Top Stories for Tuesday October 3, 2006

A Conversation With World War I Author and Historian Steve Harris About His Most Recent Book: Duffy’s War
By Larry Johnson
It’s little wonder that Steve Harris became a writer; It would have been surprising if he had turned out to be anything else. Steve grew up in a family of newspapermen. His grandfather and two great uncles were reporters on the Kansas City Star, at the same time as Ernest Hemingway was working for that paper. His grandfather later transferred his typewriter to the New York Herald and became that paper’s foreign editor. It is a family whose bloodline was richly endowed with printer’s ink. After high school Steve spent one year at the University of Arizona. He later transferred to Trinity College in Burlington where he received a B.A. degree. He later enrolled at The New School in New York City and spent an entire year fine-tuning his writing skills in a professional workshop setting.  [ more ]

Partisan Crowd Cheers Anti-War Pro-Environment StatementsAt House Candidates
By Ed Barna
The smoke of the Iraq War and the haze of global warming hung over a Sept. 26 session meant to bring out the foreign policy stands of candidates for the U. S. House of Representatives. The Vermont Council of World Affairs and Middlebury College’s Rohatyn Center for International Affairs had wisely chosen the Mead Chapel, official capacity 715 people. The place wasn’t completely packed, but probably 500 people came to hear Democrat Peter Welch, Republican Martha Rainville, and four of this year’s six alternative party candidates. The feeling of urgency in the crowd broke out when one woman yelled a question about “an October surprise,” a Bush administration attempt to galvanize support through an equivalent of 9-11 such as a war against Iran. She was not the only one who spoke of that scenario, but the panelists had enough tangible things to talk about without venturing into speculation.  [ more ]

Middlebury State Police New Facility

Vermont State Police's new 10,000 square foot New Haven facility. Unlike the old space, they have conference rooms, a sally port, two holding cells, a state-of-the-art processing room, and ample office space for the officers, supervisors, detectives, the Vermont Firefighter's Association and Vermont Fish & Game staff. Also throughout the building is a video and audio surveillance system that not only covers all inside space but the outside area as well. The idea for the building came up in 1979, was delayed for a number of reasons including legal challenges, and was finally completed in 2006. It was designed by Rebecca Arnold, of Arnold & Scangas in Colchester, in the "Vermont vernacular" style. The general contractor for the project was Professional Construction Management. All of the modular office furnishings throughout were built by Vermont Offenders Work Program, a division of the Department of Corrections. A formal dedication ceremony will be held on October 24th at 1:30 p.m. at the Route 7 facility.  [ more ]