Too few doctors trained in buprenorphine treatment for heroin
Vermont physicians are seeing an overwhelming demand for a recently approved treatment for heroin addiction. State officials say they’re working to increase the number of doctors trained to prescribe the treatment but there are some obstacles. (VPR)
Vermont Yankee lays ground for dry cask storage
Vermont Yankee wants to move some of its highly radioactive waste into storage bunkers near the Vernon reactor. “Dry cask storage” has been discussed as an option for nuclear power plant waste for many years. Now the Yankee plant in Vernon is preparing its request for the Legislature. (VPR)
Supreme Court harassment case
Vermont Supreme Court justices will be asked this week to decide what schools must do to guard against racial harassment. They’re to hear arguments in the case of Celeste Washington, a former student at Harwood Union High School in Duxbury. Washington says school officials failed to step in to stop daily harassment against her. (AP)
State wind policy
Those who want a say in the state of Vermont’s policy on wind power might want to be in Montpelier on Tuesday afternoon. The Commission on Wind Energy Regulatory Policy is set to hold a public hearing from 1:30 to 3:30 in the Pavilion Auditorium in Montpelier. (AP)
Police weapons training
Twenty police officers from around Vermont have new or sharpened skills, thanks to a firearms course they took last week. The Federal Protective Service, part of the Department of Homeland Security, offered the four days of training at the Vermont National Guard’s Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho. (AP)
Upcoming Guard deployment
Many of the Vermont National Guard and Reserve members called up to active duty recently have been pulled away from families and employers who were depending on them. Mary Cerutti of Montpelier, a 42-year-old wife, mother and teacher’s aide in Northfield, is one in the latest round of 600 Vermont soldiers called up recently to deploy in support of the Iraq war. (AP)
Soldier care packages
Three young men with Rutland County ties who are serving in Iraq should be getting big packages from home very soon. That’s thanks to Wallingford’s Election Day collection of Nerf footballs, playing cards, puzzles, writing tablets and about $100 in cash that will help defray shipping costs. (AP)
Wood stove sales up
With oil prices at record levels, dealers in wood stoves in Vermont say sales are heating up. Traditional wood stoves, stoves designed to burn wood pellets and coal-burning stoves all are selling so strongly that manufacturers say they are having trouble keeping pace with demand. (AP)
Deer baiting
Many of the thousands of hunters who headed into the woods this weekend for the opening of Vermont’s deer season are scattering food at their hunting spots. Deer baiting is a practice that is growing in popularity but it also drawing increasing debate. (AP)
Calais neighborhood watch
Add Calais to the list of rural and once crime-free Vermont towns where residents have decided they need to form a neighborhood watch. Like many towns, Calais relies on the state police for coverage, but the state police are spread thin. Lieutenant David Harrington, head of the Middlesex barracks, says he strongly supports residents getting involved in neighborhood watches. (AP)
Charities battle junk donations
Two Burlington charities are asking folks not to donate trash and to wait until they are open to drop off donations. Officials at the Salvation Army and Recycle North say they come in on Monday mornings and often find junk ranging from broken pianos to dirty diapers. (AP)
UVM livable wage protest
With the University of Vermont embarking on a construction boom, calls are increasing for assurances that its contractors treat their workers well. About 65 people gathered outside a trustees meeting this weekend calling on UVM to require its contractors to provide their workers with health insurance, a fair salary and other benefits. (AP)
Fatal pickup truck accident
Vermont State police are investigating a fatal accident in which a Rutland woman fell off the bed of a pickup truck. Police say 20-year-old Suzanne Knapp of Rutland was in the bed of a pickup truck driven by 20-year-old Keeley Lebo of North Clarendon when the accident happened on Route 140 in Tinmouth. Police say Lebo was charged with driving while intoxicated. (AP)