Sunday, January 17, 2016
Berlin News to Know January 5th
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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
*
For current news
look for "Berlin , Vermont
For historical
news look for "Berlin , Vermont
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Below you will find:
ACT 46 DENIES VERMONT AND HISTORY
Please take the time to read this article and the comments also.
http://vtdigger.org/2015/12/21/margaret-maclean-act-46-denies-vermonts-culture-geography-and-history/#comments
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There is once again a petition for the Kellogg Hubbard Library to have a
funding request on the Berlin Berlin Town Berlin
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KOHL'S HIRING
Kohl's plans to open in March up across from the Berlin Mall and needs
to fill about 100 full and part time hourly positions.
Full-time jobs involve supervisory roles that range from merchandising and operations to service areas. Part-time positions include cashiers and customer service workers.
Interested applicants can visit KohlsCareers.com for information on available positions and how to apply
Full-time jobs involve supervisory roles that range from merchandising and operations to service areas. Part-time positions include cashiers and customer service workers.
Interested applicants can visit KohlsCareers.com for information on available positions and how to apply
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Pub. 12/31/15 Times Argus
by Eric Blaisdell
The report was written by
Chris Kolmar in the infotainment site RoadSnacks.net. Rutland
The list was made by using
FBI crime data from 2011 to 2013.
“Violent crimes are
defined as rapes, murders, robberies and aggravated assaults,” Kolmar wrote. “We only looked at cities that have populations of more than
2,500 people as of 2013, which is the last year the report was available. This
left us with a total of 32 cities in Vermont
“Finally, we made 2013
factor more heavily than 2012, since more recent crimes are a bigger determining
factor in how dangerous a place is,” the report read.
For Berlin Kolmar wrote, “Located between Barre and Montpelier Vermont Berlin Green Mountain State
“Between 2011-3, both
violent and property crime rates nearly tripled, leaving residents with a 1 in
220 chance of being the victim of a violent crime and a 1 in 20 chance of being
the victim of a property crime in 2013.
“That makes Berlin Rutland Berlin
It’s unclear why FBI data
from 2014 wasn’t used as that was made available in September. Attempts to
contact Kolmar for this story were unsuccessful.
In the 2014 crime data, Berlin Berlin South
Barre , accused of fatally
shooting Department for Children and Families caseworker Lara Sobel in Barre,
as well as three relatives in Berlin
Select Board Chairman True
Nelson emphasized Wednesday that Berlin Kolmar used is misleading because, although Berlin Berlin
“Between shopping and
employment, Berlin
Nelson said he looked at
some past town reports and discovered a large majority of the calls to police
were made at businesses. He said because Berlin
“That is a skewed number,”
he said. “The majority of our crimes, generally in Washington County Berlin
Williams said, for example
if one couple is charged with a domestic assault incident, a separate
disorderly incident and a later violation of an abuse prevention order, that’s
three incidents in a year that just upped the crime stats significantly, and
involved just two people.
He said there’s no doubt
that crime does occur in Berlin
The report does come with
a disclaimer saying, “We must note that this report is not an analysis of the
effectiveness of local police departments. It simply states where crimes
occurred most frequently.”
Williams said Berlin comes
in second or third in the county when it comes to crimes referred to his desk
that he reviews to see if charges are warranted, but most are for retail thefts
and bad checks; crimes reported by businesses.
Berlin Police Chief
William Wolfe said while the data is the data, the numbers do not accurately
reflect the environment in town. Wolfe said Berlin Vermont
He called the report
“hurriedly put together” as it appeared there wasn’t much research put into it.
Wolfe said he was certain there were other towns and cities in the state where
more crime occurs.
Wolfe’s criticism of the
RoadSnacks.net isn’t the first time the site has come under scrutiny. Other
responders to its articles echo the sentiments of those in Berlin
Some might characterize
the site’s content as “clickbait,” or stories and lists designed to be
provocative or sensational so that the reader clicks on the story to read it.
Nick Johnson, who founded
the site with Kolmar , said this to Iowa Public Radio in August, “One
time we decided to flip the best lists upside down, and publish ‘Where are the
Worst Places in Florida
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Pub. 12/23/15
Times Argus by David Delcore
BERLIN — A mud
bog event that masqueraded as a birthday party this year has town officials
looking to create an ordinance that would give them the power to regulate such
events, but they agreed this week that might not be as simple as it sounds.
Hoping to
avoid a slippery slope, members reviewed a draft ordinance prepared by Town
Administrator Dana Hadley before proclaiming it a good start and noting that it
needs work.
The challenge
involves isolating what type of events should require town scrutiny and a $150
fee for a local permit that could include conditions governing things like
parking and traffic control, noise and hours of operation.
Board members
worried the language Hadley proposed was overly broad — roping in “any event
where groups of people will gather to participate or observe.”
Arguably, that
could include town meeting, chicken pie suppers, family reunions and lawn
sales. Given the draft ordinance’s specific reference to sporting events, that
would certainly include organized athletics.
“Would that
mean a soccer game over at the school?” Select Board member Brad Towne asked,
kicking off the discussion Monday that featured more questions than answers.
Based on the
current wording, Hadley conceded it would. However, board member Jeremy Hansen
wondered if simply excluding events on school property — some of which are
rather large, generate significant traffic and have nothing to do with school —
from the ordinance would resolve that issue.
Before the
board had a chance to react to Hansen’s idea, member Roberta Haskin was asking
whether a permit would be required under the draft ordinance for a backyard
wedding with perhaps 100 guests.
“Is that
considered an event?” she asked.
“If you’re on
private property, I don’t think we have much say,” Hadley replied.
And there’s
the rub. Board members reminded him that the mud bog event that Chairman Ture
Nelson noted was “billed as a birthday party” over the summer was on private
property. So too, Towne noted, was the annual carnival that spawned the closest
thing the town has to an event ordinance.
That
“amusement ordinance,” adopted in 1982, talks about carnivals, circuses and
midways, but not much else. As a result, requests for permits have been few and
far between, and in most cases voluntary.
Complaints
involving the mud bog held since 2004 on the Herring Family Farm on Route 12
brought the issue to a head over the summer. Noise and traffic were among the
concerns expressed. Organizers applied for an amusement permit they said they
didn’t need — and ultimately never received — but hosted the three-day mud bog
anyway.
The ordinance
Hadley drafted is an attempt to clarify the town’s ability to regulate special
events in the interest of public safety.
However, board
members wrestled with what would trigger the need to apply for a permit.
“What’s the
distinguishing element?” Hansen asked.
“Is it what’s
happening, or is it where?” Haskin added.
Towne
suggested the board look for ways to narrow the list of events that potentially
would be regulated by the ordinance.
“Not all of
these events are open to the public,” he noted — a distinction that would allow
the town to ignore weddings and family reunions and the like.
“Is that the
distinguishing feature, that it’s open to the public, or charges a fee?” Hansen
asked hopefully.
Based on those
guidelines, Nelson said the mud bog event, which he noted was publicly
advertised, likely would require a permit even though it doubled as a birthday
party.
Hadley agreed
that modification was more in keeping with what he had in mind when he drafted
the ordinance.
“I don’t want
to penalize people who are trying to have a party in their backyard,” he said.
Hadley
volunteered to amend the proposed ordinance to reflect the board’s suggestions
and to review any similar ordinances in surrounding communities.
The board
didn’t discuss how it would evaluate events such as chicken pie suppers and
craft fairs that are open to the public or charge a fee. While the current
language would require permits for those types of events, it gives the Select
Board the discretion to waive the $150 fee.
david.delcore
@timesargus.com
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PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP BEHIND BERLIN
Pub. 12/12/15 Times Argus by Neal Goswami
Gov. Peter Shumlin, Transportation Secretary Chris Cole and
Buildings and General Services Commissioner Michael Obuchowski signed the
public-private partnership agreement with representatives of Maplewood Ltd. on
Friday morning at a news conference. The 24-hour Vermont Traveler Services Center
“Here’s the good news for Vermont
The facility will be staffed by workers trained by the state’s
Department of Tourism and Marketing.
“And guess what, it’s not going to cost Vermont Vermont Maplewood
The state, under the agreement, will install and maintain signs on
the interstate and Route 62 advertising the facility.
“This is an example of what we can do when we’re being creative to
make sure that we’re serving the public, providing services, but doing it
without costing taxpayers money,” Shumlin said.
Wayne Lamberton, a partner in Maplewood
“I’m excited that the governor and the administration has shared
our vision for how we can provide traveler services to the taxpayers of the
state of Vermont
Obuchowski said the model could be used for other facilities and
allows the state to create service centers without the traditional costs.
“It’s a situation in which entrepreneurs and the state of Vermont
Lamberton said the facility is expected to be open next fall in
time for the foliage season.
neal.goswami @timesargus.com
# posted by Corinne's blog of Berlin and area happenings @ 4:37 PM 
