New partner at AM Peisch
RUTLAND—AM Peisch & Company, LLP recently admitted Andrew P. Simonds, CPA, as a partner. A 2008 graduate of Castleton University, Simonds received public accountant certification in 2012 after earning a masters of accounting with a concentration in forensic accounting from Florida Atlantic University.
Rutland doctor studies prostate cancer survival
RUTLAND—Radiation oncologist Dr. Richard Lovett took part in a study to improve men’s prostate cancer survival rate. Men whose prostates were removed have a statistically higher survival rate if follow-up treatments block male hormones. The article Lovett co-authored appears in the New England Journal of Medicine and The New York Times. The research compared the results of patients who received a radical prostatectomy to those who received radiation therapy in addition to the surgery, and to those also received an anti-testosterone medication. All outcomes were best among those who received all treatments.
Inconsistent water pressure interrupts plant operations
RUTLAND TOWN—False fire alarms and plant evacuations result from water pressure inconsistencies at the GE plant about twice a year, Patrick Maher told the Rutland Town Select Board, Feb. 7. GE upgraded the sprinkler system but made no changes to the flow meter that trips the fire alarm when pressure increases or decreases, Maher said.
The two most recent fire alarms occurred as a result of the water main break at the Kia dealership on Route 7 South and at the Red Cross building on Wales Street in downtown Rutland. Maher believes the false alarms are caused by Rutland city infrastructure, not the GE plant. The least expensive remedy to the production shutdown is giving the plant notice before the city flushes any mains, he suggested. The fire alarm systems in Plant One on Windcrest Road were upgraded in 2014, and there are plans to upgrade at Plant Two in Rutland Town in five years, Maher said.
Mystery shots fired downtown
RUTLAND—The sound of gunfire broke the silence in downtown Rutland in the morning of Feb. 12. Police descended on the area around the intersection of Howe and Union streets. By Feb. 14, Rutland Police Detective David LaChance said the police had located a vehicle integral to the investigation and spoke with “one person of interest.” However, other people “known to law enforcement” remained to be questioned.
LaChance said there was reason to believe that the incident was planned and that there was more than one shooter, although it had not been established how many shots had been fired or how many shooters were involved. “It wasn’t a random act. It wasn’t just two people walking down the street,” he said.
Library offers financial update
RUTLAND—A new accountant was mistaken when telling aldermen in November the library had misspent Nella Fox Trust Agreement funds, Rutland Free Library board of trustees President Heather Cooper told aldermen Feb. 16. The accountant had relayed that Fox funds were being used for general operating expenses although they were to be reserved for materials.
Cooper said that the library has always been in compliance, confirmed by legal opinion. The agreement specified the money was to buy books and periodicals, but later revisions permitted some of the fund could be used for programming.
Books and periodicals have become digitized, Cooper explained. The library can use the fund to buy e-books, audio books, online subscriptions, and constantly changing databases.
In the 1940s, a “dead-tree” book or periodical would be indexed into a card catalogue and shelved by hand. Contemporary electronic handling integrates digital publications into online library systems that are accessed by library patrons by computer and reading devices.
“The whole point of the trust is to provide materials to the library that will be accessible to people in the library,” Cooper said. The Fox Trust was created in 1945, amended the following year and again in 1952, before being modified by court order in 1974.
Level funding in 2016, coupled with inflation, dragged the library into a $40,000 funding gap. On Feb. 13, the library officially launched the “I Love Our Library” awareness campaign. The library hopes to piggyback with the “I Love Rutland” campaign and to garner support through a listening tour with a variety of organizations.
Library trustees have already taken their open ears to Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum, Rutland City’s Recreation and Parks Department, and the Rutland Economic Development Corp. Coming up is a meeting with Castleton University President David Wolk.
