Thursday, February 26, 2015
News to Know February 13, 2015
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This communication is put together and distributed on a
volunteer basis by resident Corinne Stridsberg simply in an effort to share
information and build community, it is not from the town of Berlin
Please share this with your Berlin
*
On the Berlin , Vermont
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NOTES:
The next tax payment
due date is February 15th. Since this is on a Sunday and Monday is a holiday,
taxpayers can actually pay it or have it postmarked on Feb. 17th with no
penalty.
TOWN REPORTS are
back from the printers! They will be sent home to families with their
oldest student at Berlin Elem. School
STAY WARM and be
sure to bring those animals in … it’s -12 degrees F as I send this out
Below you will
find:
FEBRUARY 14TH
TOWN MEETING DAY DETAILS
BLACK AND WHITE CAT FOUND
WINE AND CHOCOLATE – FREE SAMPLES
RIVER ICE
DANCE & DINE
BRIAN MORSE
AUCTIONEER!
CARDS PLEASE!
STATE HOSPITAL
REPORT FROM WCAX
APPRENTICESHIPS
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FEBRUARY 14TH
A reminder to make time to be in Montpelier on Feb. 14th... at
least a drive through but best to have time to walk around and see what the
phabulous phantom has done! On facebook: "The Montpelier Valentine
Phantom Phan Page". If you can’t get into Montpelier (or even if you
can) or have out of the area folks you’d like to share with there is a
wonderful "Stuck in Vermont" with Eva Sollberger on the Phantom
filmed a few years ago...it even shows the huge hearts that were on the State
House and at City Hall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl1OkerCrBA
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TOWN
MEETING DAY DETAILS
Find the details
regarding Town Meeting Day at this link:
Want to learn
more about Town Meeting in general - check out this publication:https://www.sec.state.vt.us/…/Town_Meeting_Middle_School.pdf
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BLACK
AND WHITE CAT FOUND
A black and white
cat has been hanging out at the Berlin Four Corners. Anybody missing one? A
friend who lives up there has crated inside for a couple nights given the cold
temps but already has several pets and can’t take on another. If it might
be yours or you would consider giving it a good home if needed please let me
know.
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WINE
AND CHOCOLATE - FREE SAMPLES
Fresh Tracks -
tThe annual Wine and Chocolate Weekend is here! Short version: FREE Nutty Steph's chocolte
paired with FREE wine samples. For the long version, click the link to get a
full rundown of details, and a list of all other participating wineries and
chocolatiers! http://www.freshtracksfarm.com/20…/wine-chocolate-weekend-2/
Also at Fresh
Tracks - in addition to their gift baskets that are customizable, they
have candles, Vermont Made Shortbread and also Jams & Jellies such as
Rosé Wine Jelly.
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RIVER
ICE
Interested in
river ice? Both the formation and break-up? The US National Weather Service Burlington VT recently had a 30 minute webinar "River Ice
Processes" which has now been posted to be able to share. The NWS in Burlington
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DANCE
& DINE
Dance & Dine
at the Capital City Grange 6612
VT Rte 12 in Berlin 3:30 – 5pm especially good for the kids!; Thai Curry Dinner 5pm – 6pm ; Contra Dance 6pm – 8pm . $10 to
dance / $10 to Dine for adults, $5 to dance / $5 to Dine for the kids. Check
their facebook page for more details.
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BRIAN
MORSE AUCTIONEER!
“I am now
licensed as an auctioneer and will be doing estate auctions, consignment
auctions and more. Will also be establishing a permanent local auction hall
facility soon. Hope you'll all keep that in mind if you have a need for that
type of service. Brian MorseMORSEBRIANE@AOL.COM"
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CARDS
PLEASE!
"February
17th is Katherine (Kitty) Langlois's 80th birthday. I thought it would be nice
to surprise her by showering her with cards. Also you can help by spreading the
word. Her address is 376 Hill St. Ext. , Berlin , VT 05602.
Thanks! - Cheryl Poor"
Thanks! - Cheryl Poor"
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STATE
HOSPITAL REPORT FROM WCAX
WCAX reporting on
the new state hospital and those waiting in the emergency room at the hospital.
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APPRENTICESHIPS
Wayne Lamberton
spoke about apprenticeships when he was on Vote For Vermont on2/2/15. http://labor.vermont.gov/workforce-developm…/apprenticeship/ You can watch what Wayne
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Pub. 2/11/15 Times
Argus by David Delcore
The $3.4 million budget proposed for
Though the number of equalized pupils in
The U-32 budget will be on the ballot in
The same can’t be said of the nearly $3.37 million budget proposed for the town’s pre-kindergarten-through-six elementary school. That budget will be a Berlin-only decision. It calls for spending $104,216, or 3.2 percent, more than the roughly $3.26 million voters approved a year ago.
The proposed budget reflects an increase of more than $70,000 in negotiated pay raises and an additional $13,000 to cover health insurance and other contractual benefits.
Among the items cut from the budget during deliberations this year were a half-time clerical position and a part-time Spanish position. Difficulty filling the Spanish position, which has been vacant since the end of the last school year, made it a relatively painless cut, though board members have lamented what some view as the slow but steady erosion of the school’s educational offerings.
The proposed budget does reflect roughly $21,000 in savings associated with staffing turnover that has already occurred and formalizes a decision to restore a student safety-related portion of a full-time position that was cut during budget deliberations a year ago. It also anticipates the reduction of a half-time special educator position.
The proposal reflects $11,000 in savings on books and supplies, while spending an extra $13,000 on technology.
The biggest increases are in the area of special education. The budget reflects a new $77,000 expense associated with out-of-district tuition and an extra $57,000 for services provided by Washington County Mental Health Services. Those adjustments are expected to generate an extra $41,000 in state revenue, trimming the net change in the budget to roughly $62,000, or about 1.9 percent.
@Tagline:david.delcore @timesargus.com
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Pub. 2/10/15 Times
Argus by Eric Blaisdell
BARRE
— New Washington County State
Williams defeated Tom Kelly for the position in the November election. He officially took over Feb. 1. Kelly is now a deputy prosecutor inLamoille County
Williams said Monday that he’s been very busy. He said his office has been scrambling to prepare the cases that are trial-ready and has assured the court that he will avoid delaying cases whenever possible.
“We’re in the first phase of a counterinsurgency operation,” Williams said. “We need to push back space with all this old stuff that’s been in the pipeline for so long in order to be able to really try and be effective at the new stuff coming in.”
One of the issues that Williams campaigned on wasWashington County
He cited the example of people facing criminal charges for driving with a suspended license. Under Kelly, those cases went through the whole court process, usually resulting in a plea deal under which the offender would be sent to the reparative board and then to the state’s diversion program. Williams is sending those cases straight to diversion, cutting out the middle step.
He said he’s done this for one woman he’s known for a while who has had a rough life but seems to have gotten her act together. She has a criminal record, which historically has often disqualified defendants for diversion. But Williams is giving her another chance at diversion and eventually regaining her driving privileges, for which he said she is grateful.
“It’s a minor thing. It made me smile a little bit, but there’s one of the places where we can start to build some space,” Williams said of the backlog that his office is carrying.
Another change in the state’s attorney’s office involves staffing. Williams said Megan Campbell and Michelle Donnelly are no longer deputy prosecutors for WashingtonCounty. He saidCampbell Orleans County
Williams has also brought in one of his own. Dan Cavanaugh is Williams’ chief deputy prosecutor. The two met in August at their kids’ soccer game and hit it off.
Williams said Cavanaugh was a prosecutor inFlorida
“He’s very competent, very calm under pressure,” Williams said. “Even though we’ve worked in absolutely different environments, we have a lot of the same vision.”
Before his campaign and election, Williams worked for many years as a defense attorney.
Just beginning his new job, Williams suggested that prosecutors can become cynical over time. He describes himself instead as skeptical.
One goal Williams has is to gather more comprehensive documentation for the cases he and Cavanaugh will prosecute. If, for example, a defense attorney claims a defendant is doing something positive, then they’ll need to offer evidence of that in writing.
A major piece of Williams’ campaign was his contention that law enforcement officers were unhappy working with Kelly — a claim that Kelly rebutted. Williams said many others in the criminal justice community and the courts weren’t happy with the way Kelly did business.
Since taking office, Williams said, he has met with some of the local police chiefs and Vermont State Police to work on bridging that divide. One way to do so, from Williams’ standpoint, is by having better communication. He said he’s encouraging his deputies to reach out to the police officers involved in cases to let them know what the state’s attorney’s plan is and, in turn, to solicit more feedback and information from the officers on the street.
Without naming names, Williams said he recently received an email from an officer saying he had information that someone had been driving with a criminally suspended license. The officer told Williams that this person is dealing heroin and wanted the license case pursued to help in that investigation. He said in the past, the state’s attorney’s office had failed to pursue a DLS case against the alleged dealer.
“Going after quality-of-life crimes, which a lot of times I’m not interested in, can be a way to get into a drug investigation,” Williams said. “It may not pan out, but we need to have those conversations and listen to the cops. It may be a minor case, but it’s not a minor person out in the community.”
Williams has been meeting with local businesses and school superintendentsinWashington County
@Tagline:eric.blaisdell @timesargus.com
Williams defeated Tom Kelly for the position in the November election. He officially took over Feb. 1. Kelly is now a deputy prosecutor in
Williams said Monday that he’s been very busy. He said his office has been scrambling to prepare the cases that are trial-ready and has assured the court that he will avoid delaying cases whenever possible.
“We’re in the first phase of a counterinsurgency operation,” Williams said. “We need to push back space with all this old stuff that’s been in the pipeline for so long in order to be able to really try and be effective at the new stuff coming in.”
One of the issues that Williams campaigned on was
He cited the example of people facing criminal charges for driving with a suspended license. Under Kelly, those cases went through the whole court process, usually resulting in a plea deal under which the offender would be sent to the reparative board and then to the state’s diversion program. Williams is sending those cases straight to diversion, cutting out the middle step.
He said he’s done this for one woman he’s known for a while who has had a rough life but seems to have gotten her act together. She has a criminal record, which historically has often disqualified defendants for diversion. But Williams is giving her another chance at diversion and eventually regaining her driving privileges, for which he said she is grateful.
“It’s a minor thing. It made me smile a little bit, but there’s one of the places where we can start to build some space,” Williams said of the backlog that his office is carrying.
Another change in the state’s attorney’s office involves staffing. Williams said Megan Campbell and Michelle Donnelly are no longer deputy prosecutors for WashingtonCounty. He said
Williams has also brought in one of his own. Dan Cavanaugh is Williams’ chief deputy prosecutor. The two met in August at their kids’ soccer game and hit it off.
Williams said Cavanaugh was a prosecutor in
“He’s very competent, very calm under pressure,” Williams said. “Even though we’ve worked in absolutely different environments, we have a lot of the same vision.”
Before his campaign and election, Williams worked for many years as a defense attorney.
Just beginning his new job, Williams suggested that prosecutors can become cynical over time. He describes himself instead as skeptical.
One goal Williams has is to gather more comprehensive documentation for the cases he and Cavanaugh will prosecute. If, for example, a defense attorney claims a defendant is doing something positive, then they’ll need to offer evidence of that in writing.
A major piece of Williams’ campaign was his contention that law enforcement officers were unhappy working with Kelly — a claim that Kelly rebutted. Williams said many others in the criminal justice community and the courts weren’t happy with the way Kelly did business.
Since taking office, Williams said, he has met with some of the local police chiefs and Vermont State Police to work on bridging that divide. One way to do so, from Williams’ standpoint, is by having better communication. He said he’s encouraging his deputies to reach out to the police officers involved in cases to let them know what the state’s attorney’s plan is and, in turn, to solicit more feedback and information from the officers on the street.
Without naming names, Williams said he recently received an email from an officer saying he had information that someone had been driving with a criminally suspended license. The officer told Williams that this person is dealing heroin and wanted the license case pursued to help in that investigation. He said in the past, the state’s attorney’s office had failed to pursue a DLS case against the alleged dealer.
“Going after quality-of-life crimes, which a lot of times I’m not interested in, can be a way to get into a drug investigation,” Williams said. “It may not pan out, but we need to have those conversations and listen to the cops. It may be a minor case, but it’s not a minor person out in the community.”
Williams has been meeting with local businesses and school superintendents
@Tagline:eric.blaisdell @timesargus.com
# posted by Corinne's blog of Berlin and area happenings @ 5:30 PM 
