July 1, 2004 – News at a Glance

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Take-Home Methadone
For the first time, people who are receiving treatment for heroin addiction in Vermont will be allowed to take home a drug widely used to treat their addiction. A Burlington treatment center says beginning Friday it will expand its program to include take-home methadone. (VPR)

Interview: UVM Cheese Institute
Growing consumer demand for artisan or specialty cheeses has an increasing number of Vermont’s small-scale and family farmers taking up the craft. The economic potential of specialty cheese-making prompted the University of Vermont to introduce the nation’s first Institute for Artisan Cheese. Mitch Wertlieb talks with Cathy Donnelly about the institute. (VPR)

Two Teenagers Charged with Murder, Arson
Two teenagers have been arraigned in connection with an alleged arson fire that killed an Isle La Motte couple on Sunday. The two teenagers, 19-year-old Heath Lockerby and 17-year-old Quinton Teeple, were charged Wednesday with arson, burglary and two counts of first degree murder. (VPR)

U.S. Senate Campaign
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jack McMullen is calling on Democratic incumbent senator Patrick Leahy to agree on a one million dollar spending cap in their race. The Leahy campaign says they’ll talk with McMullen about campaign-related issues once he wins the Republican primary in September. (VPR)

Dean to Debate Nader
Ralph Nader’s presidential bid will be the topic of a debate between Nader and Howard Dean. National Public Radio’s weekly program “Justice Talking” is sponsoring the 90-minute debate next Friday. (AP)

Orwell Representative
The chairman of the Vermont House Commerce Committee has decided to run for re-election. Representative Mark Young is a Republican from Orwell. (AP)

Montpelier Power Outage
Parts of Montpelier and Berlin experienced a power outage Wednesday morning. Green Mountain Power spokeswoman Dorothy Schnure says the outage was caused by problems with a transformer near the National Life building in the southwest part of the city. (AP)

Leahy Re-election Campaign
Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy officially kicks off his campaign for re-election Thursday. Leahy plans to announce his campaign at the Statehouse even though it’s been clear he’s been running for months. The Democrat is seeking his sixth consecutive term in Washington. (AP)

Prescription Drug Buying Pool
Governor Jim Douglas’ administration is touting the savings it expects from a multi-state prescription drug buying pool. That’s even though the money isn’t yet in the bank. Douglas says the state will save approximately $2 million in the fiscal year ending Wednesday. But it turns out that money isn’t actually in the bank and probably won’t be for a few weeks. (AP)

Hall Takes Seat on Federal Bench
Vermont’s newest federal judge says his and his colleagues’ job is to interpret laws passed by Congress, rather than impose their own will on the law. Fifty-five-year-old Peter Hall, who was confirmed by the Senate last week, leaves his job as U.S. attorney for Vermont next week to assume his seat on the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. (AP)

Bennington Schools Lawsuit
Two town school districts in southwestern Vermont are suing a regional school district over the allocation of costs for a new middle school. Local districts in North Bennington and Pownal say they’re being charged for construction costs of the sixth-grade wing at the Mount Anthony Union Middle School even though they’re not using it. (AP)

Dorset Land Gift
A probate judge has ruled that a private school in Dorset can’t develop a 40-acre parcel left to it in a man’s will. The decision by Judge Sally Cook of the Probate Court in Manchester has raised doubts about whether the Long Trail School will accept Robert Keeler’s gift. (AP)

Bennington Honors Soldier
This Fourth of July weekend will be a special one in Bennington, as the town gives a hero’s welcome home to a soldier injured in Iraq. A parade on Saturday will honor Corporal Ricky Greene. He has been recovering for nearly two months since the gun turret of a U.S. tank accidentally struck him in the face in the heat of battle. (AP)

Fireworks Warning
With the approach of July Fourth, the Vermont Health Department is warning about the dangers of fireworks. Health officials say they’re especially concerned about children using the popular holiday displays. (AP)

Suspicious Fires in Rutland
Police in Rutland say they are still investigating two suspicious fires that gutted a house and destroyed a parked car less than 60 feet away. Firefighters arrived at the scene at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. They found the porch of the house engulfed in flames. Some 56 feet away was a car that was burning in front of the single-story home. Eight people, including four children, were sleeping in the house when the fire started, but they escaped by climbing out a bedroom window. (AP)

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