News

NEWPORT — Construction of the final car-free link in the seven-mile, recreational trail connecting downtown Newport with trails in Canada is on track, but planners are first seeking residents’ input.

A project update is scheduled for Thursday, October 17, at 5:30 p.m.

The update will be held in the Newport Municipal Building, located at 222 Main Street, in the Council Room.

The car-free trail would reroute the existing Newport bike path across Scott’s Cove with a bridge.

The proposed bridge will connect Prouty Beach and Bluffside Farm, owned by the Vermont Land Trust.

The Bluffside Farm trail will also connect to the Beebe Spur Rail Trail, a four-mile rail-trail that spans the eastern shore of Lake Memphremagog toward Canada.

The project is on track, and construction is scheduled to start in Spring 2020.

However, VLT and project consultants are seeking public input on the trail before moving forward.

The presentation and input session will be part of the Newport Recreation Committee meeting, and it will be open to the public.

In 2018, VLT raised the $1.2 million to build the Bluffside Farm section of the trail.

Currently, trail users must travel vehicular roads to get from one of these trails to the other.

In July 2019, VLT contracted with DeWolfe Engineering Associates to develop the engineering plans for the proposed bridge and bike path.

In August, geoengineers from S.W. Cole Engineering, Inc., took soil samples from around Scott’s Cove.

The results show that it is safe to build the bridge and boardwalk across the waterway.

VLT purchased Bluffside Farm, a former dairy farm located on Scott Farm Road on Lake Memphremagog, in December 2015.

Following public meetings and farm tours, VLT and community members identified recreation, farming, and nature as priorities for the land.

The farm has been open to the public since its purchase and is used by community members for walking, skiing, and hunting, local schools as an outdoor classroom, and the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps to grow vegetables for North Country Hospital and Northern Vermont Regional Hospital.

For more information, visit vlt.org/announcements/trailconnector.

NEWPORT — The Memphremagog Watershed Association (MWA) is pleased to announce the completion of the design for a largescale stormwater remediation project located in Newport City.

The project was completed in partnership with Newport City and Watershed Consulting Associates and with Ecosystems Restoration Program funding from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VDEC).

This project began back in 2017.

That year, VDEC released the Tactical Basin Plan for the Memphremagog Watershed, which indicated that the concentration of phosphorus in Lake Memphremagog exceeded state standards.

“Knowing that we need to reduce the amount of phosphorus entering our lake from the watershed, MWA applied for a grant from VDEC to design a large scale stormwater retrofit,” said Kendall Lambert, MWA Administrative Director. “This project, when installed, is intended to be a high impact project that will stop a significant amount of phosphorus from entering our lake year after year to help us meet our clean water goals.”

The project site is located on West Main Street in Newport at the city-owned parking area adjacent to the entrance to Built by Newport.

This location is downhill from city neighborhoods and right on the edge of Lake Memphremagog.

During rainstorms, runoff from the storm floods down the hill carrying with it sediment and phosphorus which directly enters the lake.

With the grant funding, MWA hired Watershed Consulting Associates in 2017 to design a stormwater retrofit for this location.

Watershed Consulting Associates was tasked with analyzing the existing development, slope, and conditions, and then designing a stormwater practice that will slow and sink the stormwater, removing the sediment and phosphorus from the runoff before it enters the lake- all while fitting into that small parking area.

The final design was completed in October of 2019.

The project will consist of a series of underground chambers buried under the parking area that will act as filters to remove sediment and phosphorus.

Based on VDEC’s Stormwater Treatment Practice Calculator, it is estimated that this project will remove 8.04 lbs of phosphorus per year once installed.

“One of the really nice things about this project is that once it is installed, the casual observer will not know there is a stormwater practice there- the area will still be a parking turnoff- but underneath there will be a stormwater practice that is improving our water quality,” Lambert said.

Currently, the City of Newport and MWA are working together to identify funding sources to move forward with the implementation of this project.

Pending funding, the project will likely be installed by 2021.

Newport and MWA are also currently working together on a similar design project by Newport Marine Service with the design expected to be completed by early 2020.

NEWPORT — The Newport Police Department says they arrested a woman Monday night following a break-in.

Jennifer Foster, 42, of Newport has been charged with burglary, resisting arrest, unlawful mischief, false reports to law enforcement, and disorderly conduct.

Police responded to a report from a Lake Road resident that a woman had come to his door with blood on her hands.

She allegedly left when the resident stated that he would be calling the police.

After investigating, police allege that Foster had broken into another man’s West Main Street residence directly behind the reporting party’s home before.

Police say she approached the reporting party’s door with injured hands and had damaged various furniture, including a bedside table, door, and shelves inside the West Main Street home.

Police believe it was in damaging the furniture the woman sustained injuries to her hands.

After leaving the reporting party’s home, Foster returned to the victim’s home, where officers found her not long after arriving on West Main Street.

The resident of the home indicated that she did not have permission to be inside the home and that he had not been home for several hours.

Police confirmed that the man had not been in the area until very recently, although Foster claimed in a statement to police that the man had injured her hands and stolen her cellphone.

Police say as they began to place her under arrest, she resisted by throwing an object at an officer and initially refused to be handcuffed before officers successfully restrained her and took her into custody.

NEWPORT — This Thursday the Journey to Recovery Community Center at the United Church is inviting the public to meet the new executive director, and take part in a free barbecue and concert.

The event will take place on September 19, starting at 5:00 p.m.

Visitors will have the opportunity to meet new director Shawn Gallagher and enjoy a very special presentation by musician Ben Fuller.

A Vermont native and country singer, Fuller, sold everything and moved to Nashville to make a name for himself in the country music realm.

Along the road, he faced his demons and found his purpose and drive.

He is committed to working to bridge the gap between individuals with and without substance use disorder, through music, encouraging dialogue on the topic with the intention of reducing stigma and bringing attention to the opioid epidemic.

NEWPORT — Mosquitoes collected in Newport City have tested positive for West Nile virus at the Vermont Department of Health Laboratory.

Each week, mosquitoes are collected at various locations around the state by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. 

As of August 27, the Department of Health Laboratory tested 11 mosquito pools, a group of up to 50 mosquitoes of the same species, collected in Newport City.

One of these pools tested positive for West Nile virus.

During the summer months, mosquitoes are regularly monitored at sites around the state for mosquito-borne diseases.

When the virus is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites, most people don’t get sick, but some get symptoms like fever, joint pain, vomiting, and diarrhea.

The sickness can become quite serious in some people, and those age 50 or older are at the highest risk.

Only around one out of every 150 cases develop serious symptoms which primarily affect the central nervous system.

Vermont hasn’t had any reported human cases so far this year but the virus is consistently found in the state year after year since the disease was brought to the United States from overseas in the late 1990s.

COVENTRY — This Saturday, Washington Electric Co-op (WEC) is inviting its members and the public to tour its generation plant at Coventry Landfill.

Visitors are invited to learn how landfill gas is harnessed to become clean electricity that powers approximately 6,000 Vermont homes.

WEC’s Open House complements the Open House simultaneously hosted by Casella Waste Systems, owner and operator of Coventry Landfill.

Visitors to Coventry Landfill may enjoy facility tours, food, family activities, and door prizes.
Organizers say the event is on rain or shine.

About two-thirds of WEC’s electricity comes from its power plant that burns methane released from decomposing landfill waste.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas if released into the atmosphere.

In landfills, this gas is considered a renewable resource.

The Coventry power plant captures methane to create electricity.

“We love showing people that in Vermont, garbage can be used to turn on your lights and charge your electric car,” said WEC General Manager Patty Richards. “Instead of just flaring and burning the methane, we work with our partners at Casella to keep methane out of the atmosphere and put it to good use.”