Derby - page 2

DERBY — The Derby Walmart had an early visit from Santa when an anonymous man paid off all the layaway items in the store, several local news outlets have reported.

Walmart shopper Julie Gates told WCAX that she encountered the anonymous man in the store.

“This can’t be, who can afford to pay for [everyone’s] layaway?” she said. “And he said ‘Santa Clause can.'”

Customer Tammy Desautels also told WCAX that her items had been paid for.

“It was kind of like surreal when they said no balance due, then it was really a reality,” she said.

Walmart could not provide a total amount that the man spent. It is also unknown how many people went home with free gifts.

The man did not want to be recognized for his good deed, and the only known photo of him was taken as he was walking away.

“There were people ahead of me who were eight, nine-hundred dollar layaways,” Gates said.

Customers purchase items on layaway by handing over an initial deposit to ensure the store holds the product.

When the shopper pays the item off in full, they can take it home. The payment method allows customers to obtain a product without putting down a major sum in one sitting.

DERBY — The Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF) has awarded its Year of the Book grant to Derby Elementary School for this school year.

The grant provides $25,000 in literacy programming and new books, including visits and workshops with CLiF’s many Vermont authors and storytellers.

The money will also allow for free family programming, such as a community dinner with storytelling and tips for sharing stories with young kids, special literacy initiatives, new books for classrooms and the school library, as well as the local public library.

The grant will also allow ten new books for each child to choose throughout the year.

CLiF kicked off the grant on September 24, with storytelling and the first of ten book giveaways, where kids picked out their books.

The next author visit will be with John and Jennifer Churchman of the popular picture book series, Sweet Pea and Friends, about the animals on their Essex farm.

They will visit the school with their dog Laddie on November 20, beginning at 8:40 a.m.

The Year of the Book grant is designed to build a culture of literacy within a community.

Derby Elementary was one of five elementary schools in Vermont selected.

Along with creative ideas and a demonstrated commitment to improving literacy, selected schools have high percentages of low-income students and students underperforming on reading and writing assessments.

NEWPORT — There will be an opportunity to comment on the proposed opening of public trapping at the Eagle Point Wildlife Management Area in Derby.

Located on the east shore of Lake Memphremagog and bounded to the north by the US/Canada border, the Eagle Point Unit is co-managed by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department under the state’s Wildlife Management Areas program.

Acquired through a donation from Michael Dunn in 2010, the 457 acre Eagle Point Unit is proposed to be open for public trapping.

The use is a public use opportunity for both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, and also continues an activity Dunn allowed on the property.

The proposed public trapping program will follow all state seasons and regulations. One exception will be to require a Special Use Permit from the refuge for conducting trapping activities.

There will be two public meetings held next week to discuss the draft Environmental Assessment for Public Trapping on the Eagle Point Unit, and take public comment.

Dates and locations for the public meetings are September 26, at the Municipal Building in Derby, and September 27, at the North Country Union High School Auditorium in Newport.

Both meetings will start at 6:30 p.m.

DERBY — Police are looking for someone they say vandalized five mailboxes in Derby with an axe.

This morning, police took a report of multiple mailboxes that were vandalized along the length of Derby Pond Road.

They say the incident occurred sometime overnight.

The mailboxes had been either knocked over or damaged with a blunt object and an axe.

Police say the suspect left evidence at the scene indicating it was likely the work of a male who may be large or tall in stature.

Initially, police were looking for the operator of a 2005-2007 Ford Focus, but the vehicle was later ruled out and is no longer of interest to the investigation.

Anyone with information regarding the identity of the suspect is encouraged to call VSP-Derby at 334-8881.

NEWBURY — Police say a 20-year-old man from Derby fatally shot himself during a traffic stop in Newbury today.

It happened at around 11:00 a.m., on U.S. Route 5 near Moore Hill Road, when a trooper initiated a stop on a vehicle having an expired inspection sticker.

The driver was identified as Austin M. Durocher.

Police say as the trooper was running the information, Durocher, who was still sitting in his vehicle, shot himself with a firearm.

“The investigation into this matter is ongoing, but all indications are that Durocher took his own life,” a statement issued by police reads.

The trooper was not injured during the incident.

U.S. Route 5 between Snake Road and Newbury Crossing was shut down temporarily while this incident was being investigated.

NEWPORT – On Saturday, U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended eight individuals after they illegally crossed into the United States from Canada near the North Derby Road in Newport.

According to authorities, seven of the individuals are citizens of Romania and one is a citizen of Germany.

None of the individuals had immigration documents that would allow them to legally enter or remain in the United States.

Agents transported them to the Newport Station for processing.They were then turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office for removal proceedings.

“The men and women of the United States Border Patrol work diligently to protect the border and keep our community safe,” said Acting Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia. “Our border security efforts and enforcement of our nation’s laws doesn’t stop on holidays, and this past Easter weekend resulted in the apprehension of several individuals attempting to enter the country illegally.”

NEWPORT — A log truck ran off the roadway on I-91 in Derby on Tuesday morning.

Traffic was down to one lane on the interstate at around 10:45 a.m. and the fully loaded log truck could be seen in the median smoking and badly damaged.

Police, along with members of the Newport City Fire Department and Ambulance arrived on scene.

The driver, identified as Pascal Rodrigue, 61, of Quebec, was transported to North Country Hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

Police say the tractor-trailer drifted too far to the left in the passing lane and ran off of the roadway and into the trees in the interstate median.

Members from St. Onge Excavating arrived on the scene later in the day to assist with the removal of the tractor-trailer and are assisting with the removal of the logs this morning.

There were no other vehicles involved in the crash.

DERBY — Police are hoping the public can help locate a teenager from Derby who is missing.

According to a statement issued by police, sometime after 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Allison White, 17, of Derby, left her residence on Roy Street.

She is described as being 5’2″ and weighing 154 lbs. She has brown eyes and has recently dyed her hair brown, which she had braided and pulled back.

White was last seen wearing black spandex pants, black rubber knee-high boots, and a black jacket.

Police say she has no known access to a cell phone but does have access to the internet. They say she has friends in Newport, as well as the Barre and South Burlington area.

Anyone with any information about this incident or who may have seen White is asked to call the Vermont State Police at 802-334-8881.

DERBY — On Saturday, Border Patrol agents assigned to the Newport station say they arrested a man and woman, both citizens of Mexico, during a failed smuggling attempt.

Agents say they encountered two men driving a white Nissan Sentra near the international border.

According to authorities, both men claimed to be U.S. citizens from North Carolina and had rented a room at the Border Motel.

About a half hour later, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police observed two people with large backpacks enter the United States illegally just east of the town of Derby and notified the Swanton Sector.

While agents were attempting to locate the two that had entered illegally, they saw the two men driving the Nissan Sentra in the area also. The men allegedly drove the car slowly, flashing its lights, and turning around often.

Agents say the car remained in the area for about 20 minutes before they followed the Sentra back to the Border Motel.

The agents say they saw the two men exit their room with luggage, get in the Sentra, and head towards I-91. After noticing the Sentra now contained four people, agents performed a traffic stop.

Besides the two men, the Sentra contained a man and woman sitting in the rear seat.

During an immigration interview, the man claimed to be a citizen of Mexico, but the woman refused to state her citizenship.

Agents arrested the driver and front passenger for alien smuggling, a felony, and the two rear passengers for illegal entry, a misdemeanor.

Border Patrol agents brought the four to the Newport station for additional record checks and further processing. Those checks revealed that the Mexican man, age 36, had been previously removed from the United States in 2014, after an arrest in Buffalo, New York in 2008.

The checks also revealed that the woman, age 39, was also a citizen of Mexico. At the station, both Mexican citizens confessed to entering the United States illegally.

Authorities say both will be returned to Mexico.

The Swanton Border Patrol Sector is seizing the 2012 Nisan Sentra, and the two U.S. citizens from North Carolina were released.

“This case is an excellent example of the importance of information sharing between the United States Border Patrol and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” said U.S. Border Patrol Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Pfeifer. “The Swanton Sector relies on its partners to secure the international border, and the quick sharing of information is a major part of the sector’s success.”