Lebanon
Michael Polito, 28, faces charges of reckless conduct, aggravated driving while intoxicated, disobeying an officer and conduct after an accident, all misdemeanors. He is also charged with reckless operation, a violation.
The release gives the following account: Office Dan Gaspard reported noticing a car leaving one of Route 12A’s shopping plazas “recklessly at a high rate of speed,” and then “slide sideways across two lanes of (travel) while accelerating rapidly.” Police said Polito ignored the warning lights on Gaspard’s cruiser, first by turning off 12A and then returning before veering onto an on-ramp and hitting another car on the way to the interstate.
Despite a flat rear tire, Polito sped south on I-89 past Exit 19 before losing control at the rest area.
Cash bail was set at $10,000 for Polito, who was taken to the Grafton County House of Corrections in North Haverhill pending arraignment.
Hartland
Crews will be replacing a culvert that allows water to run under the road at mile marker 2.6, and through traffic will be prohibited, the Vermont Agency of Transportation said in a news release.
Fairlee
“The greeters educate visitors about lake rules, including rules surrounding nesting loons. They also inspect all watercraft entering and leaving the lake and remove any vegetation or animal life caught on the hulls and motor equipment,” said Marina Welch, manager of the White River Natural Resources Conservation District.
Last year greeters removed 144 Eurasian milfoil plants from boats, preventing the invasive species from spreading. Although the program is effective, it demands a lot of hours, operating from May 12 through Oct. 8, with 13-hour coverage seven days a week from June through September, Welch said.
In addition to the greeter program, the lake association and conservation district also fight the spread of milfoil by pulling the plants, using herbicides and establishing a barrier.
“Using multiple methods over many years is the most effective means of removing an invasive species, but also time-consuming and expensive,” Welch said. Last year the efforts cost $34,326. This year the Lake Fairlee Association would like to increase efforts, and the grant will be instrumental in doing so.
“Grant funding for watershed groups, lake associations, and other conservation organizations is essential,” Welch said.
Concord
Thirty-two-year-old Wayne Atkins, of Miami, has been hospitalized since Father’s Day weekend. WHDH-TV reports Atkins was left in a two-week coma because his organs were shutting down.
Doctors said the bacteria entered Atkins’ body through blisters on his foot from when he went on a hiking trip. He started feeling sick when he got back to Miami. Doctors said the bacteria were stopped via antibiotics and surgery. Family members in Norwell, Mass., said Atkins is now doing well. Doctors say the chance of contracting bacteria like Atkins did is one in 250,000.
Craftsbury, Vt. (ap)
The Craftsbury Outdoor Center has operated a rowing camp on the pond since the 1970s, also training athletes from around the world.
But cottage owners on the lake say the business is monopolizing the public body of water, preventing them from fully enjoying the long, narrow lake. One cottage dweller tells the Caledonian Record that what most of the cottage owners want is fewer scullers on the pond and less often.
But a group formed that supports the center says many pond users are concerned that precedent-setting restrictions on non-motorized watercraft could be imposed.
The state is now considering a rule that could restrict sculling on the lake during certain times.
State environmental scientist Angela Shambaugh said the department was in the process of finalizing a draft rule.
“We had hoped for a community solution, and that has not been easy to achieve,” she said. “There have been a lot of folks that have been trying really hard, but it hasn’t come together yet.”
Montpelier (ap)
The Vermont Agency of Agriculture says they are: Rupert and Muriel Chamberlin, former dairy farmers and well-known Jersey breeders; Ray and Pam Allen, apple growers and agritourism leaders; and Claude Bourbeau, a former dairy farmer and leader in dairy issues.
Organizers say they were chosen based on their accomplishments and significant contributions to Vermont agriculture. The nominees will be honored at an Aug. 30 ceremony at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction. The Hall of Fam started in 2003 and has honored over 70 Vermonters so far.
Stark, n.h. (ap)
New Hampshire fish and game officers and state troopers began searching for 53-year-old Kent Woods on Saturday afternoon after he was reported missing. While they were looking for him kayakers on the Upper Ammonoosuc River located Woods’ body about a quarter mile downstream from the camp.
A medical examiner pronounced the Stark resident dead at the scene. An investigation is continuing.
Orleans, Mass. (ap)
The Center for Coastal Studies says a charter vessel discovered the whale just outside Nauset Inlet Friday afternoon. It had a bridle of heavy line looped though its mouth and twisted across its back. Two orange buoys trailed behind it.
The center’s Marine Animal Entanglement Response team cut away the gear and the twisted line, leaving the whale with just a short length of line in its mouth. As the whale moved away the remaining rope was pulled from its mouth and it sped off.
Boston (ap)
Prosecutors allege that 47-year-old Todd Desper, of Beckley, West Virginia, solicited buyers on Craigslist for two paintings he claimed were among 13 stolen from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990.
Authorities say they determined Desper had no access to the paintings and was engaged in a multimillion dollar fraud scheme targeting foreign art buyers.
The FBI has said two suspects who masqueraded as police officers to rob the museum of $500 million worth masterpieces are deceased.
Desper was indicted Thursday on wire fraud charges. His attorney couldn’t be reached on Saturday.
— Staff and wire reports