By Hilary Niles, VTDigger.org Secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe has received her marching orders for the 2015 legislative session. In a letter dated Aug. 19, Gov. Peter Shumlin laid out his priorities for the state’s public education system and requests specific initiatives from the Agency of Education. Among the directives: promote the benefits of “right-sizing”…

By Hilary Niles, VTDigger.org State agencies are being asked to stick to their strategic plans while drafting budget cuts up to 5 percent for fiscal year 2016, which starts July 1. Instructions from Gov. Peter Shumlin’s administration include notification that departments will be expected to absorb higher payroll costs stemming from the Pay Act. Two…

By Morgan True, www.VTDigger.org A new report prepared for the Green Mountain Care Board confirms wide variations in the price of medical services throughout the state and examines policy approaches to regulate them. Prices that Vermont’s 14 hospitals and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire receive from commercial insurers vary between 72 percent and 132…

By Morgan True, VTDigger.org Raw milk producers held a news conference Wednesday to say new Agency of Agriculture policies are making an otherwise friendly law more burdensome. The original raw milk law, passed in 2009, required producers to regularly send milk samples to certified labs to check bacteria levels. A new policy requires that samples…

By Anne Galloway, VTDigger.org Governor Peter Shumlin is hitting the airwaves with feel-good film clips of Vermonters talking about his accomplishments. He spent $235,000 in September, mostly on advertising, and he has raised $100,000 over the same period from unions, businesses and individuals. So far the governor has raised a total of nearly $700,000 this…

On Monday, Oct. 6 at approximately 6:30 a.m., Ann M. Grandbois, age 51 from Washington, Vt., struck three bears that were walking on Interstate 91. Grandbois was driving south on Interstate 91 at mile marker 16.5 near Exit 4 on the Dummerston/Putney town line; the bears were walking north in the southbound travel lanes. After…

CLARENDON—On July 2, the Vermont State Police were notified by the Vermont Department of Children and Family Services (DCF) of their concern regarding a possible sexual relationship occurring between Tiffany Pagan, 25, of Clarendon, and a 15-year-old student. Pagan is a former peer educator for Rutland City Public Schools. Through the investigation it was learned…

BRIDPORT — At about 5 a.m. Friday, Oct. 3, State Police from the New Haven Barracks were called to a report of a motorist who had collided with a dead horse that was lying on VT Route 22A in Bridport. An investigation revealed that Eric Baker, 38 of Whitehall, N.Y., was traveling to work northbound on…

On Oct. 6, Anthony Fitzgerald, age 23 from Rutland, escaped from the Southern State Correctional Facility in Windsor, Vt. Fitzgerald was reportedly working outside at the farm portion of the correctional facility. Initial investigation revealed that the inmate cut the wire fence to escape. Fitzgerald was said to have escaped from the facility at around…

PITTSFIELD—On Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014, at approximately 8:45 a.m., Timothy J. Lensing, 64, of Pittsfield was driving a 2015 Volvo V60 station wagon southbound on VT-Route 100. At mile marker 1, while rounding a bend, Lensing encountered a “rafter,” or flock, of turkeys trying to cross the road. Lensing attempted to avoid the birds by…

KILLINGTON — On Oct. 3, at approximately 7:01 p.m., the Vermont State Police received a call from Leslie Thompson, who advised that Sean Blake, age 24 of Killington, was unconscious in a vehicle from a possible overdose. Police made contact with Blake on Northside Drive in Killington, where he was initially found unconscious, but breathing. Blake…

The Agency of Agriculture’s Consumer Protection Division is reminding Vermonters to take steps to ensure they “get what they pay for” when heating their homes. “With winter approaching, it’s important for Vermonters to know there are rules in place to govern transactions related to fuel and firewood,” said Henry Marckres, chief of the consumer protection…

PITTSFORD—Due to numerous tips regarding dog fighting activities in Vermont, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has partnered with the Vermont Police Academy to train local animal control officers, law enforcement officers and humane society agents from across the state on how to investigate the increasingly prevalent crime of organized…

RUTLAND — Visitors to the City of Rutland will soon be greeted by new solar-lit welcome signs and flower displays, thanks to a unique collaboration between businesses, non-profits and the City of Rutland, Mayor Chris Louras announced in a release, Monday, Oct. 6. Work will soon begin to install four “Welcome to Rutland” signs at key…

RUTLAND—A sand filter designed to reduce, treat and filter stormwater runoff has been installed on city-owned property at Southern Boulevard, within the Moon Brook watershed. The Rutland Natural Resources Conservation District (RNRCD) was awarded a Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Ecosystem Restoration Grant to design and install the stormwater management utility. With this funding, the…