Water Main Break

A broken water pipe burst open Wednesday April 29, 2009. This caused homes and businesses on the East Side of the bridge to lose water. The entire town was put on a water boil notice, to prevent being exposed to contamination which may have been released into the water due to the break. The boil notice was lifted Friday afternoon May 1st after test results taken from the water came back negative for contamination. It remained lifted until Monday May 4th when the boil notice went into effect again to allow for repairs to the pipe. The ban was lifted again on May 6th at 1 am when the repairs to the pipe were finally complete. Businesses and homes suffered from this break, but the town is now looking into solutions in case these type of problems were to arise again.

St. J Police Receive Stimulus Money

As part of Barack Obama's stimulus package, St. Johnsbury police will be receiving a piece of the pie. They will be receiving around $27,000, which will be used for new equipment, such as scanners in the car and guns for the policemen. This will ensure more safety for the officers when they are out patrolling.

Future of Northeast Regional Correctional Facility

A deficit in Vermont state budgets is now requiring for some cuts. The Northeast Regional Correctional Facility is on the chopping block. Local representatives proposed a bill that would stop the closing of the correctional facility. The deficits Vermont is facing are nearly 250 million dollars over the next two years. Two million of that money would be saved with the correctional facility closing. The deadline for the House Representatives for Vermont was on March 27th and as of right now, it is still undecided what the future for the facility will hold.

Maple Festival

St. Johnsbury welcomed back the Maple Festival after 20 years on the weekend of April 18th. The last time the town held this event was in 1987. Hand made gifts and an assortment of food were sold as vendors lined the streets. Governor Jim Douglas made an appearance to the event that honors our signature agricultural product. Douglas also mentioned how in 1915 Maple Grove Farms was established right in St. J. That farm is now the leading maple syrup company in the world, earning Vermont the title as Maple Capital of the World.

Video Courtesy of News 7's Kyle DuBreuil

Australian Ballot going to the Senate

On March 2, 2009, St. Johnsbury residents voted to eliminate the traditional Town Meeting they have each year. Instead, voters want to move to strictly Australian Ballot. The decision to rid the town of the Town Meeting was sent to the House and passed. The next step is to get the approval from the Senate. If that is passed, the new system with the Australian Ballots will begin next year. Some people are opposed to this new system, but most feel it will be a more convenient way for people to voice their opinions on issues on paper ballots.

St. Johnsbury School Improvements

The St. Johnsbury School saw a huge improvement this year when it comes to the Adequate Yearly Progress, but still came up short of the state expectation. To improve upon this, the administration has come up with a plan so ensure that the school meets the state's requirements. The "Pyramid Of Supports" is a program that would help the school adopt a formal strategy that would track student's learning and access them on a regular basis. Marion Anastasia is the school's principal, but she is also the Professional Development Coordinator of the program who works with professors around the school to make this a successful program. You can view St. Johnsbury's complete report on the test results by clicking on the link below:
http://education.vermont.gov/new/pdfdoc/pgm_assessment/data/08/NECAP/NECAP_PS400_08.pdf .

Excessive Parking in St. J

With Spring upon us more people are out around town. But what does that mean for local parking? Spots on Main St. in St. Johnsbury are occupied for the entire day with cars that don't move. Currently, meters have a 2 hour time limit. To reduce the problem of excessive parking, some businesses would like to see the meters change to 15 minute limits. The hope is that more traffic and more available parking will increase sales. To resolve the issue, business owners are looking to take the problem into their own hands.

Vermont Stimulus money

Vermont is receiving a part of the stimulus money and various towns around the state were asked what they would use the money on. St. Johnsbury submitted a list of 16 projects which totaled to nearly $54 million. Some of these projects include repairing streets and bridges and renovating the Welcome Center. Other towns, such as Lyndonville only submitted one project. The Vermont League of Cities and Towns will be the deciding factor in which projects are picked and which are tossed to the side.

Kiwanis Auction

This year marked the 59th year the Kiwanis club held it's annual auction. Some fifty-five plus members ranging to as old as 96 are a part of Kiwanis and each bring their own individual talents to the table. This year's big ticket item was a hearing aid donated by Armstrong's Better Hearing Service. With the failing economy, the auction also has been affected. To alleviate the problem, the Kiwanians have thought up a new bidding system so that more people are able to bid on things on display.

St. Johnsbury welcomes new businesses

St. Johnsbury selectmen along with town manager Mike Welch and Governor Jim Douglas welcomed the addition of two new St. Johnsbury businesses as they celebrated their grand openings on March 13. Milne Financial was actually open months before the grand opening, but didn't begin to get recognition until they installed their business sign outdoors. The Bread Box was the second business welcomed to the St. Johnsbury community that day. The owner Lisa Morse already had a franchise of Pepperidge Farm products and had been delivering to various grocery stores until she decided to try opening her own business.

St. Johnsbury disappoints Catamount Arts

Back in March on Town Meeting Day Catamount Arts asked ten different towns for funding. All said yes to the motion except for one, their own St. J. St. Johnsbury residents said no to nearly four thousand dollars that would go to the organization. Catamount officials just see this as an opportunity to prove themselves. The money they usually receive from St. Johnsbury goes towards the free gallery and school programming. Though this is a setback for Catamount, it is just a way for them to become more creative in fundraising.