Grantham Indoor AnnouncesIt Will Close End of January

Grantham — An indoor recreation facility has announced it will close shortly after the new year.

Grantham Indoor will complete its 19-year run on Jan. 30, according to a letter posted on its website. The company provides indoor playing fields to several Upper Valley soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and baseball leagues in its building just off of Interstate 89.

“Our mission from day one has been to provide a place for people to recreate, improve their skills and develop friendships,” wrote Robert MacNeil, the company’s president. “We hope we have accomplished that.”

Anyone who holds field time at the facility or a gift certificate is asked to use it before Jan. 30, the website said.

Vermont Seeks Input on UseOf Volkswagen Settlement

 

 

Montpelier — Vermont is asking for input from the public on how to spend $18.7 million the state will receive over three years as part of the federal government’s settlement with Volkswagen over the automaker’s diesel emissions cheating scandal. The state Agency of Natural Resources said the funds will be used to mitigate the harm caused by excess nitrogen oxides into the air.

The draft plan calls for spending 15 percent on the purchase and installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which Republican Gov. Phil Scott supports. The remaining funds must be allocated for other categories that include repowering or replacing heavy-duty diesel trucks, buses and locomotives; certain forklifts and airport ground support equipment; and repowering certain ferries.

Written public comments will be accepted until Jan. 13. A public meeting takes place Dec. 13 in Montpelier.

Region Seen as Having Sufficient Winter Power Supplies

Holyoke, Mass. — New England’s power grid operator doesn’t foresee any major problems supplying the region with sufficient electricity this coming winter.

ISO-New England said there should be enough resources to meet consumer demand, but there are scenarios that could pose challenges. Those could include higher-than-expected demand, the loss of a large generator in the region or constraints on natural gas pipelines that restrict delivery of fuel to power plants.

ISO said situations such as those might require special operating procedures.

Peak demand for energy in New England last winter was 19,647 megawatts on the afternoon of Dec. 15, 2016.

The highest winter peak demand ever recorded was 22,818 megawatts on Jan. 15, 2004.

Resident Questions Woman’s Claim Of Poisoning Neighbor

Shelburne, Vt. — A Vermont senior living facility resident said she doesn’t believe a woman tested a deadly toxin on neighbors.

First responders were called to Wake Robin facility in Shelburne last week for possible ricin exposure. Seventy-year-old Betty Miller was placed in federal custody after telling investigators she made the ricin because she wanted to “injure herself” and had tested the poison’s effectiveness on other residents.

Fellow resident Claire Anderson said she hasn’t heard of anyone else falling ill. She said she doesn’t know Miller but said she may have concocted the story about poisoning others. Health officials said no one is currently ill from the ricin.

 

Police Arrest 2 Involved in Crash That Left Woman Dead

 

Lyndonville, Vt. — Vermont police said they have arrested two individuals involved in a crash that left a middle-aged woman dead on the side of the road.

Vermont State Police said they found 46-year-old Mattie Lynn Hale dead Saturday morning in Lyndonville.

Police sais 41-year-old Gary Hale faces a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. Police said interviews and surveillance video indidcate Hale drove the silver Ford Fiesta involved in the crash. Hale was lodged at Northeast Correctional Facility for lack of $15,000 bail. Police said 47-year-old Katrina Haslam was a passenger in the vehicle and is charged with being an accessory after the fact. She was released.

Gary Hale and Haslam have a court appearance scheduled for today.

Sanders in Pennsylvania WarnsU.S. Is Approaching ‘Oligarchy’

Reading, Pa. — Former Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders tells a Pennsylvania audience that America is drifting toward “oligarchy.”

Sanders came to Reading on Sunday to address the $1.5 trillion GOP tax overhaul.

 

The Reading Eagle reports that Sanders told a crowd of hundreds that billionaires are “controlling our society and politics” and called on people to “provide a cure for their greed.”

— Staff and wire reports