8^th DUI Yields 10 to Life

by Mickey Smith

HYDE PARK – “A person with his past needs to be put someplace where he can’t re-offend,” said Lamoille County State’s Attorney Joel Page, in describing the 10 year to life sentence handed down against Kevin Lee, for his eighth DUI conviction. He was 44 at the time of his arrest.

Page explained while he probably won’t serve much over the minimum, he will be under supervision for life. Page described it as “an incapacitation sentence.”

“On his own, he is not capable of controlling his alcoholism,” added Page.

Deputy State’s Attorney Chris Morrill handled the trial, in which a jury determined Lee was a habitual offender.

“The jury found that he met those criteria,” said Page.

Lee was arrested last October after a fight in the Cumberland Farms parking lot in Morrisville. According to police affidavits, Lee became angered when someone said “nice parking job” after he parked diagonally across the yard, blocking the flow of traffic. Before pulling into Cumberland Farms, he nearly struck a pedestrian on Lower Main Street.

He attempted to give the police a false name and birth date and refused to answer questions about who was driving. Without Lee around, the passengers in his vehicle said Lee was driving from a Stowe job site. Three other witnesses placed Lee behind the wheel as well.

Lee’s driver’s license was suspended for life in 1995, and has been suspended for life again five times since then.

Eden Man Involved in Concord Accident

by Mickey Smith

CONCORD – Anthony Bullard, 26, of Eden, received minor injuries in a three vehicle accident on Sunday night, August 19.

According to a press release from Vermont State Police Trooper Teresa Randall, Bullard is alleged to have crossed the centerline of US Route 2 at about 11:20 p.m. in his 1999 Toyota truck and struck a 1997 Ford Escort driven by Avimael Medina of Lancaster, NH.

The Escort spun counterclockwise and traveled over an embankment causing moderate damage. Bullard’s vehicle then hit a 2003 Volvo tractor-trailer, causing that vehicle to swerve and flip onto its passenger side.

Bullard was treated for bumps and bruises, no serious injuries were reported.

GMTCC Reopens Amidst Construction

by Mickey Smith

HYDE PARK – There are still a lot of areas that aren’t accessible and some classrooms are doubling up on space, but the Green Mountain Technology and Career Center will be ready for students when the school year opens next week.

Joe Teegarden, GMTCC director, said to begin the school year the architectural engineering, business administration, and multimedia classes will be the only programs in the original building. The school’s administrative offices and one of the academic classrooms will also be housed in the original space.

The new heavy trades building will house the four classes it is intended for, as well as three other programs and an academic classroom. Teegarden explained those programs have both classroom and lab spaces, so the heavy trades programs will use their lab spaces for both hands-on work as well as classroom studies, while other classes will use their classroom spaces.

Health and human services will be sharing with the heating, ventilation and air conditioning program; hospitality and tourism will be in the automotive classrooms; pre-tech will use the construction space; and the small engines classroom will have another academic classroom.

Teegarden said the culinary arts program will be using its restaurant space as a classroom, but won’t be able to get into the kitchen for awhile as it’s currently torn apart.

For those who need to visit the school, the new “front door” can be found on the west end of the campus (the Johnson side). Teegarden said one long time issue should be alleviated, as several new areas for parking have been opened up with the work.

Teegarden said there will be other movement going on as the first semester develops. He said some classrooms could be moving as soon as mid-September to early October, as work begins on the final wing.

Teegarden said the forestry building on the Hardwick campus is up and running, and he is hopeful the Hyde Park campus should be completed for the second semester.

Hyde Park Officially Chooses Thomas

by J.B. McKinley

Cassandra Thomas has been offered a one year contract as acting principal of Hyde Park Elementary School. The H.P. School Board approved the action at this week’s regular board meeting. Since she is already a teacher at the school, her transition into her new position is expected to be smooth.

Lamoille North Superintendent Terry Bailey said former Lamoille Union High Principal Sharon Fortune will work at HPES through this September. She attended this week’s regular meeting and indicated that she will be available for consultation, if desired, for the school year.

Outgoing school principal Ilene Levitt was given a small reception and several nice gestures of farewell were offered by the community. Nearly 50 people were at the meeting and reception.

Cooperative Training At JSC

by Mickey Smith

JOHNSON – Firefighters from Johnson, Cambridge, Hyde Park, and North Hyde Park and Northern Emergency Medical Services (NEMS) responded to a simulated emergency at Johnson State College last Thursday night, August 16.

As part of a training for both emergency personnel and resident assistants (RA’s) and campus security, artificial smoke was pumped into Senators North, a dormitory on the campus; members of the RA team were then placed on the second and third floor to serve as casualties for the mock emergency.

Firefighters from the four departments entered the building searching for and retrieving the casualties who were suffering from fake maladies ranging from “overcome by smoke” to “unconscious with severe burns.” To add to the tension, one student played the role of someone distraught over a loved one in the building and attempted to enter – only to be blocked by the firefighters.

NEMS provided mass casualty triage up to the point of prepping patients for what would be a trip to the hospital in an actual emergency situation.

Johnson Fire Chief Gordon Smith explained they do not get an opportunity to perform drills like this very often, and described it as a good learning experience for a situation nobody hopes will ever exist.

For the RAs it was a chance to see practical lessons of the situations they are currently learning about at the campus. Each floor has a student who the other students can turn to find assistance for anything. Those students come back a week early to prepare for the arrival of students. This drill was worked into their regular training exercises.

Kizer and Mead Sentenced

by Mickey Smith

HYDE PARK – For their roles in a series of springtime burglaries, Kyle Kizer, 18, of Lake Elmore, and Gene Mead, 20, of Hyde Park, were sentenced to serve 60 days in jail.

Facing 12 charges, eight of which were felonies, the two agreed to a plea bargain in which half of the charges were dismissed by the state.

Lamoille County State’s Attorney Joel Page explained the plea agreement was based largely on the willingness of the two to provide evidence against the alleged “ringleader” of the robbery spree, Galvaston Rocky Witherspoon.

Witherspoon, originally of Florida, is alleged to have been the mastermind behind the break-ins at four homes in the Hyde Park/Johnson area. In separate interviews, both Kizer and Mead alleged Witherspoon was the one who smashed items and vandalized the homes, while pointing out things for the other two to take.

For the most serious offense, burglary, each man was sentenced to one to five years, all suspended but six months, and probation until further order of the court. The other charges carry lesser sentences and will be served concurrently with the burglary sentence.

MACC Sheds Some Light on Copley Ave

by Mickey Smith

MORRISTOWN – As a reminder of days gone by, the Morristown Alliance for Culture and Commerce (MACC) has been working on bringing lampposts back to Copley Avenue. After about two years of planning, 16 black posts now adorn high school hill, bringing back the feel of the original lampposts which were a gift from Morristown’s benefactor Alexander Copley.

A joint effort between the Morrisville Water and Light Department and the town’s Highway Department laid the conduit for the wiring and erected the lamps. The original wiring was still in the ground, but was in such bad shape it was not used.

Heather Sargent, who has been one of the key people behind the drive for the lamps, explained all of the process of putting in the lamps that one would not realize.

She said there was some debate as to whether or not the lamps should be placed on the outer edge of the sidewalks or inside, between the sidewalk and the road, the debate was ended when it was realized the sewer line runs on the outer edge.

Laying out the positioning of the lamps was tricky as well, as they had to take into consideration driveways and the bus zone at the graded building – plus make sure there were no dark spots between the poles, but at the same time not have the light from the poles overlapping each other.

About $26,000 was raised from approximately 75 different donors and MACC received another $25,000 from a matching grant from the Downtown Transportation Improvement Fund. Morristown got in just under the wire, taking the last of the money available from the matching grant fund.

The lampposts are not an exact replica of the original Belgian leaded glass lamps which adorned concrete posts. Sargent said a lot of people thought they were granite, but she speculated even Mr. Copley’s generosity had its limits. They are, though, similar basket style lamps and coincidently named “Morristown” in the catalog.

According to Morristown Two Times, the original lights were torn down in 1962, due largely to vandalism. Four of the original lights do still exist around the village, two on West High Street, and two on the steps of Peoples Academy.

The next phase of the streetlights is even more ambitious. Plans are in the works to bury the power, cable, and phone lines along Portland Street and remove the poles. The lights on the power poles would then be replaced with the lampposts. Union Bank has also talked of putting some of the new lampposts around their buildings, once the renovation is completed.

Waterville Man Killed in Motorcycle Crash

by Mickey Smith

WATERVILLE – Jerry Pells, 35, of Waterville, died Friday, August 17, from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash along Route 109 in Waterville.

According to Vermont State Police Corporal Mark Lucas’s press release, Pells was traveling southbound on Route 109 towards the Waterville Post Office when a vehicle driven by Vilma Cary, of Milton, backed out of a driveway on the east side of the road.

At that time, Cpl. Lucas stated, Pells was cresting a hill and lost control as he approached the backing up vehicle. Pells’ 2003 Honda motorcycle crashed into the driver’s side of the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene due to the injuries sustained in the crash.

Lucas said, based on evidence at the scene and witness’ statements, it is believed Pells was traveling faster than the posted 30 mph speed limit.

Members of Northern Emergency Medical Services and Johnson Fire Department assisted at the scene.

Things Look This Way to Me

Editorial by J.B. McKinley 8-23-07

We Hear You,

But Is It Whitewashing?

Vermont’s highway bridges should all be white by now, instead of green. Everyone who’s ever spent much time in a dairy barn knows that whitewash can cover a lot of manure.

It seems that ever since the Minneapolis collapse, our state media coverage has been quoting Vermont pol after pol telling us how Vermont bridges are all on a strict inspection schedule. Well, OK, but is that telling us anything? Well, that tells us the bridges have been inspected and that is ALL. What they are not telling us is that VTrans, to its credit, has not been happy with the trend in maintenance or replacement for years and years. What comes next? Maybe paying the piper.

You go to the dentist and he inspects your teeth. OK. Then, he reports you have 10 cavities and a split tooth that needs a root canal and a cap. The report and any action taken in light of the report is what matters. The dentist hasn’t helped your teeth by inspecting them, has he? You still have to come up with the money to get the work done.

It’s my contention that our politicians are severely whitewashing the situation with our transportation infrastructure. I can take you and show you a rusting bridge with a crumbling abutment where the girders are now held up with the second set of slowly rotting wooden blocks. It’s on a state highway. Sure, it’s holding – for now.

Don’t believe me that the reports reveal serious issues and accelerating deterioration? Read Rep. Richard Westman’s comments on this page – and he’s just hitting the highlights.

Take the recent posting of Tenney Bridge. Are you seriously trying to get me to believe that Tenney Bridge deteriorated from being able to carry 33 tons to a 3 ton capacity within two years? If so, does this mean that the now re-routed traffic may cripple the Bridge Street Bridge by overstraining it in the next year? If something overstresses Bridge Street bridge, even if not to the point of collapse, what does Morristown have left? In my opinion (any experts out there chime in now), the 80 year old Bridge Street Bridge cannot possibly have been designed with today’s weights and traffic volume in mind.

Governor Douglas recently reiterated his stand as totally opposed to an increase in Vermont income tax. He included a statement that Vermont has a spending problem. He is right. Vermont, we, have to get a handle on our spending, take a very hard look at priorities, and pay for what really counts. Our roads are screaming at us to pay the piper – and soon.