Man Charged in Springfield, Vt., Stabbing Pleads Not Guilty

White River Junction — A 58-year-old man accused of stabbing a woman at a home in downtown Springfield on Wednesday has pleaded not guilty to the crime.

In Windsor Superior Court on Thursday, Brian Butler entered not guilty pleas to charges of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated domestic assault, as well as five counts of violating his conditions of release, Windsor County State’s Attorney David Cahill said.

The aggravated domestic assault charge he faces comes with an enhancement because he is a habitual offender. Butler currently has an aggravated domestic assault charge pending involving the same victim.

The victim, who is known to Butler, is still hospitalized at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for a stab wound to her abdomen, Cahill said.

Butler is being held without bail at Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, Vt. He is scheduled to appear next in the White River Junction courthouse on May 17.

Hartford to Survey Municipal Services

Hartford — After months of delay, an effort to survey residents about what municipal services are most important to them seems to be back on track.

Though Selectboard members thought that a vote last fall had authorized the hiring of the University of New Hampshire to conduct a $10,000 survey of residents, interim Town Manager Pat MacQueen told members during a March 29 meeting that the agreement had never been entered into.

“We definitely did not find a contract,” MacQueen told the board, according to a CATV video of the meeting.

Last April, the Selectboard came up with the idea of a survey because of a fundamental gap between the town’s revenues and its services; members hoped that a survey would give the Selectboard some idea of what services might be scaled back on with the least impact on the public.

Last year, a committee of board members and residents considered various ways to conduct a survey, and eventually recommended the services of UNH before disbanding.

It was not clear why the Selectboard’s approval of the recommendation didn’t lead to the signing of a contract with UNH, but it came during a period of transition that included three different people acting as town manager between August and February.

During the March meeting, the Selectboard voted to appoint members Simon Dennis and Rebecca White to a new survey committee, and to issue invitations to the three citizens, including Lannie Collins, who served on last year’s committee.

They also voted unanimously to order MacQueen to enter into a purchase agreement with UNH.

— Staff reports