Williston Observer

March 24, 2011

Driving under the influence

•David J. Pudvah, 28, of Hardwick was cited on a charge of driving under the influence- refusal, his second offense, on March 11, according to police reports. He was processed and taken to Chittenden County Correctional Center, the report notes. No other information was released.

•Adam Feinman, 49, of Burlington was cited on a charge of driving under the influence in the O’Brien Court area on March 20, according to police reports. His blood alcohol concentration was .117, the report notes. The legal limit for driving in Vermont is .08. He was cited to appear in court.

Driving with suspended license

•Christopher J. Adams, 30, of Burlington was cited on a charge of driving with a suspended license on March 13, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court.

•Orland J. Thomas, 46, of Jericho was cited on a charge of driving with a suspended license on March 14, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court.
Car crashes into building

Williston Police, Fire and Rescue responded to AC Moore on 150 Retail Way March 20 regarding a report of a car that had crashed into the building. Police say the investigation revealed that a 2000 Mercury Sable station wagon driven by Carol B. Jennings, 71, of Vergennes, was backing out of a parking space in the center parking lot. She told police the accelerator stuck and the car accelerated backwards across the parking lot, struck a parked car, then jumped over a traffic island, striking a small tree and going over a large rock, according to police reports. The car then traveled across Retail Way, where it struck another parked car and hit the front of AC Moore’s building, coming to rest on top of a bollard, the report notes.

No one was injured in the crash, although the passenger in the station wagon was taken to Fletcher Allen Health Care as a precaution, according to the report. Both parked vehicles that were struck were unoccupied at the time. No pedestrians were struck. The crash remains under investigation, and several witnesses have come forward. If you witnessed the crash, Williston Police ask that you call the department at 878-6611.

Multiple charges

•Bernard Miller, 29, of Essex was cited on charges of domestic assault, stalking, unlawful restraint in the second degree and disorderly conduct on March 17, according to a police affidavit.

Miller’s wife reported to police that Miller had threatened to take her children and she feared for her safety, according to the affidavit. An investigation revealed that Miller had allegedly put “spyware on her phone and hacked into her email,” had prevented her from leaving her home with her children in the past, would “constantly call, e-mail and text her” at her workplace, and had a “confrontation with her” at a local gas station on March 16 after which she didn’t want to go home, the affidavit states. The victim stayed at a friend’s house that evening; Miller allegedly found out where she was staying via the spyware and drove by the house, frightening her, according to the affidavit. On March 17, he appeared at her place of work and confronted her, put “his hands on her and stood in front of her while she was trying to enter the building,” according to the affidavit.

Theft

Parked cars on Paddock Lane were “entered” overnight on March 19 and loose change and an iPod were stolen from an unlocked vehicle, according to police reports. Police remind residents to lock their car doors at all times.

Wanted person

Bhavani Kadariya, 50, hometown unknown, was arrested on a warrant on March 14, according to police reports. No other information was available as of press time.

Police notes are written based on information provided by the Williston Police Department and the Vermont State Police. Please note that all parties are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

March 24, 2011

DONNELLY’S 1,000 POINTS A RARE FEAT FOR CVU BOYS HOOP TEAM

Jake Donnelly (File photo)

When senior Jake Donnelly recorded his 1,000th point for the Champlain Valley Union basketball team last week, he joined a very small fraternity.

Donnelly fired in his 1,000th in the Redhawks’ playoff loss at Mount Mansfield Union, their final game of the season.

Brothers Bob and Marvin Thomas were the first from CVU to reach the milestone in the late 1960s and early 70s. More recently, Ben Brooks knocked down more than 1,000 but played his sophomore campaign at Rice Memorial. His other three seasons were with CVU.

Donnelly, along with senior teammate Robert Russ, will appear with the North team in the annual Basketball Coaches Association North-South basketball classic.

CVU’S LACAILLADE EARNS TEAM MVP IN ALL-STAR GAME

While her Austin Conference team got nipped, 3-0, by the Harris Conference, Champlain Valley Union’s Amanda Lacaillade’s work on defense earned her the team’s Most Valuable Player honor on March 12 in the Rotary Key Bank Girls All-Star Classic hockey game at the Essex Skating Facility.

Lacaillade was one of four Redhawks on the Austin team. The others were defender Alyx Rivard and forwards Molly Howard and Amanda Armell.

CVU girls hockey coach Tom Ryan, who called her a solid, stay-at-home defender, greeted the award to Lacaillade warmly.

It put a positive finish to Lacaillade’s campaign in which she missed about half of CVU’s regular season games due to concussions.

The Harris team, which included several members of Division I champion BFA-St. Albans, outshot the Austins, 31-20, with BFA players accounting for all three goals.

FIVE FROM CVU TO PLAY IN ALL-STAR HOCKEY GAME SATURDAY

There will be a mini-meeting Saturday between Division I boys hockey champ Champlain Valley Union and runner-up Essex in the annual Rotary Key Bank Hockey Classic at the Essex Skating Facility.

Five members of the CVU team will skate for the Austin Conference against the Harris Conference, which will have five players from Essex. Representing the Redhawks are forwards J. P. Benoit, Robbie Dobrowski, Derek Goodwin and Kyle Logan along with defenseman Erick MacLean.

From Essex, as part of the Harris team, are Ben Adams, Derek Neal, Kyle Peckham, Kurt Simendinger, and Josh Ward.

The annual contest for senior stars from around the state will get underway at 4:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults with no charge for youngsters 12 and under.

CVU BOYS JUNIOR VARSITY HOOPSTERS COMPLETE STRONG CAMPAIGN

A decent season.

That’s a summation of the Champlain Valley Union boys junior varsity basketball campaign, which got off to a glorious 6-0 start, went through some hiccups in the middle, and finished with another 6-0 run.

It all added up to a nifty 15-5 record, including victories over teams that had beaten the Redhawks the first time around.

The guys stepped up. And, as coach Seth Emerson pointed out, many will have to step even higher next winter when nine varsity players are lost from graduation.

Emerson said his team had size and unselfish guards who were good at getting the ball inside.

Sophomores Ryan Beaudry and Joe Chevalier were hefty around the basket. Sophomore Davis Mikell showed significant progress in his first basketball season since eighth grade.
Among the backcourt operators Emerson mentioned were Freshmen Zach Evans and Ed Myers, along with sophomore Austin Myers.

Sophomores Dan Faris and Hans Lynn gave the Hawks some expert sniping from the perimeters.

“This was a nice crew,” said Emerson. “The guys really learned man defense and how to talk to each other.”

LEGG FINISHES BUSY SEASON

Alex Legg, an eighth grade student at Williston Central School, completed an eventful season as a member of the CSSU Hurricanes wrestling team with an 8-6 record.

Legg earned a third-place medal at the state finals, which was held at Spaulding High School in Barre.

HURRICANES YOUTH WRESTLING SHOWS STRONG

Two weekends ago, the CSSU Hurricanes youth wrestling team traveled to Mount Mansfield Union High School and took home a team sportsmanship, the first one in the program’s history. The team outscored its opponents, 84-42.

Last weekend, the squad traveled to Vergennes High School and outscored their opponents, 99-84.

Riley Brown, a third grade student at Williston Central School, earned a second place medal at MMU and a third place medal at Vergennes. Lucas Brown a fourth grade student, took home a third place medal from MMU and Vergennes. Cale Bombardier, who is in fifth grade, earned third place medal at MMU and fourth place medal at Vergennes. Jarett Legg, a sixth grade student, won a second place medal at MMU and a fourth place one at Vergennes. The team is made up of students from the CSSU school district with wrestlers from Charlotte, Williston, Shelburne, and Hinesburg.

March 24, 2011

They started out with three defeats in their first five games, but by the end of season the Champlain Valley Union girls basketball team challenged hard for the Division I state crown before falling to Rice Memorial High, 45-36, in the championship game before a huge and loud crowd of supporters at the University of Vermont’s Roy L. Patrick Gymnasium on March 10.

Head coach Jeff Evans cited teamwork and willingness to play defense as the vital parts in the girls’ march to an overall 17-7 record and the title contest.

“I loved this season and for many reasons,” Evans told The Citizen via e-mail. ‘Perhaps the biggest one being that we were truly a team.”

But it was a slow start to the campaign.

After knocking off Mount Mansfield Union in the home opener, the Redhawks got nipped by a point at South Burlington before winning at Vergennes.

Two straight losses followed: at home to Rice followed by a Klondike shooting night and 32-23 dinging in St. Johnsbury.

But through it all, Evans played at least 11 players per game and things quickly turned around.

A narrow 37-35 win at Mount Mansfield ignited a six-game wining streak that included victories over former tormentors South Burlington and Rice. The Redhawks were finally on the wing.

Playing time for all started paying off. Evans pointed out that contributions were coming from all players at different times.

“We won games with our bench, our bigs and our guards,” Evans said. “We were diverse enough to win games in a variety of ways. The kids did everything asked of them, particularly in the area of out-thinking opponents.”

The defense soon became the Redhawks raison d’etre, an element that Evans said was considered critical in preseason planning.

Pointing to the graduation losses of top scorers Allison Gannon and Kendal Kohlasch, Evans said a ton of offense was gone but replaced with some great defenders.
“Defense was a necessity,” he said. “We were not going to win shootouts. To take pressure off the offense we had to hold teams to low numbers.”

And those numbers went very low. The Hawks averaged 31 points allowed per game. That’s an A – pardon, Big D – in any grading system.

“The kids bought in on their own,” Evans said. “They were willing to defend the way we asked them to in our system.”

Evans felt that overall the team exceeded preseason expectations.

And for some there will be more. Evans said three senior captains; Shae Hulbert, Amanda Kinneston and Carlee Evans have been selected for the North team in the annual North-South girls’ all-star contest.

Fuel for thought

March 24, 2011

Since the Libyan crisis started last month, Americans have seen quite a jump in gas prices. They seemed to go up a few cents every week. There was one particular gas station I went to that had gas for $3.39 a gallon, so I quickly stopped there to fill my tank. The next day or so I drove by and they were up to $3.59. Some gas stations in Williston offer five cents off on Sundays, so that is when I have filled my tank.

I noticed that the prices stopped climbing approximately 10 days ago. I think we can safely say that that is mostly due to Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, followed by the further destruction caused by aftershocks.

Japan, according to the CIA World Factbook, is the third-largest importer of oil in the world, coming in at 5,033,000 barrels per day. The United States imports 11,310,000 barrels per day.

I doubt that Japan is importing five million barrels of oil per day right now. That is bound to affect our gas prices. If you think about it, the demand has gone down quite a bit. Supply has also gone down, given the situation in Libya. So, since our supply (or rather access) and demand have gone down, the relative standstill in our gas prices makes sense.
It was predicted that prices could get as high as $5 a barrel by Memorial Day. I think they are pretty settled around $3.70 in Chittenden county, or at least Williston. I was in Winooski the other day and saw gas for $3.39. I couldn’t believe it!

With Muammar Qaddafi gaining more ground over the rebels, I am curious how the situation in Libya will end. I am really sorry for the Libyan people because they deserve a new leader if that is what they want.

The rising conflict over the Abyei region in Sudan may also affect our prices at the pump, as the very oil-rich region is being argued over by North and South Sudan. Both sides claim ownership of Abyei, and the region is dealing with large amounts of conflict and violence. If it becomes compromised or a standstill, we will see prices go up again. It may be by a little or it may be by a lot – it depends on how much of our oil comes from Sudan.

It is interesting to see how events halfway across the globe from each other interconnect and affect one another.

Williston resident Kayla Purvis is a senior at Champlain Valley Union High School.

Nuclear power—a second look

March 24, 2011

Recent events in Japan have forced me to reevaluate a position that I have extolled in this space several times over the past years: my support for nuclear power.

The earthquake and resulting tsunami that hit Japan on March 11 left in their wake, as of this writing, over 10,000 casualties and almost 13,000 missing. The earthquake itself was the seventh largest in recorded history, but even that dubious honor may be too low considering that scientists are still poring over data.

The tsunami swept away cars, trains, and entire villages. Its effects were felt as far away as California, where it was predicted that millions of dollars in damage was done.

And right in the middle of both natural disasters are the sites of 14 of Japan’s 55 nuclear reactors. The reactors at the Tokai and Ongawa sites did have issues and there were shutdowns, but the damage was relatively minor.

Some of the ten reactors at the Fukushima sites, however, were heavily damaged and are causing concern not only in Japan, but also across the world.

There is an international nuclear event scale, which tries to put nuclear accidents into some perspective, according to the effects of the incident both on-and off-site. The Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania in 1979 is noted as a level 5 accident. An incident in the Soviet Union in 1957 is the only recorded level 6 accident. And the Chernobyl accident, in 1986, is the only one rated at the highest level – 7.

Where the Fukushima incident will land on this scale is unknown. Certainly it will be a level 5 incident and may already be a level 6. Everyone is hoping, and some are certain, that it will not become a level 7.

With the ongoing issues at Vermont Yankee, and the shock of a minor earthquake, centered near Montreal, coming so soon after the Japanese disaster, many are wondering if what happened there could happen here. And even if reasonable people think that it cannot, can we take the risk? Should Vermont Yankee be completely shut down?

Should any nuclear power plant built along a major fault line, like several have been in California, be allowed to operate further? Should nuclear power be allowed to continue at all?

At times like these, with disaster so fresh in the media and the consequences still rubbing raw in our minds, it is reasonable to ask these questions. But because everything is so fresh, we must not jump to hasty conclusions.

Nuclear power, until we have more viable options in terms of safety, sustainability, low-impact, and absolute power output, is the best way for us to produce the energy that we need. The safety record of U.S. nuclear power plants is very good – issues at Vermont Yankee and incidents like Three Mile Island notwithstanding. The footprint of nuclear power plants is small compared to one needed to have a reasonable wind farm. The nuclear power plant generates electricity 24 hour hours a day, regardless of wind, tides, or sunlight, and without any carbon emissions. We cannot sustain our economy as we do now without them.

This is not to say that I accept nuclear without reservation. The issue of waste is a real and pressing one. I think we could solve much of it with reasonable and common sense recycling of nuclear material, but even that will not solve the waste issue completely.
Reactors the age of those at Vermont Yankee can continue to run safely past their design parameters. But even given that, the issues Yankee has had with leaks show that even if the reactor can continue, the infrastructure supporting it may not be able to.

President Barack Obama has announced his administration’s intention to continue to fund and support nuclear power, incorporating all the latest advances into new plants that are safer and more efficient than ever. Scientists continue to look for ways to make fission reactors more and more safe, always with an eye to the Holy Grail, the fusion reactor.

We must take lessons away from the Japanese disaster, build these lessons into new designs and close or retrofit old plants where necessary. What we cannot afford to do is abandon nuclear power completely – not now, and not in the foreseeable future.

Steve Mount has been a Williston resident since 1996. He is a software engineer at GE Healthcare and is devoted to his family, his country and his Constitution. You can reach Steve at ste[email protected] or read his blog at http://saltyrain.com/ls.