Lakes Region News Briefs

Nursing students learn from Army
CASTLETON—Forty-six Castleton junior and senior nursing students as well as two faculty members took part in a Nov. 29 hemorrhage clinic, learning the basics of stopping excessive bleeding in a patient, second in seriousness to trauma injuries. The students learned how to use tourniquets, pack simulated wounds, and use various pressure bandages and dressings in an event organized by junior John Wood with support from nursing professor Margaret Young, a colonel in the U.S. Army Nursing Corps.
The lead speaker was Col. Chris O’Connell, who has 14 years’ experience as a flight nurse and is currently director of nursing at Dartmouth Hitchcock’s emergency department. Several other experienced Army medics helped teach the hands-on workshop. Students not only learned about wounds from an Army perspective but also saw how the techniques are relevant to everyday wounds from knives, gunfire, industrial mishaps, sports accidents, and other trauma.
Faculty, administrators reach out to struggling students
CASTLETON—A team of eight administrators and counselors aims to help students overcome personal, academic, or financial challenges that may hinder their success at Castleton. Facilitator for the program is Dorothy Dahm, a writing tutor who teaches English composition and effective speaking. Instructors who notice a student in difficulty submit a referral form to Dahm by email. She emails faculty who teach that student, asking them to submit a referral form for the student and asks the one with the best connection to the student to initiate an offer of help.
Users believe the three-year-old program is contributing to student retention, especially those in their first year, said Ingrid Johnston, dean of special academic programs. The team raises faculty and staff awareness of what they may do to assist struggling students.
State fines, revokes Edgewater liquor license
BOMOSEEN—Saying that the business maintained a “culture of over-service and utter lack of any meaningful managerial oversight,” the Liquor Control Board has fined The Edgewater, Inc., former owner of the Fishtail Tavern and the Trak-In Steak House in Bomoseen, $15,000 and revoked its liquor license. The fine represents $2,500 each for six regulatory violations, with an additional administrative penalty of $2,500.
Investigation into The Edgewater, Inc., arose from an early-morning March 18-19, 2016, automobile crash that killed all three occupants of a car when it struck a tree after the young adult group had been doing some extended heavy drinking at the Fishtail Tavern. The investigation determined that management had failed to stop serving them when they were visibly intoxicated and had failed to arrange alternate transportation.
The final decision, made Nov. 22, follows various attempts to let the Fishtail stay in business. Following the crash, in April 2016 the Castleton Select Board revoked the bar’s outdoor liquor license but relented in June and approved a modified permit with conditions. In October 2016 the Liquor Control Board issued a 30-day license suspension when The Edgewater failed to provide business records as required by the investigation.
Finally, any future owner seeking a liquor license must be referred to the board, and the bartender on duty that night must be recertified.
Matt Hart, attorney for owner Rosemary Poremski Rogers, filed rebuttals to much of the testimony of DLC Investigator Michael Davidson and witnesses.
Town partners with early childhood center
ORWELL—The Orwell board moved to sign a one-year memorandum of understanding with the Mary Johnson Children’s Center of Middlebury. The school provides the space, outdoor play area, parking, and custodial services. The center provides $5 million insurance coverage, certified staff, licensure with the STARS (Step Ahead Recognition System) program, maintains a secure area, and informs the school of any damage.
Town, school board tussle over wastewater pump cost
CASTLETON—Town Manager Mark Shea and Addison-Rutland Supervisory Union Superintendent Ron Ryan have been negotiating a $12,500 item in accounts receivable on the town’s books. They have a lot of documented history to go through, with lots of maintenance having to be performed and pumps needing to be replaced.
In the original arrangement, two ordinary pumps were installed. As use of sanitary wipes became more prevalent, the more substantial material clogged the pumps more often. The pumps had to be pulled and cleaned constantly. Putting up signs at the school asking that wipes not be flushed proved ineffective.
More than one pump burned up; some had to be rebuilt. The town finally installed a pair of “shark pumps,” dedicated to the school, that grind material as they pump it. Their installation required plumbing work and a special control panel.
Shea had intended to bill the School Board for half the cost for the pump, while Ryan said the board had agreed to pay 25 percent. The town wanted 100 percent. The School Board then said it was willing to pay 50 percent if it received an explanation of the costs, but heard no agreement from the town.
The board moved to approve paying half the $6,253 cost. If the pumps need to be replaced in the future, the question of who would responsible for the cost would depend on the cause. If the school caused the failure, the school would pay the cost in the same manner that a homeowner would.
The current pumps are performing well and the School Board’s minutes note that “it is probably what should have been put there in the first place.”