Derby - page 6

DERBY — A 28-year-old man from Derby will have to serve four to 12 years in prison on two assault charges committed back in the spring of 2014.

Nicholas Brock was sentenced after pleading guilty back in December to one charge of aggravated assault, and no contest to a charge of aggravated domestic assault in the first degree.

Brock was arrested for assaulting his ex-girlfriend back on March 6, 2014.

According to an affidavit written by Senior Trooper Clark Lombardi, later that same day Brock committed another assault, this time on a 31-year-old man from Troy who was helping retrieve some of his things from his ex-girlfriend’s home.

The man suffered a concussion, back injuries, as well as damage to his elbows and knees during the attack.

Brock was picked up again on December 27, 2014, after leading police on a high-speed chase through Newport Center.

Police say he failed to stop and began fleeing at high rates of speed before crashing the vehicle at the intersection of Cross Road and Searles Road. He then took off on foot into a field, before being captured by police.

Following that incident, he was charged with attempting to elude a police officer, careless and negligent operation, driving with a criminally suspended license, DUI, and violations of conditions of release.

Charges from the police-chase incident were dropped in the plea agreement on the two assault charges.

During sentencing, Judge Howard VanBenthuysen issued Brock credit for time served.

NEWPORT — Derby Elementary School and Newport City Elementary School are joining forces to champion farm-to-school in the Northeast Kingdom through a joint farm-to-school grant provided by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture and Markets. The two town teamed up with Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS) to apply for the competitive Farm-to-School Grant Program, eventually being awarded $9,000 to implement a variety of farm-to-school programs between the schools.

“I am ecstatic that Derby and Newport Elementary received a farm-to-school implementation grant,” says Caroline Aubry, the farm-to-school coordinator with GMFTS that works with both schools and helped them apply for the grant. “The grant is going to allow them to expand their programming so more children will have access to fresh, healthy produce and be able to receive more nutrition and agriculture education.”

Through the farm-to-school implementation grant, which provides funding through May 2017, Derby Elementary School and Newport City Elementary will work to accomplish several objectives. The objectives were agreed upon and will be implemented by a joint farm-to-school committee comprised of administrators, teachers, and parents from both schools.

They will work to increase the amount of local food being served in the school food program by five percent by planting more food in the school gardens and incorporating popular taste tests of new vegetables into the menu. The schools will also explore composting initiatives and build infrastructure to comply with Act 148, the Universal Recycling Law.

Each school will also purchase a mobile cooking cart to streamline cooking activities with students, invest in tools to maintain the school gardens and clean and process vegetables grown in them for the cafeteria, and purchase garden kits for classes to utilize the garden space to promote Next Generation Science Standards.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to teach kids about where their food comes from and how important it is to grow your own local food as well as have access to more fresh local vegetables,” says Stacey Urbin, principal, Derby Elementary School. “We are looking forward to our students continuing to be involved with farm-to-school programming and having some added pieces. The teachers are very excited to be using the garden as a teaching space, particularly with science lessons.”

Derby Elementary School began working with GMFTS last year to bring farm-to-school programming to their students through a similar farm-to-school grant while Newport City Elementary has been working with GMFTS since 2010. Both schools grow their own vegetables in school gardens, celebrate Vermont Harvest of the Month through monthly, school-wide taste tests, and provide nutrition and agriculture lessons.

NEWPORT — Police say they have taken 450 bags of heroin off the streets following the arrest of two Newport residents over the weekend.

The first arrest came early Sunday morning, at around 12:37 a.m., when police say they stopped a white Buick Rendezvous in the town of Derby, after it crossed the center lines on Route 5, near Crawford Road. The passenger in the vehicle was identified as Antonio Matos, 19, of Newport.

Police say they smelled marijuana on Matos. While searching him, they say they located a total of 410 bags of heroin in his pockets and socks. He was arrested for heroin trafficking and processed for the charge.

The second arrest was made at 9 a.m. on Sunday, when State Police, along with assistance from Newport Police and Border Patrol, executed a search warrant at the residence of Erin OConnell, 31, of Newport.

OConnell was subsequently arrested for possession of a total of 40 bags of heroin and 26 pills of a stimulant drug. She was was processed for possession charges.

Both Matos and OConnell are scheduled to appear in Orleans County Court on Monday.

DERBY — After more than a decade of rumors that a Walmart was coming to Derby, a groundbreaking ceremony was held on Tuesday, marking the start of construction to take place on the new store.

The Walmart Supercenter will be located on Route 5, and will be open 24-hours a day.

The District 7 Environmental Commission issued a Land Use Permit to construct the 165,000 square foot building with a parking lot that will fit 657 cars, as well as a 1,500 foot access road.

Construction should take about one year to complete.

Turnout at the groundbreaking ceremony was high.