Fight ends in court

Rutland Herald | February 15, 2017

By GORDON DRITSCHILO

STAFF WRITER

Travis Trites

Police said a Rutland man tried to clobber his boss with a chair during an argument about shoveling the back steps.

Travis J. Trites, 41, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Rutland criminal court to a felony charge of aggravated assault with a weapon and a misdemeanor charge of simple assault. If convicted, he could face a maximum 16 years in prison. He was freed on the conditions he stay away from witnesses in the case and out of the Wobbly Barn nightclub at Killington.

Trites was working at the Wobbly Barn on Monday night, according to affidavits, when his manager, Zachary Steinhart, told him to “go outside and look at the steps that were not shoveled.”

Steinhart told police they got outside, and he noticed Trites holding a knife. Steinhart described Trites putting down and picking up the knife repeatedly during their discussion before pointing it at him and taking a step forward, at which point the manager said he ran into the dining room.

Witnesses describe Trites following Steinhart into the dining room, picking up a chair and lifting it up over his head to swing at Steinhart, at which point other employees tackled both men to the floor, according to police. Steinhart told police Trites still managed to connect with a punch to his neck.

Police said Trites told them he lost his temper but was tackled before he make contact with Steinhart.

In court Tuesday, the state asked that one of the conditions of Trites release be that he stay 300 feet away from the Wobbly Barn, a provision opposed by Trites’ lawyer.

“Practically speaking, judge, if he’s working on the mountain, the access road goes right by the Wobbly Barn,” Public Defender Amanda Mowle said.

Deputy Rutland County State’s Attorney Peter Bevere said that if Trites found other work on the mountain, the state would revisit the condition, but Judge Cortland Corsones said public safety would be satisfied with a requirement that Trites simply stay off the property.

gordon.dritschilo @rutlandherald.com

Two sides of the 1% sales tax question

Mountain Times
February 8, 2017

Do not rescind the 1 percent local option sale tax

Dear Editor,

Is the Select Board crazy?

The 1 percent local option sale tax component of the options tax contributes approximately $400,000 to $500,000 to the annual General Fund budget. Who do you think is going to make that up if it is rescinded? You and me in our property taxes. As it is, we have an increase this year, with the full options tax a part of the budget.

If the town is so flush, why were all of the departments asked to keep our budgets so lean this year? I can only assume the golf course debt is paid off. Is there is a magical source of money to cover this shortfall in the general fund budget that is not the taxpayers?

The resort management seems to be under a misconception about the purpose of the options tax though I have corrected them several times. Originally, it was voted in for economic development, but that was changed at a subsequent town meeting, when it was voted on to go into the General Fund to pay off the golf course debt, use some some money for economic development and go to paying other town expenses.

The other question I have is, why 2018? Is it possibly so that when building the village, no sales tax will have to be paid on all the materials needed? Whose interests is our Select Board looking after? I don’t think they are looking after mine.

Diane Scappaticci Rosenblum, Killington

Response

MountainTimes
February 15, 2017

The right side of the option tax proposal
Dear Editor,


In response to last week’s letter to the editor from Diane Scappaticci Rosenblum regarding the local option sales tax vote to rescind. First I’d like to start off by saying I have a lot of respect and regard for Mrs. Rosenblum, so Diane please don’t take this as an attack. While reading your opinion, which I take with respect, I noticed you’re question is: If the local option tax contributes approximately $400,000-$500,000 to the general fund, who do you think is going to make up the difference if it is rescinded? You went on to state: “you and me and our property taxes.”


Diane, the fact and the truth is there’s a second part to this proposal of rescinding the one percent option sales tax. I’m not sure if our board or town has clearly explained this other part, which is simple: The town no longer would fund the marketing and events and employees for this department that was created with the option tax funding. So with $400,000-$500,000 less in revenue one must realize in order for this to work there would be $400,000-$500,000 less in expenses.


So, Diane, there may be a difference to make up by taxpayers, but no where near $400,000 to $500,000. The truth may be under $100,000, as I see it. But let’s remember, we’re not allocating money as expenses for our town manager and other departments spending time with special events, marketing and other items hidden in the budget away from EDT. Sorry, I had to do this in a letter to the editor, but your letter went out first without the understanding of the expense and revenue side. Once again, just making sure that we are looking at all sides of the equation.

Thanks,

Jim Haff, Killington

New Jersey snowboarder dies at Killington

Burlington Free Press Published 5:54 p.m. ET Feb. 11, 2017 | Updated 14 hours ago

A snowboarder from New Jersey died Saturday at Killington Mountain, Vermont State Police reported.
James Meyers, 26, of Toms River, N.J., was snowboarding with friends at the Killington Ski Resort when he left the trail they were on and collided with a tree, police said.
Meyers was not wearing a helmet at the time of the incident, according to state police.
He was transported to the Rutland Regional Medical Center by the Regional Ambulance Service. Meyers died of injuries he sustained in the accident and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Missing skiers found

Rutland Herald 

February 05, 2017

Staff report

KILLINGTON — Three skiers who went off trail and were reported lost were safely found Friday.

State police were called at 5:18 p.m. after Cameron Goulet, 18, Alec Goulet, 20, both of Winsted, Connecticut; and Todd Bertulis, 20, of Thomaston, Connecticut, went missing on the Juggernaut Trail.

A search was launched and the Killington Ski Patrol located a set of three tracks off the trail. They found the missing skiers a little over half a mile off the trail, and transported them back to the Killington Medical Clinic. No injuries were reported.

Killington Fire Department and Killington Search and Rescue also took part in the search.

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The West Hill Snowman Is Back!

Two men charged in lodge burglary

Rutland Herald | February 03, 2017

KILLINGTON — Two men spent the night in the Rutland jail after trying to steal food and drink from Bear Mountain Lodge in Killington, police said.

Michael Parie, 20, of Rutland, and James Cornell, 26, listed as a transient, were charged with burglary when Censor Security found them inside the lodge after hours Wednesday night, according to Vermont State Police.

Parie was also charged with violating his conditions of release, police said.

Bail was set at $10,000 for both, and they were still in jail as of Thursday evening, according to the Department of Corrections. 

Town Projects Tax Rate, Orders New Fire Truck

Vermont Standard

2/2/2017

By Curt Peterson

Standard Correspondent

Killington – The Killington Select Board announced a .289-cent increase in the projected 2018 nonschool residential property tax rate at their Jan. 24 meeting. On a home assessed at $200,000 this would mean an increase of about $60 per year over the 2017 rate.

The rate includes the controversial $100,000 commitment to support a 2017 FIS Women’s World Cup Ski event, if the event returns to Killington. Selectman Chris Bianchi has said in the past the World Cup support represents about 1 cent of the increase.

There are lingering objections to the ski event commitment. Both David and Diane Rosenblum commented to the Board that the money would be better spent on maintenance of infrastructure.

Diane Rosenblum is on the Shelburne Memorial Library board and said she resents having to restrict the library budget while the Select Board is dedicating funds to a big event in town and reducing revenue by eliminating the retail sales tax portion of the Options Tax, about $400,000.

“I don’t own a business,” she said. “I’m retired and just a homeowner. I’m not going to get anything back out of this donation.”

The Board has described the World Cup support contribution as an investment in local businesses on the basis they are the ones who are collecting it for that purpose. In the past in an average year the town has received $875,000 in Options Tax revenue, including a 1-percent sales tax on retail sales in the village. One of the items voters will consider at the 2017 Town Meeting is rescinding the sales tax as of July 1, 2018, which will not affect revenue this coming fiscal year.

Rosenblum’s husband David concurred, citing a recent minor head-on collision that he attributes to lack of maintenance on Killington roads.

Robert “Sal” Salmeri, owner of Mogul’s nightclub, would like to see the $100,000 contribution spent on bus stops and other infrastructure issues.

Gary Rath and Alan Naylor, representing the Killington Volunteer Fire Department (KVFD), said the Department is satisfied with the 2018 budget negotiations.

Rath and Naylor recently traveled to KME Fire Trucks in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, near Stroudsburg, where the new fire truck purchased last spring was ready for final inspection.

“There were a few failures regarding specification issues,” Rath said.

Because of space limitations in the current firehouse custom dimensions had been part of their order, but a few of them had been missed by KME when the truck was built, so they are busy remedying the problems.

“It will be another month and a half before it’s ready for us to inspect again,” Rath said. “We won’t accept the vehicle until it is done the way we ordered it.”

Once the KVFD approves the truck it will be sent to New York for another week of equipment mounting.

The firemen also announced they are reducing the number of vehicles in their fleet by one – a “platform truck” with specialized uses will be sold, along with another truck that is due for replacement. The replaced trucks would be traded in for a new purchase or sold privately to recoup their value. Rath asked for authority to order an aerial truck called a “quint” from Pierce Manufacturing, Inc. in Appleton, Wisconsin, at a price of approximately $1 million.

A quint, or “five” truck has five functions: pump, water tank, fire hose, aerial device, and ground ladders. According to Rath, Pierce is the best place to purchase a quint. KME does not make them.

“We can save 3 percent by ordering it before the end of January,” Rath said, which would amount to about $30,000.

The fleet reduction would provide multiple benefits, the firemen said, including lower maintenance costs and smaller space requirements for the new firehouse.

The Board unanimously approved ordering the truck.

At previous meetings the Board had been advised KVFD has found an appropriate site for their proposed new firehouse on the access road. Naylor and Rath asked the selectmen for their support in pursuing purchase of the land – they would like to negotiate an option that would hold the parcel for them while their due diligence is completed.

The Board approved moving ahead with the project.