Derby

DERBY — Police say the Verizon store in Derby was burglarized last night.

Police were notified of the burglary at around 11:02 p.m.

A Verizon employee told police that he responded to the store after an alarm activated, and he observed the building to have been forcefully entered.

Police say the employee, Angus Gluck, said that he was contacted at home by his supervisor who was originally alerted to the alarm.

He then immediately contacted state police.

According to the police report, there was Verizon property missing as well as evidence left at the scene.

Police were still investigating this case.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 802-334-8881.

DERBY — Community National Bank President Kathy Austin recently announced the promotion of Sarah Barrup to Special Asset Officer.

Sarah started her banking career with CNB in 2003 as a Teller in Derby Line and in 2005 she was hired as an Administrative Assistant in the bank’s Finance Department.

In 2008, she took a position in the Loss Mitigation Department as an Assistant and then was promoted to Specialist.

For the past 10 years, Barrup has worked helping customers find ways to avoid foreclosure and establish plans to continue paying obligations.

Sarah attended the Northern New England School of banking in 2015, and she has taken several banking courses.

She makes her home in Derby with her husband Tom, daughter Bella and son Mason.

DERBY — Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect who broke into a building this morning in Derby.

Police responded to Portland Glass, located at 32 Community Drive, for the reported burglary at around 6:54 a.m.

Police say forced entry was made into the building sometime overnight.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact State Police at 802-334-8881.

Police were still investigating this case.

DERBY — A Derby man will face a judge tomorrow morning for charges of aggravated assault and driving with a criminally suspended license following an incident that took place earlier in the month.

Police say they received a call from a victim at a residence on Hinman Settler Road on October 10, advising they had an attempted theft at their barn.

The vehicle left the scene after striking both of their vehicles in the process and headed back onto Hinman Settler Road, where they lost sight of it.

The victims were able to identify the operator as 41-year-old Aaron Horner, of Derby.

Horner was taken into custody and released on a citation to appear in Orleans County court tomorrow.

DERBY — Two Orleans county residents were tragically killed in a motorcycle crash in Derby this afternoon.

Emergency workers responded to Shattuck Hill Road after a call came in regarding a two-vehicle crash at around 3:11 p.m.

Police say 23-year-old Ronald Kennedy of Newport was traveling west on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle before the crash.

Steven Lawson, 64, of Newport, pulled out of the Derby Trailer Park in a bus and was turning east on Shattuck Hill Road when Kennedy struck his vehicle on the driver’s side.

Kennedy was pronounced dead on the scene, police say.

Kyra Birchard, 20, of Derby, was transported to North Country Hospital by EMS, and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Police say the investigation into this tragic incident is still ongoing.

DERBY — Community National Bank President Kathy Austin recently announced that Shelly Morey was chosen to serve as the next Community Circle Director and bank Officer, as the bank prepares for the upcoming retirement of current Director Linda Cloutier.

Morey is a native of the Northeast Kingdom and attended Lake Region Union High School.

“I’m grateful to join a great organization with such strong community ties, and I am excited to meet and get to know the Community Circle members,” Morey said. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to serve the bank and the club’s members.”

During high school and after graduation in 1986, she was employed by Vermont Travel Service where she booked leisure and business trips for individuals and groups, including Community Circle.

In 2002, she took an Administrative Assistant position at North Country Hospital, and, for the last 10 years, worked as the Executive Assistant to the President.

Morey makes her home in Newport with her husband Michael.

DERBY — A 39-year-old man is facing charges after leading police on a high-speed chase through Derby yesterday afternoon.

James Castrogiovanni, of Derby, is being charged with driving with a criminally suspended license, attempting to elude a police officer, negligent operation, and excessive speeds.

The Sherrif’s Department says at around 1:30 p.m. Corporal Jacobs attempted to pull over Castrogiovanni on Hinman Settler Road for a motor vehicle violation.

Castrogiovanni failed to stop and a vehicle pursuit was initiated.

The pursuit reached speeds in excess of 100 miles-per-hour.

Corporal Jacobs pursued Castrogiovanni onto Route 105 in Derby where Castrogiovanni continued to travel at a high rate of speed in an attempt to flee from law enforcement officers.

Castrogiovanni eventually stopped on the Salem Derby Road where he was then taken into custody.

Castrogiovanni has a criminally suspended license in the State of Vermont for multiple prior operating under civil suspension convictions.

He was later transported to court where he was then ordered into the custody of the department of corrections for lack of bail.

Castrogiovanni was also issued multiple traffic tickets as a result of the incident.

DERBY — Authorities say smoking materials placed in an aluminum can is what caused a fire that broke out at a single-family home on Main Street in Derby yesterday.

The fire was noticed at around 6:20 p.m.

The home was being used as an Airbnb rental and was occupied by three people, but nobody was home at the time of the fire.

Firefighters say they were able to quickly extinguish the fire on the porch and were successful in limiting the fire’s extension into the house.

The home sustained significant damage to the front and side porch and smoke and heat damage to the interior.

Derby Line Fire Chief Craig Ellam contacted fire investigators to demine the area of origin and the cause.

The investigation concluded that the fire began on the side porch in a sitting area where there were a table and some chairs.

“The cause of the fire was smoking materials placed in an aluminum beverage can,” Paul Cerutti, Assistant State Fire Marshal, said in a statement.

Cerutti says that the house did not have working smoke or CO alarms.

“I found the bases where the alarms had been, but no alarms,” he said.

The Derby Line Fire Department was assisted at the scene by the Newport City Fire Department.

DERBY — A 79-year-old man hit a 6-point buck crossing the southbound lane of I-91 on Sunday evening.

At around 6:26 p.m. police say they responded to the single-vehicle crash just south of Exit 28.

Police say the driver, Fernand J. Pomerleau, of Goffstown, NH, was traveling at around 65 miles-per-hour when the buck ran out from the woods and directly into the path of his vehicle.

Pomerleau’s vehicle sustained extensive front end damage and was unable to be driven from the scene.

Ray’s Auto had to remove the vehicle, and the Derby Line Fire Department assisted in cleaning up fluids from the roadway.

Police say there were no injuries during the incident.

NEWPORT CITY — Police say a Derby man was arrested after he attempted to buy a gun through a neighbor and threatened to kill everyone at Northeast Kingdom Human Services as well as the Derby Village Store.

According to a statement issued by State Police Trooper Joshua Mikkola, on Friday, August 23, police received a report from an employee at North East Kingdom Human Services, that 38-year-old John Barclay called and made threats to harm staff. 

During the investigation, police say they spoke with Barclay both on the phone and in person. 

“In conversation, Barclay divulged to the troopers his intent to harm others as well, to include staff at the Derby Village Store,” Mikkola said in a statement.

Police also say that Barclay attempted to buy a gun through his neighbor.

Barclay was placed under arrest and transported to the Derby Barracks for processing.

He was later lodged at Northern State  Correctional Facility. 

DERBY — Community National Bank President and CEO Kathy Austin recently announced the promotion of Louise Bonvechio to Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Cashier and Corporate Secretary of Community National Bank and Treasurer and Corporate Secretary of Community Bancorp.

Bonvechio has worked for Community National Bank for over 25 years.

“Louise is very deserving of this promotion as she competently manages all aspects of the Bank’s fiscal functions while providing outstanding leadership for the organization,” Austin said.

This year she completed the Stonier Graduate School of Banking and earned a Leadership Certificate from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Bonvechio is very involved in serving the local communities.

She is Board Chair of Rural Edge, a Director and Treasurer of the Emory Hebard State Office Building Condo Association and a member of the ReNewport Catamount Arts Creative Hub committee.

She recently served as a Trustee and Treasurer of the Goodrich Memorial Library and chaired the ReNewport Community Visit, a Vermont Council on Rural Development program.

Other recently held positions include a member of the Regional Advisory Board for the North Country Career Center and a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s Member Advisory Panel.

Bonvechio was presented with the Vermont Bankers Association’s Outstanding Community Service Banker Award in 2017.

She and her husband Brian make their home in Newport.

NEWPORT — Police say they arrested a habitual sex offender earlier this week after he allegedly assaulted a local woman.

Timothy Souliere, 56, of Derby, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with lewd and lascivious conduct, unlawful restraint, simple assault, and habitual offender.

He was arraigned yesterday in Orleans District Court and was held without bail.

On Tuesday, July 16, police say a woman reported that she had been attacked by Souliere on July 11, in a hallway of an apartment building on Governor Drive.

Police say Souliere was known to the woman.

According to a statement issued by police relating to the incident, an investigation indicates that Souliere assaulted the victim while she was walking to her apartment.

Souliere is a registered sex offender and is on the Vermont Sex Offender Registry for life.

He is a habitual offender with two felony convictions of lewd and lascivious conduct in Vermont as well as a felony conviction of sexual assault in Arizona.

NEWPORT — The Newport Police Department says they arrested a woman over the weekend on multiple charges, including assaulting a police officer.

Makayla Belmore, 19, of Derby, is facing charges of assault on a law enforcement officer/protected professional, obstruction of justice, and aggravated disorderly conduct.

Early Sunday morning police say they responded to North Country Hospital to have an officer on standby after Belmore, who had an active trespass notice, had come to the emergency room as a patient.

The responding officer and a member of hospital security entered her room after hearing yelling coming from inside.

Police say when they entered the room, she threw a cup full of liquid that struck the officer.

“She then resisted the officer and staff’s efforts to restrain her, attempting to sit up and strike both the Newport Police officer and the security officer,” a statement issued by police reads.

Police say Belmore at one point kicked the security officer in the face and twice spit in the face of the police officer while continuing to violently resist efforts to restrain her.

They say she also made repeated verbal threats against both officers.

She was placed under arrest and subsequently arraigned yesterday and released with conditions.

NEWPORT — The University of Vermont Extension will expand a program proven to reduce risky behavior in youth, including substance misuse, called PROSPER, to schools in Newport and Derby.

The program, named PROSPER, for Promoting School-Community-University Partnerships to Enhance Resilience, was developed jointly at Iowa State University and Pennsylvania State University in 2001 and has been implemented in communities around the country since then.

Its effectiveness has been demonstrated in nearly 80 published research studies.

The two-year program targets sixth and seventh graders.

“We’re honored and pleased to be able to expand the PROSPER program to three communities in the Northeast Kingdom,” said Chuck Ross, director of UVM Extension. “The program has generated impressive results nationally and in the three Vermont schools where it’s in place. We have every reason to expect similar success in St. Johnsbury, Newport and Derby.”

The PROSPER expansion to St. Johnsbury and Newport will be funded with a $599,124 grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within USDA.

Funding for the Derby expansion is coming from Iowa State.

The program will be implemented at Newport City Elementary School in Newport, and Derby Elementary School and North Country Union Junior High School in Derby, which serves both Newport and Derby.

The PROSPER program in Newport launched on July 1, with Derby following three months later.

The PROSPER Model

The PROSPER program builds competency and confidence in sixth and seventh graders and improves family functioning as bedrock strategies for preventing behavior problems in youth.

In sixth grade, PROSPER engages families in an after-school program called Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth Ages 10-14.

The program shifts to an in-school focus during seventh grade with the delivery of Lifeskills programming.

During both years, teachers and counselors in the school deliver a set curriculum that research has shown to be effective.

Critical to the program’s success is the work of a team of eight to ten community members, including parents, teachers and other school personnel, Department of Health representatives and community members.

The community team helps fine-tune the messaging of the program to the specific needs of the school, does fundraising to ensure the program is sustainable after the five-year grant expires, conducts outreach to the community about PROSPER and oversees the program’s implementation via monthly meetings.

DERBY — A three-car crash in Derby on Friday sent two people to the hospital, police say.

The crash took place in the westbound lane of U.S. Route 5, in front of the Vianor Tire and Sears Store parking lots.

According to police, Linda Kudla, 65, of Derby, was stopped, signaling to turn left into the Sears Store parking lot, waiting for traffic to clear so she could proceed across the eastbound lane.

Police say Chelsey Christino, 24, of Newport, was also traveling west and stopped in traffic behind Kudla.

According to the report, the third vehicle was being operated by Tucker Crowe, 17, of Island Pond.

Police say by the time Crowe noticed the two cars were stopped, he was unable to stop and collided with Christino’s vehicle.

The force of the impact caused Christino to collide with Kudla.

Christino and her passenger, Tristin Webb, 20, of Newport, were transported to the North Country Hospital by the Newport Ambulance.

Police say Kudla’s vehicle was able to be driven from the scene.

NEWPORT — A 27-year-old man from Newport was sentenced to serve three to eight years behind bars for stealing two vehicles.

David Fletcher appeared in court for a sentencing hearing on May 16 after being convicted by a jury on felony charges of grand larceny, two counts of vehicle operation without owner consent, and a misdemeanor charges of careless or negligent operation.

Back on October 18, 2017, police responded to a report of a stolen truck from the Eastside restaurant. Hours later, police were dispatched to another report of a stolen truck from a home in Derby.

The victim in Derby told police that he had picked up two hitchhikers and gave them a ride back to what he believed to be their truck, which was partially submerged at the Derby Fish & Game Club pond.

He was unable to help them remove the vehicle from the pond, and dropped them off at the Border Motel.

Within the hour his truck was stolen.

Fletcher admitted to taking both vehicles on a cell phone video that was later turned over to police.

At the time that both crimes were committed, Fletcher was on furlough for burglary, and assault charges.

“The State requested a more significant jail sentence because of this defendant’s record and the fact that he was on furlough at the time of the offenses,” State’s Attorney Jennifer Barrett said. “The court imposed a sentence that deviated below the State and Department of Correction’s recommendations.”

DERBY – A 68-year-old woman from Derby was involved in a rollover crash on I-91 on Wednesday.

Police say the vehicle was resting on its roof in the median when they arrived on scene.

The driver, identified as Louise Harris, was headed north when she struck the guardrail and overturned the vehicle.

Harris was wearing a seat belt at the time, and no injuries were reported.

By the time police arrived, they say Harris had already been helped by a good Samaritan who stopped to assist.

The passing lane of I-91 North was temporarily shut down while the vehicle was removed.