Vermont sheriffs faced increasing pressures, State Auditor Tom Salmon weighed his political options, Fletcher Allen CEO Melinda Estes outlined the hospital’s biggest challenges, and after Strontium-90 was found in the Connecticut River, reactions of state officials varied.
These were some of the voices in the news this week.
Vermont Sheriffs Under Increasing Stress (8/1/11)
(Lamoille County Sheriff Roger Marcoux) "If a sheriff happens to go over budget, there’s no fall back. That’s on them to get the money from somewhere to pay for that. There’s a lot of stress upon the sheriffs right now to try to maintain that level of service with less money."
Salmon Weighs Options For 2012 Election (8/4/11)
(State Auditor Tom Salmon) "There weren’t 10 people who thought I could win in ‘06. There aren’t five people who think I can beat Senator Sanders. But the good news is I’m one of the less than five that thinks I can win. So there we go."
Fletcher Allen CEO Says Health Care Cost Is Biggest Challenge (8/3/11)
(Fletcher Allen Health Care CEO Melinda Estes) "The sustainable financing for Medicaid, particularly in the state of Vermont, is an issue my successor will have to address. Currently we are paid 34 cents for every 1 dollar of costs and that is simply not sustainable. The state has been willing to talk with us and listen, but it remains an issue."
Health Department Says Strontium-90 Found In Conn. River Fish (8/2/11)
(Bob Stannard, Citizens Action Network) "If I’m coming up from down country and I want to do some fly fishing in Vermont, the Connecticut River is not where I’m going to go. And I may just bag Vermont completely and go to a state that doesn’t have strontium 90 showing up in their fish."
Shumlin, Health Commissioner Differ On Fish Threat (8/3/11)
(Governor Peter Shumlin) "I know that there is water leaking into that river that has nuclear isotopes in it. I probably wouldn’t choose to do my fishing right there."
(Health Commissioner Doctor Harry Chen) "I personally would eat the fish, so we differ on that."