Bennington Banner: Local News

BSD to tour new schools in N.E.Wednesday, November 19 BENNINGTON  Bennington School District board members are planning to take a road trip. They are in the process of deciding which newly constructed or renovated elementary schools they want to tour in Massachusetts, Vermont and possibly Rhode Island and Connecticut. Borrowing ideas The tours would be designed to give them a better idea of the newJOHN D. WALLER, Staff WriterWed, 19 Nov 2008 03:06:30 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11020589?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11020589?source=rss

Tree lighting in ManchesterWednesday, November 19 MANCHESTER  The holiday season will officially kick off a bit earlier in Manchester this year. The annual tree lighting ceremony at Factory Point Town Green has been moved up to Friday, Nov. 28 (Black Friday), at 5 p.m. at the request of the Manchester and the Mountains Chamber of Commerce.BenningtonBanner.com,Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:06:23 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11020582?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11020582?source=rss

Shaftsbury board seeks to avoid budget deficitWednesday, November 19 SHAFTSBURY  The Select Board voted at a meeting Monday to freeze $4,000 in the fire department's equipment fund as a measure to prevent a deficit in the current budget. The board is looking to avoid a repeat of the end of the last fiscal year, in which members discovered the town had run a sizable deficit.MIKE GLEASON, Staff WriterWed, 19 Nov 2008 03:06:23 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11020581?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11020581?source=rss

Fungus suspected as cause of bat diseaseWednesday, November 19 DORSET  Experts have identified a fungus that might be linked to bats with white-nose syndrome, a deadly affliction that has devastated bat populations in the Northeast. A new species of fungus in the Geomyces genus has shown a "strong association" with affected bats, according to David Blehert, a diagnostic microbiologist with the U.JOHN D. WALLER, Staff WriterWed, 19 Nov 2008 03:06:22 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11020580?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11020580?source=rss

Pownal student hopes to travel as a student ambassadorTuesday, November 18 POWNAL  Six years ago, while attending Pownal Elementary School, Kathryn Warrender was first nominated to be part of a leadership program that would send her to Washington D.C. She said circumstances made the trip impossible. Now, at 15, Warrender is an honors sophomore student at Mount Anthony Union High School and has another opportunity to travel.KEITH WHITCOMB JR., Staff Writer.Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:29:04 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11011747?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11011747?source=rss

Officials could consider Bypass changeTuesday, November 18 BENNINGTON  The state is willing to meet with town officials to discuss possible design changes to a portion of the Bennington Bypass that has prompted anger in some residents and business owners. At a meeting last week, Select Board Chairwoman Lodie Colvin said she was "dumbfounded" to hear there are no direct access points to a planned welcome center forNEAL P. GOSWAMI, Staff WriterTue, 18 Nov 2008 03:04:31 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11011758?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11011758?source=rss

Town, insurance company at oddsTuesday, November 18 BENNINGTON  The town will enter into mediation next month with an insurance company that is hoping to recoup about $9,000 from the town that it paid out for a claim filed by a resident. A town official, however, said mediation is not expected to produce a settlement. "The likelihood that we would mediate is relatively small," said Bennington Town Manager StuartNEAL P. GOSWAMI, Staff WriterTue, 18 Nov 2008 03:04:26 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11011749?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11011749?source=rss

Town, schools agree on salt facility's useTuesday, November 18 BENNINGTON  Town and school officials worked out an agreement recently that potentially saved local taxpayers thousands. The two sides found a way to keep two local school districts' salt and sand reserves at town facilities at no additional cost. Initially, it appeared the Mount Anthony Union and Bennington School Districts might have had to build their ownJOHN D. WALLER, Staff WriterTue, 18 Nov 2008 03:04:26 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11011748?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11011748?source=rss

District CourtTuesday, November 18 BENNINGTON  The following case was heard in Bennington District Court on Monday: Marie Higley, 24, of State Farm Road in Windsor denied a violation of probation. She was ordered held without bail by Judge John Wesley. According to a Department of Corrections affidavit, Higley was placed on probation on Aug.BenningtonBanner.com,Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:04:25 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11011746?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11011746?source=rss

A different way to explore the pastPOWNAL - Ted Atkinson's great uncle was on his way home from courting a young woman when he looked up at Carpenter Hill and saw a farmhouse engulfed in flames. He immediately changed his course and got his horse and buggy moving at full tilt. It was shortly after midnight in 1911. By the time he arrived, the farmhouse - owned by Reynolds Carpenter - was a total loss.JOHN D. WALLER, Staff WriterMon, 17 Nov 2008 12:12:14 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11005415?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11005415?source=rss

N.Y. town basks in glow of HollywoodMonday, November 17 NEW LEBANON, N.Y.  The hippies are gone. So are the detours. And the chilled lobster tails. The movie stars have left. Ang Lee's headed south. And there's a dearth of naked people running around Columbia County. This is the hangover in the aftermath of what many are calling the biggest thing to happen to this area in decades, maybe ever: "Taking Woodstock.BENNING W. De La MATER, Berkshire Eagle StaffMon, 17 Nov 2008 03:03:48 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11003639?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11003639?source=rss

Antlers aplenty: State says deer season looks goodSaturday, November 15 NEAL P. GOSWAMI BENNINGTON  Thousands of hunters are taking to the woods today as part of an annual tradition  deer season. Vermont's rifle season, a 16-day holiday for some Vermonters, runs from Nov. 15 to Nov. 30. A separate muzzleloader season, and a second archery season will take place from Dec.Staff WriterSat, 15 Nov 2008 03:05:32 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_10991951?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_10991951?source=rsshttp://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site509/2008/1115/20081115__tlocal.jpg122131image/pjpeg

Vermont retailers are uncertain about the overall economic climateSaturday, November 15 BENNINGTON  As the holiday shopping season nears, Vermont retailers are eyeing the nation's economic climate closely. The year has not been kind to major retailers, as many have voiced concern about the economy. Recently, Circuit City, a major electronics company, filed for bankruptcy protection.MIKE GLEASON, Staff WriterSat, 15 Nov 2008 03:05:30 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_10991947?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_10991947?source=rss

N.Y. budget cuts will hit school districtsSaturday, November 15 HOOSICK, N.Y.  Gov. David Paterson's proposal to cut $5.2 billion from the state's budget over the next two years, with $3 billion coming out of education and health care, would have the largest effect on groups that have already set their budgets, Rich Crist, communications director for the Rensselaer County Legislature, said Thursday, the day after the governor'sKEITH WHITCOMB JR., Staff Writer.Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:05:25 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_10991941?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_10991941?source=rss

Man convicted of animal cruelty prohibited from owning animals for 3 more yearsSaturday, November 15 BENNINGTON  A New Hampshire man convicted of cruelty to animals in 2007 after 31 dogs were found in his bus had his probation ended in Bennington District Court on Thursday, with the proviso that he not own any animals until 2011. Larry Mason, 54, was convicted in January 2007 for two counts of depriving animals of proper sanitation and one count of transportingMIKE GLEASON, Staff WriterSat, 15 Nov 2008 03:05:25 ESThttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_10991940?source=rsshttp://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_10991940?source=rss