Williston Observer

Prescription drug abuse touches everyone

Aug. 27, 2009

By Barbara Cimaglio

The social use, misuse and abuse of prescription drugs is a growing concern in Vermont. One of our roles at the Vermont Department of Health is to raise awareness about the circumstances that too often lead to prescription drug addiction.

Prescription narcotics are readily available in many home medicine cabinets. Because children, family members or workers who may come into your home can access them there, the medicine cabinet is a common source of drugs that are used accidently or illegally. In fact, the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 16 percent of Vermont students said they had taken prescription drugs that were not prescribed to them.

When your health care provider prescribes a narcotic or other controlled substance for you, make sure that you understand the medication’s addictive potential. Talk with your provider about how you will work together to monitor your reactions to the medication and make any needed adjustments. If you will be on the medication for an extended period of time, it is essential to work closely with your provider to reduce the dose gradually as your condition improves. If you are under care for long-term pain, ensure that your provider has the expertise to properly manage the medications and can work with you to avoid health risks associated with narcotics.

Narcotics are powerful medicines. Used correctly, they can help us cope with severe pain and other symptoms. Used incorrectly, a struggle with addiction can take hold and rapidly erode a person’s quality of life and ability to function in his or her daily life.

Pay attention to the pills you are prescribed, follow the guidance of your health care provider and prevent the medication from falling into the wrong hands.

For more information, visit the Vermont Department of Health Web site: www.healthvermont.gov/adap/RxOTCabuse.aspx.

Barbara Cimaglio is the deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health’s
Division of Alcohol & Drug Abuse Programs.

[Read more...]

Aug. 27, 2009

By Tim Simard

Observer staff

The economic recession has brought a difficult year for many in Williston and the  Champlain Valley. While Vermont has escaped some of the recession’s worst effects, many people have been affected by layoffs, salary cuts and a lack of high-paying jobs.

Though the job market has been slow to rebound, there are companies in Williston looking for employees. In fact, a few businesses are expanding quickly enough that they’re having trouble filling positions in a timely manner.

Across Vermont, unemployment is still high, but it’s showing slow signs of decline. On Tuesday, the state’s Department of Labor released its July unemployment numbers. Currently, 6.8 percent of the state’s workforce is unemployed, down 0.5 percent from the previous month. While some of the rise in employment can be attributed to seasonal summer jobs, some of it also comes from a growing number of permanent jobs in the state, said department spokesperson Andy Condon.

Searching through online job sites, such as craigslist.com and www.jobsinvt.com, will show several Williston businesses are looking for employees.

In Williston, hiring managers for local companies said they’re receiving higher-than-average numbers of resumes for open positions. And the message they’re sending is, “Keep them coming.”

American Income Life

The international insurance company American Income Life set up a Vermont office earlier this year in Blair Park and has been busy filling available positions. The company hired 10 people in recent months and is looking for more.

“We need to be have at least three managers and 25 employees by December,” said John Cochrane, the Vermont office’s manager.

American Income Life, or AIL, is one of the largest insurance companies in North America. It handles customers strictly within unions and other member-only organizations.

Cochrane explained the company is looking for individuals interested in what he described as “entrepreneurial opportunities.” Employees earn money through performance and by the number of families that sign onto one of AIL’s insurance policies, he said.

Cochrane said the ideal candidate for the job is someone who’s not afraid to take risks and work hard.

“As long as you go to work, you will make money,” Cochrane said. “We want people who want more out of life.”

After an extensive interview process, AIL employees must then earn a Vermont insurance license before going through company training.

Cochrane said there is high potential for growth within the company, especially since the AIL Vermont branch plans to open offices in New Hampshire and Maine in the future.

For more information, visit www.aillife.com or call the Vermont branch at 264-9755.

Hampton Direct Inc.

After moving to its new headquarters in the former KBA North America building on Hurricane Lane last month, Hampton Direct Inc. is hiring for six positions; plans are also in place to open up six more positions in the coming months.

Hampton Direct is an international distribution company, famous for its Wonder Hanger and Draft Guard products.

According to the company’s Web site, Hampton Direct is looking for a customer service specialist, a retail sales manager and a supply chain manager. Human Resources Director Mary Wylde said last month the company routinely receives resumes from around the country, but has hired Vermonters much of the time.

“We’re seeing a high quality of candidates apply, which hasn’t always been the case,” Wylde said.

For more information and job descriptions, visit the company’s Web site at www.hampton-direct.com.

U.S. Census

There is also short-term and part-time work available throughout Williston. The U.S. Census office in the White Cap Business Park is looking to hire close to 800 people statewide starting early next year. But those interested in census positions should contact the office soon to schedule a mandatory exam this fall.

The census office’s recruiting manager, Ellen Biddle, said the majority of those hired will be field operatives. The position will require people to visit homes of individuals who did not return a census form through the mail. Next year’s job will help give the government the most accurate population count for 2010.

To qualify for a census job, applicants must first complete a 30-minute, 28-question test. Biddle said the test is a “general knowledge” exam and that Vermonters have a very high pass rate. Once the test is passed, census managers will assign the employee to a certain position.

Pay rates range from $13.50 to $17 an hour, depending on the position, Biddle said.

“That’s terrific pay for work in this area,” she added.

Census operations are due to wrap up by December 2010.

For more information, visit www.2010.census.gov.

[Read more...]

Aug. 27, 2009

By Tim Simard

Observer staff

Champlain Oil Company Inc. presented improved plans for a new office center and fleet fueling facility to the Development Review Board on Tuesday night. The South Burlington-based company is looking to move its main operations to Marshall Avenue in Williston in the near future.

After Champlain Oil’s presentation, the Development Review Board unanimously approved a pre-application permit for the site. The company will bring more detailed plans to the board for a discretionary permit at a later date.

At a meeting in April, the board expressed concern over the proximity of the fueling tanks and pumps to an area of wetlands and an unnamed tributary of the Muddy Brook.

In the new plans, architects modified the site plan to allow for the pump locations to move slightly away from the wetlands. The pavement around the fleet fueling facility will be “warped” to ensure any stormwater runoff will flow into the company’s own management area and not into wetlands or tributaries, said project engineer Scott Homsted of Krebs & Lansing Consulting Engineers.

Members of the board seemed in favor of the changes and the efforts undertaken by Champlain Oil to design a site sensitive to wetlands issues. Members of the Conservation Commission, however, still expressed reservations about the project.

Senior Planner Matt Boulanger told the board the commission wanted to have the wetlands at the site professionally delineated again, and that Champlain Oil should enhance the buffer zone around the tributary and wetlands. Company spokesperson Paul Wamsganz said much of what the commission recommended could be enacted.

The proposed commercial complex for Champlain Oil would be located off Marshall Avenue near the entrance of Shunpike Road. According to plans, the site takes up two lots totaling a little more than eight acres.

Besides the fleet fueling facility, the site would feature a two-story office center, storage and maintenance buildings, according to plans. There would also be onsite parking for office workers and fueling truck storage.

Champlain Oil currently has a smaller fueling facility on Avenue C off Industrial Avenue for use by its trucks and other commercial trucking companies.

The fueling facilities allow Champlain Oil trucks to fill their gas tanks at wholesale costs. The company also allows other commercial operators to use the station for wholesale fuel, Wamsganz said at the April meeting.

Champlain Oil, which has been in business for more than 50 years, serves homes and businesses throughout Vermont and parts of New Hampshire and New York.

[Read more...]

But economic stimulus funding rejected

Aug. 27, 2009

By Greg Elias

Observer staff

Motorists will have a smoother cruise on Oak Hill Road in coming months, thanks to a six-figure state paving grant. But no money for roadwork will be forthcoming from the federal economic stimulus program.

The town recently learned it would receive $101,481 from the state to repave a 1.1-mile stretch of Oak Hill Road, which links Williston Village to Hinesburg. The segment to be paved runs southward from the Interstate 89 overpass to near the intersection of Old Creamery Road.

The money will fund 70 percent of the project, with the town picking up the remaining $44,000, said Public Works Director Neil Boyden.

Paving is expected to take place this fall. Boyden said the town has already rebuilt culverts along the route.

The project continues the process of repaving Oak Hill Road, parts of which have received fresh asphalt in previous years. It is one of a number of roads that have been or will be repaved this summer and fall, including Industrial Avenue, Marshall Avenue and Mountain View Road.

Plans for improving or building other roads, sidewalks and recreation paths, however, will await additional funding after the town’s efforts to obtain federal economic stimulus money were rejected.

The town had sought a total of $3.9 million in stimulus funding for building new sidewalks along Vermont 2A and Mountain View Road, paving parts of Mountain View Road and Marshall Avenue and constructing a new street named Trader Lane near Taft Corners.

Some of the projects, like the new street, were eliminated early in the review process, which weeded out proposals that could not be completed within 180 days. More recently, the town was informed that the remaining projects were not selected by a committee comprised of legislators, state agency representatives and municipal officials.

State officials had said that many projects would fail to make the cut because there was not nearly enough money to go around. Roughly $130 million in federal stimulus funding received by Vermont had been set aside for transportation projects, but requests for funding exceeded $500 million.

Boyden acknowledged that failing to secure any federal money was a letdown, noting the “hours and hours” spent preparing applications.

But he also said that other grants, combined with town funding, will allow some of the projects to move forward anyway.

For example, on Vermont 2A, a length of recreation path north of James Brown Drive will be funded in part by one state grant the town has already received and another it hopes to win next year. On Mountain View Road, the town will use a voter-approved bond to build a recreation path between North Williston and Old Stage roads.

[Read more...]

DRB approves plan to remove temporary classrooms

Aug. 27, 2009

By Tim Simard

Observer staff

After a year of frustration, debate and various master plans, the fate of the Allen Brook School modular classrooms has finally been decided.

In a unanimous vote Tuesday night, the Development Review Board approved a final master plan that will ensure the temporary classrooms be removed from the school next August.

“This is the master plan we’ve been waiting for,” board Chairman Kevin McDermott said.

District Principal Walter Nardelli presented the plan to the board, highlighting how the school will shift student populations between Allen Brook and Williston Central School next summer. The configuration changes will make the modular classrooms obsolete, Nardelli said.

As part of the master plan, the Development Review Board extended a temporary building permit for the site. The permit was due to expire in February, but the board agreed to extend it until August 2010 to finish out the school year and to allow for site improvements.

“They wouldn’t want to do this in the middle of the school year,” said Ken Belliveau, Williston’s planning director.

Once the trailers are removed, plans call for returning the site to previous conditions. The ground will be top soiled, seeded and mulched. An existing sidewalk will be extended to improve student access from the school to the bus stop.

The school district hopes to have a buyer for the temporary classrooms before they’re removed next year. Nardelli said Charlotte Central School is working on renovations beginning next year and that town’s School Board has expressed interest in the trailers.

During Tuesday night’s meeting, Nardelli explained how the final configuration option voted on by the Williston School Board in June, called Option A, will allow for the removal of the modular classrooms.

Option A will place pre-kindergarten through second grade students at Allen Brook, while grades three through eight will be at Williston Central. Nardelli told the board the move would reduce the population at Allen Brook from 474 to 385 students. Allen Brook’s capacity without the trailers is 400 students, Nardelli explained.

Williston Central currently has 692 students, Nardelli said. Speaking to the DRB, Nardelli estimated there will be 741 students when Option A takes effect next year. The building’s capacity is 950 students.

But numbers provided by Nardelli at the meeting show there will be 781 students at Williston Central for the 2010-2011 school year. Reached for clarification after the meeting, Nardelli stood by the number of 741, saying that he expected enrollment to decline.

The final student population numbers were “part of the reasoning for Option A,” Nardelli told the board.

Although McDermott questioned the administration’s math after the meeting, he said this master plan will do.

“This is what we’ve been telling them for years,” McDermott said. “Work within the space you have.”

The modular classrooms have a “long history” in Williston, as Belliveau said Tuesday night. Allen Brook students moved into the modular classrooms during the 2002-2003 school year. The classrooms were meant to be a temporary solution for increasing enrollment until another wing of Allen Brook could be built.

As enrollment leveled off and then decreased, the district decided against building an Allen Brook addition. Instead, the Development Review Board granted a second temporary building permit for the classrooms in 2006.

According to the 2006 permit’s conditions of approval, school officials were to return to the board in February 2008 with a master plan of what to do with the site. Administration and School Board members did not meet with the Development Review Board until September of last year.

At previous Development Review Board meetings, members of the board said several times they did not intend to renew a temporary building permit for the classrooms. As a result, the administration formed plans to make the classrooms more permanent, moving them to another location at the school and building a new wing.

As Nardelli told the board Tuesday, Option A ends the debate of the modular classrooms.

“It solves our problems,” he said.

[Read more...]