The Burlington Free Press from Burlington, Vermont • Page 1

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE Scholars tackle the legal side of the issue in Vermont Law School debate VERMONT, IB ESSEX 5s Howard Longway has provided care packages for 18 soldiers VERMONT, 21 urlitifiton Tuesday, October 30, 2007 A Local Custom Serving Vermont for 181 years www.burlingtonfreepress.com 50 cents PUMPKIN POWER Why stick to pie when the gourmet gourd has so many other tasty uses? LIVING, 1C Jffree mm MAITLAND SEARCH GOMES UP EMPTY Staph confirmed in Williston About MRSA, 6A A r-' 0 Lucy Newton of New England K-9 Search and Rescue, her dog Duggan and Vermont State Police Sgt. Sean Selby take a break Monday from searching for clues in the disappearance of Brianna Maitland In Montgomery. Authorities scoured an area near where a pair of blue jeans was found last week, but no Items of interest were found. Maitland vanished 3Vi years ago. health officials spoke with staff about measures that have been taken by the district to prevent future outbreaks of the infection.

Those measures included intense cleaning of Williston Central School and Allen Brook School and all district school buses. Special attention was paid to "common contact areas" such as telephones and door handles during the cleaning, principal Walter Nardelli said. Student treated for resistant strain By Lauren Ober Free Press Staff Writer WILLISTON Officials in the Williston School District are emphasizing cleanliness to students and staff after one child was diagnosed with an antibiotic-resistant staph infection last week. Staff and parents received an e-mail Monday from v3 Kathy Shea, a nurse in the school district, notifying them about the infection. The e-mail outlined basic information about MRSA, or methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, and what can be done to stop the spread of the bacterium.

Shea said in a telephone interview that another student in the district may also be infected with MRSA. Shea and other school QLENN RUSSELL, Free Press U.S. football pairings out Mount Mansfield earns top seed In the state Div. II high school football tournament. Mid-dlebury leads Div.

I and Stabbing victim dies Windsor is No.l in Div. III. Playoffs begin Friday night. Girls soccer, Harwood shuts out Milton, 3-0, in Div. II quarter HIGHLIGHTS FROM HIGH SCHOOl FAU.

SPORTS )q Hinesburg man charged with second- degree murder in death of friend who allegedly intervened in assault By Adam Silverman Free Press Staff Writer The evening, police say, started off well enough, just two couples on a double date at a Vergennes bar and then back to a Hinesburg home to continue the camaraderie. But after the friends went to bed early Saturday morning, a fight broke out at about 2:30 a.m. between one of the couples. Scott Gilbeau, 30, of Hinesburg rushed in from the adjoining bedroom and tried to intervene. The attacker, 20-year-old Roy Bash, turned his attention, and his rage, from his girlfriend to Gilbeau, police say.

As the woman fled, she told authorities later, she heard Bash scream he was going to kill Gilbeau. "I'm not playing! I'll show you!" Bash yelled, according to court papers. He reached for a knife, police say, and began to slash and stab. Gilbeau, a father of two, died late Sunday night, and Monday afternoon Bash was charged with second-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty to that count and another of aggravated domestic assault, and he was ordered jailed without bail at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington.

Conviction for second-degree murder, which means a person committed a killing with "wanton disregard of the likelihood his conduct would naturally cause death or great bodily harm" but without premeditation, carries a prison sentence of 20 years to life. finals. fl Oxbow needs four OTs to edge Enosburg in Div. III. Unbeaten Black River rolls over Whitcomb in Div.

IV. Sports, SB Towns expand broadband scope Jericho, Underhill, Westford look beyond Burlington Telecom for Web, phone, cable service By Joel Banner Baird Free Press Staff Writer WESTFORD To BT or not BT? The multimillion-dollar question vexed residents of Jericho, Underhill and Westford on Monday night as they considered alternatives to stalled plans for a broadband link-up with Burlington Telecom. Options on the drawing board now include a broader coalition of like-minded small towns. Under the auspices of the Fiber Optic Working Group, the towns have inched toward municipal agreements that would bind them in a BT-leased network tentatively called WUJ-Net. But Burlington's enthusiasm for expansion has cooled in the past few months.

Last week, in the wake of the resignation of BT General Manager Tim Nulty, Mayor Bob Kiss emphasized the city's commitment to its own fiber optic build-out. "Everything is on hold," said Jericho Se-lectboard member John Shullenberger, who met with Kiss earlier Monday. "Burlington Telecom is the only game in town right now, but we also need to find out what else is out there; what other communities are doing." See BROADBAND, 6A RYAN MERCER, Free Press Roy B. Bash, 20, of Hinesburg pleaded not guilty to a second-degree murder charge in Vermont District Court in Burlington on Monday. He was also charged with aggravated domestic assault.

J7 I'' The slaying was the first in Chittenden County this year. Saving a life Bash's girlfriend, with whom he lived in a brown-and-white trailer at a mobile-home park on Richmond Road in Hinesburg, said Gilbeau, her next-door neighbor, saved her life. Brandy Larock, 24, said Bash had abused her in the past, and she thought this time he would kill her. Then Gilbeau stepped in. "I should've been dead," she said through tears as she stood outside her home.

"Scott was just trying to protect me." The fracas started as a fist-fight, but then Bash pulled out a See STABBING, 9A Press GLENN RUSSELL, Free David Atherton's mobile home Is next to one In which Scott beau was fatally attacked Saturday. Blackwater guards given immunity TWICE IS NICE Boston is planning a duck boat parade today at noon that will carry the team from Fenway Park through the streets of the Back Bay and past Boston Common and City Hall Plaza. The parade will be shown on NESN. About 750 fans march in Burlington, Page IB tractors for their role in the incident that has infuriated the Iraqi government. "Once you give immunity, you can't take it away," said a senior law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.

State Department officials declined to confirm or deny that immunity had been granted. One official who refused to be quoted by name said: "If, in fact, such a decision was made, it was done without any input or authorization from any senior State Department official in Washington." Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd and FBI spokesman Rich Kolko declined comment. FBI agents were returning to Washington late Monday from Baghdad, where they have been trying to collect evidence in the Sept. 16 See BLACKWATER, 6A By Lara Jakes Jordan The Associated Press WASHINGTON The State Department promised Blackwater USA bodyguards immunity from prosecution in its investigation of last month's deadly shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians. The immunity deal has delayed a criminal inquiry into the Sept.

16 killings and could undermine any effort to prosecute security con A special commemorative section featuring photos of the Red Sox run to the World Series Championship and highlights of today's celebration in Boston. STEVEN SENNE, The Associated Press David Ortiz holds up the World Series trophy Monday outside Fenway Park. Printed in the U.S.A. II Mine -TV WEATHER Hi: 54 Low: 40 Mostly sunny and warmer. INDEX Business 7A Deaths 4B Movies 2C Classified 6C Forum 5A Opinion 4A Vol.

180, No. 301 Comics 4C 4C Sports 5B (c) 2007 The Burlington Free Press CrOSSWOrd Living 1C TV list 3C For up-to-the-minute news, sports and entertainment, go to www.burllngtonfreepress.com Mil, 0 01001 Available for home or office delivery. Call toll-free 1-800-427-3128 Bring in any of our competitor's ads and we'll beat their deal on WWw.HandyChevy.coni 189 Exit 20, St. Albans, VT 1-800-999-7097 any in stock unit or pay yOU $500. Call for details..