February 18, 2003 – News at a glance

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Vermont guard unit called to active duty
The military buildup for a possible war with Iraq has turned many Vermonters into full-time soldiers. The Rutland area has been the most affected, with one Army Reserve company called into active service for the first time in its 40-year history. (VPR)

Interview: space shuttle Columbia
VPR’s Steve Delaney talks with Jennifer Kimball, who was at the Johnson Space Center in Houston when the space shuttle Columbia broke up over Texas two weeks ago. (VPR)

Poets gather in Manchester
The threat of war with Iraq has mobilized the peace movement. While demonstrators marched in Vermont and in cities across the country last weekend, there was a different kind of protest in Manchester. (VPR)

Island Pond Woodworkers
Two hundred people joined a group of former Ethan Allen workers this weekend to celebrate the opening of an employee-owned furniture plant in Island Pond. The new business is a modest beginning in an effort to replace the jobs lost when Ethan Allen closed its doors 18 months ago. (VPR)

Penguin Plunge
Frigid air temperatures didn’t stop several hundred Vermonters from taking a swim in Lake Champlain this weekend. (VPR)

American Paper mill
The new owner of the idled American Paper Company mill in Lunenburg is planning to meet with economic development officials in Vermont this week. Steve Harmsen is owner and president of the Steve Regan Company of Salt Lake City. His company submitted a winning bid of $3.2 million in U.S. Bankruptcy Court last week to buy the mill. (AP)

Wind project opposed
Opposition is growing to a $50 million wind energy project on Glebe Mountain. A group of Londonderry residents says the 27 wind towers proposed by Catamount Energy are too tall and would spoil the view. (AP)

Ski resorts have light holiday weekend
Lift lines were short at Vermont ski areas over the holiday weekend. Sub-zero temperatures in Vermont and a blizzard in mid-Atlantic states deterred skiers from Jay Peak near the Canadian border to Stratton Mountain in the southern part of the state. (AP)

Jeffords delayed in Washington
Monday’s snowstorm hampered Senator James Jeffords’ trip to Vermont but it didn’t stop him. Jeffords had to cancel a book signing in Montpelier Monday night because he could not fly out of Washington. He boarded a train instead and was expected to make to Vermont in time for meetings with lawmakers and the state Board of Education Tuesday. (AP)

Noise ordinance
The Burlington City Council is considering new rules for controlling noise in the city. The City Council has proposed stiffer fines and community service for residents who violate the city’s excessive noise ordinance. (AP)

Classical radio station
A radio station devoted strictly to classical music may be coming to the Connecticut River Valley in New Hampshire and Vermont. It would be a joint partnership between Vermont Public Radio and new Hampshire Public Radio. The 88.1 frequency has been requested of the Federal Communications Commission. The idea has been in the works for seven years. (AP)

Mrs. Dean comments on campaign
Judy Dean, the wife of Governor Howard Dean, says she knows life will change if her husband is elected president. But she says she probably won’t be a traditional first lady and will continue to practice medicine. Judy Dean is a physician who kept a very low profile during the nearly dozen years her husband was governor of Vermont. (AP)

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