
LINK:
http://www.vnews.com/news/townbytown/norwich/4397511-95/town-budget-selectboard-increase

Cahill of Norwich Under Consideration By Governor For State's Attorney

Two names in the ring for next Windsor County state's attorney

February 12,2013
By Christian Avard, Rutland Herald Staff Writer

Gov. Peter Shumlin will take a hard look on who to select as the next Windsor County state’s attorney. That’s because the Windsor County Democratic Committee endorsed both candidates for the job.

The Windsor County Democratic Committee passed a resolution on Monday advising the governor that David Cahill of Norwich and Michael Kainen of Hartford, are qualified for the job. Cahill and Kainen are seeking to replace outgoing State’s Attorney Robert Sand who was recently appointed by the governor to develop a new DUI court system.

The Windsor Democratic Committee acts in an advisory capacity and can only make suggestions to the governor. Windsor County Democratic Committee Chairman William Kuch was surprised by the delegates’ decision at the special meeting.

“There weren’t any ‘nays.’ I expected people wanted to make a choice and vote for one or the other,” Kuch said.

Cahill is a Windsor County Deputy state’s attorney who graduated from Dartmouth College with a major in history and German. He received his law degree from the University of Minnesota and has filed thousands of charges in a variety of criminal, civil and investigative matters in Windsor County.

Read the rest of the story.

LINK:
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20130212/THISJUSTIN/130219979

State Rep Cheney Proposes Tax on Home Heating Oil

House bill proposes hike in heating fuel to pay for efficiency

Burlington Free Press
February 6, 2013
Terri Hallenbeck, Free Press Staff Writer

A new House bill would create a program for making Vermont homes more heat-efficient, just as Gov. Peter Shumlin proposed, but would tap a different tax source.

The bill, H. 216, was introduced Wednesday by Rep. Margaret Cheney, D-Norwich, and is expected to be on the House Natural Resources & Energy Committee’s agenda next week.

Cheney proposes raising $8 million a year through a 0.5 percent increase in the gross receipts tax charged to home-heating fuel and electricity. Half would go to increase the money for low-income weatherization. The other half would go to a thermal efficiency program, perhaps run by Efficiency Vermont. Like that outfit’s electric efficiency programs, this one would coordinate heating efficiency for Vermonters’ homes, Cheney said.

Gov. Peter Shumlin last month proposed similar programs, but would pay for them through a 10 percent tax on break-open tickets sold by clubs and bars. Shumlin specifically avoided proposing an increase in heating fuel taxes as unpalatable to Vermonters.

Cheney said legislators are doubtful the break-open ticket tax will generate the $17 million Shumlin claims it will. She said she’d like the money it would generate to go to the Clean Energy Development Fund, which helps pay for renewable energy projects. That was one of the programs Shumlin wanted to fund with the tax, too.

Read the rest of the story.

LINK:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013302060031

Weekly Roundup - Norwich News, for week ending February 2,2013

Norwich Sidewalks Turning Blue This Winter

Thursday, 01/31/13 5:50pm

Charlotte Albright, VPR News: 

MP3

When it gets really cold, people, it's said, turn blue.

Well, in Norwich, so do the sidewalks, after they have been treated with de-icer. Town Manager Neil Fulton says there's a good reason for that.

"The purpose of the blue is so we can see it. It could have been red and green.  I've kidded some people that come next Christmas is we're going to ....do red and green instead of blue-maybe we'll be patriotic and do all three colors." Fulton said.

He's had some poly-syllabic explaining to do about the day-glo liquid brine the town is experimenting with this year.

"So it's 30 percent magnesium chloride plus the corn carbohydrates that lowers the freezing temperature of it which means it's more effective at lower temperatures. It's not as slick as other products." he said.

Fulton says this mixture has anti-corrosive agents which makes it more environmentally friendly than the typically applied sodium chloride, and he says it does not harm pets who lick it. 

"We're hopeful that if the costs are right and our experience as an effective de-icing agent are right it's something we will use in the future because it's going to cause less harm to the vegetation next to the sidewalks," Fulton said.

Read the rest of the story.  Listen to the report.

Recovering Snowboarder Pearce Keeps Busy

Plenty Of Work For Pearce
By Jared Pendak Valley News Staff Writer
Saturday, February 2, 2013


Kevin Pearce may not be competing in snowboarding events any longer, but that hasn’t stopped the former Olympic hopeful from making an impact in his sport.
Still recovering from a traumatic brain injury suffered while training in Utah three years ago, the Norwich native has become an ambassador for snowboarding safety during his recovery process.
Pearce’s message and endearing personality have been featured on both the big screen and national television lately. A film produced by HBO depicting his story and recovery, The Crash Reel, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last month and will air on TV this summer and fall.
Just last week, Pearce provided on-air commentary for ESPN during snowboarding events at the Winter X-Games, the largest extreme sports competition in the U.S.
Read the rest of the story.

Cahill Under Consideration For State's Attorney

The search for the new Windsor County state’s attorney has begun.

By Christian Avard, Rutland HeraldJanuary 28,2013

Two candidates are vying to replace outgoing State’s Attorney Robert Sand, whom Gov. Peter Shumlin recently appointed to develop a new DUI court system. According to Windsor County Democratic Committee Chairman William Kuch, 78 delegates will meet at 7 p.m. Feb. 11 at Damon Hall in Hartland to nominate the new state’s attorney.

Once they have selected a nominee, the committee will inform Shumlin and Shumlin will make a decision on the appointment. According to Kuch, many Windsor County Democrats will be watching the process very closely.

“It may not be as high profile as appointing a state senator, but there’s a lot of interest. Both candidates are very qualified,” Kuch said.

David Cahill, Democrat of Norwich, is a Windsor County deputy state’s attorney interested in becoming the new state’s attorney. He has served for seven years at criminal court in White River Junction.
Read the rest of the story.

LINKS:
http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/97345/norwich-sidewalks-turning-blue-this-winter/
http://www.vnews.com/search/4147355-95/film-pearce-snowboarding-family
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20130128/NEWS02/701289959