News & Citizen

Serving the People of Lamoille County with News Since 1881

Volume 123     No 10 No 5569         September 27,  2007 Thursday                           Morrisville, VT 05661                        Web Edition

Traffic Cop Test Under the Light by Amy Kolb Noyes MORRISVILLE – Despite a degree of hesitation by Morristown Police Chief Richard Keith, the selectboard voted to proceed with a month-long trial of placing a police officer at the four-way village intersection, in Morrisville, during peak traffic times. The board voted to dig into its reserve funds, if necessary, to come up with the approximately $2,500 to pay for the experiment. The town will hire a police officer to work an extra 80 hours to direct traffic over the course of a month. The traffic officer will direct cars queuing at the four-way village intersection of Main, Portland and Congress Streets, during morning and evening commuting hours, and during the after-school rush. Continued on Page 2 Lamoille County Welcomed into Lions Club by Mickey Smith STOWE – The Lamoille Valley, Lamoille County and Waterbury, has a new service organization as the Lamoille Valley Lions Club was welcomed into the pride last Tuesday, September 18. Continued on Page 2 Click here to check out the new Lamoille Restaurant Guide Clem Curtis, 97, of Stowe, greets Governor Douglas at the March of Dimes monument re-dedication at Stowe¹s Mayo Farm.     Noyes photo No WalMart at Langdell’s by Mickey Smith MORRISTOWN – The site of excavation equipment around the fields on the Langdell property located on Route 15 in Morristown, has many people speculating about new “box store” tenants in town. Continued on Page 2 For Questions or Comments on this web site please contact webmaster at dan@kingdomsedge.com Tenney Bridge is Taken Down by Mickey Smith MORRISTOWN – We’ve sung for centuries about London Bridge falling down, but it didn’t take CCS Constructors, of Morristown, any time to take down the 80 year old Tenney Bridge. Continued on Page 2 Town Enables River Arts Ramp by Amy Kolb Noyes MORRISVILLE – A decision, this week, by the Morristown Selectboard will allow River Arts to construct a handicapped accessible ramp up to the front door of the new River Arts Center. In order for River Arts to add the ramp to the front of the old Lamoille Grange building, the town needed to grant the organization permission to build within the town right-of-way. The board voted unanimously to grant the use of approximately 5 ½ feet of town right-of-way for that purpose. Continued on Page 2 Fit & Healthy Survey by Amy Kolb Noyes MORRISTOWN – We all know that eating right and exercising is the best way to fight obesity. But how, exactly, does one address the problem on a community-wide basis? That is the challenge faced by the Lamoille Valley council of Fit and Healthy Vermonters. The local council formed to promote good nutrition and physical activity among Lamoille Valley residents.  Continued on Page 2 Read all the News, Sports and More Click Here To Subscribe Today Looking for something? Search for: Copyright © 2004 News&Citizen Inc. All rights reserved. Have a press release? edit@newsandcitizen.com e-mail correspondence concerning advertising should be addressed to news@newsandcitizen.com

Things Look This Way to Me

Editorial by J.B. McKinley 9/27/07

They Didn’t Ask Me, But...

Yep, they haven’t asked me, but I can’t help but have a couple ideas concerning things going on around the county. So, if they had asked me, I’d comment on a few things around the county (and one outside the county).

First, about the detour for trucks at the Wrong Way Bridge:  the detour sign is too darn small. Lots of trucks are still trying to make the bridge. Then there’s the truck that found itself up in the Notch, think maybe he missed a detour sign?

Then there’s the increased traffic congestion with Morristown’s Tenney Bridge down and out. Why can’t the town ask the state to pave the old LVRR bridge and then make a short stretch of one way traffic directing each lane to use just one bridge over the Lamoille? Surely the bridge that held a locomotive and part of a car can carry a truck or two? Seems like the so far not-so-heavily travelled rail trail could detour over the Bridge Street bridge sidewalks for a few months.

A couple of local fellows have also noted that there are routes for a variety of trucks to take around Morrisville Village, if even just the local truckers used these routes a bit, traffic would lighten up. If local truckers only used these maybe slightly longer routes during the morning and afternoon rush hours, it would help. That’s something we all can do. Taking some cars out of the village flow will help, too. So, I’ll wave when I see you on the Cadys Falls Road!

Then there are Ray Chauvin’s five proposed lots behind the Morrisville Price Chopper with proposed access from Houle Ave., shouldn’t LEDC or the Town of Morristown, or similar entity buy these lots for the adjoining Industrial Park? My goodness this is prime land for industrial siting, don’t we need these kinds of jobs more than new stores or new homes?

Outside the county, I note that up to five miles of the former LVRR rail embankment is going to be torn down,  apparently actually removed, in order to allow access to the “historical” floodplain. Sounds good from an environmental, flood protection standpoint, but how does that fit in with the rail bank program? How will that right of way be used again if it’s been deconstructed? What’s the current cost of five MILES of rail embankment? It certainly can’t be as cheap as it was in the 1870s. In light of this development, ask yourself if the state EVER thinks it might use this right of way again? Couldn’t they just excavate a few strategic notches in the right of way, instead of bulldozing the whole thing?