The Burlington Free Press from Burlington, Vermont • Page 1

V'-' i )t mm Friday, January 10, 2003 Loaz Custom Serving Vermont for 176 years www.burlingtonfreepress.com 50 cents 2002 The Burlington Free Press Teacher Vermont 9S Sf i i 4 I II V- III 'J 1' P. strike averted S. Burlington talks please both sides BOBCAT: They are wary and secretive, but Vermont's bobcats are doing well despite the ever increasing loss of habitat. Today is the start of the 29-day bobcat hunting season. Page IB INSURANCE SQUEEZE: Insurers are raising rates and eliminating lines of insurance that might result in costly claims.

Brookfield's popular sledding hill is one of the casualties. Page IB (I By John Briggs Free Press Staff Writer A marathon, 17-hour negotiating session ended at 6:30 a.m. Thursday with hugs and handshakes as South Burlington teachers and the city School Board agreed on a three-year contract that will give teachers a salary increase of 12 percent over the next three years. The agreement averted a strike that was set to begin today. Teachers approved the agreement with near unanimity at a vote Thursday afternoon at Tuttle Middle School.

Of the 180 teach- Inside the ers wh0 talks 13A voted on, County salary compared, IB three 4 Sports )1T nil I I i wii OLENN RUSSELL, Free Press Jim Douglas enters the House of Representatives to be sworn in as governor Thursday afternoon at the Statehouse. tl fl posed tne settlement, according to union negotiator and high school sci ige Dtps totoy QUIET CAT: Grant Anderson is a quiet leader for the University of Vermont men's basketball team until you look at the box score. Page ID Douglas takes reins of Vt. government I ence teacher Richard Wise. The School Board formally approved the hand-written agreement Thursday morning, School Board Chairwoman Kerry Incavo said, so the details of the agreement could be made public immediately after the vote by the teachers.

Under the agreement, teachers agreed to pay 10 percent of the cost of their health insurance, accepted an office-visit co-pay increase from $5 to $15 and agreed to work two additional days each year by the third year of the contract. The extra days will extend the teachers' work year to 189 days. Joe McNeil, attorney for the School Board, was pleased with See CONTRACT, 13A Living 1 The Associated Press Vermonters react to governor's message, 4A Brian Dube takes over as lieutenant governor, 4A Capitol notebook, 4A Excerpts of Gov. Jim Douglas' speech, 5A Top jobs filled in Douglas administration, 5A On the Web Log on to www.burlington-freepress.com and click under Legislature 2003 to read: The text of Gov. Doug-las' inaugural speech.

Dean's farewell, recent articles, an online poll and information on how to contact your legislator. Former Gov. Howard Dean (right) is applauded by his executive staff Thursday as he leaves the Statehouse. Behind the scenes, power quietly shifts LET THE DANCE BEGIN: New governor reinstates an old tradition: the inaugural ball. Page 1C By Nancy Remsen Free Press Staff Writer MONTPELIER Jim Douglas raised his right hand and solemnly took the oath of the governor's office Thursday, marking in that moment the beginning of a new political era in Vermont and the end of a decade of Democratic control of the executive branch.

Flashbulbs twinkled throughout the jam-packed House chamber as friends and political supporters captured the historic transfer of power. Douglas quickly set a tone for his administration in his inaugural address. He called for change, but promised to listen and work cooperatively to achieve goals that all Vermont-ers share. "My message to the people of Vermont is change begins today not change for the sake of change, but change for the sake of progress," he said. "I will be a willing listener and a reasonable partner.

My intentions will be sincere, my word will be my bond, and while we may not always agree on approach, our goals are shared." Three hours earlier, members of the House and Senate had confirmed the selection of Douglas as the state's next governor by a vote of 159-to-16. Until that vote, Douglas Money Contract terms TIMING: Terms for first year of contract will be retroactive for the current fiscal year. RAISE: Twelve percent over three years; with 3 percent in year one, 4.5 percent in year two; 4.5 percent in year three. SALARY RANGE: $30,896 to $65,500 in year one; $32,286 to $68,447 in year two; $33,739 to $71,527 in year three. HEALTH CARE CO-PAY: Six percent in year one; 10 percent in year two; 10 percent in year three.

Teachers agreed to go from a flat dollar rate to a percentage. SCHOOL YEAR: Teacher work days stay at current level 187 days in year one; increases to 188 in year two; 189 in year three. RESTAURANT CLOSED: The Radisson Hotel Burlington finishes the year by closing Seasons on the Lake, one of the hotel's two restaurants. Page 6A Late breaking By Candace Page and Nancy Remsen Free Press Staff Writers MONTPELIER The governor's office sat empty and anonymous at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, swept clean of paperwork, family pictures and political mementos.

Sun poured onto the bare, glass-covered wood desk. In the center of the empty expanse lay a sealed white envelope addressed in the handwriting of Gov. Howard Dean: "Governor Jim Douglas." Government in Vermont was about to change hands from Democrat Dean to Republican Douglas. At this moment of transition, an eerie silence spread through the fifth floor of the Pavilion Office Building, usually the bustling center of political power in Vermont. Earlier, Dean had walked through the office suite, hugging each staff member goodbye.

Then he left for the last time, to host a lunch for former governors. See MOVE, 5A couldn't officially claim victory, having received only 45 percent of the vote on Election Day. His rival, Democrat Douglas Racine, had conceded defeat, but the Vermont Constitution required that lawmakers select from among three gubernatorial candidates on Thursday before Douglas could take the oath of office. See GOVERNOR, 5A Source: South Burlington School Board Former town president to be jailed for scheme CHICAGO The former Cicero town president was sentenced Thursday to eight years and one month in federal prison for her role in a scheme to steal $12 million from the suburb through a bogus insurance company. Betty Loren-Maltese, 52, was one of seven defendants convicted of conspiring to defraud Cicero.

The judge accused her of "the outrageous and relentless pillage of the village treasury." From wire reports Gas prices may rise even with no war Inspectors find no Iraqi 'smoking gun The Associated Press WASHINGTON Even if war is averted in -h'A Weather Jfti TODAY: Hi: 14 Low: -2 Very cold, snow showers. be tapped. He said the purpose of the reserve was to respond to emergencies and implied no such situation exists at this time. The Energy Department in a report forecast that gasoline prices nationwide would increase to an average of $1.54 a gallon by mid-spring, about 10 cents a gallon higher than this week's average, because of rising crude prices and the disruption to oil exports in Venezuela. The Energy Information Administration projections do not take into account the turmoil over Iraq and assume that oil from that country will continue to be available at about 2.4 million barrels a day.

If war erupts in Iraq all bets are off on predicting prices, agreed EIA petroleum analyst David Costello. The Associated Press The Ford Model is powered by a supercharged hydrogen internal combustion engine that uses sunflower seed oil. Hot wheels Concept cars at this year's North American International Auto Show offer extra comfort, convenience and pure fun geared toward drivers of nearly every demographic. Highlights: Audi AG's Pikes Peak concept has three rows of seats, each covered by a separate sunroof. The Dodge Kahuna has an interior that transforms into a lounge.

Honda's Studio designed to be a music mixing studio on wheels. Ford's Freestyle FX converts from a six-passenger sportwagon to a five-passenger sedan or a five-passenger vehicle with a cargo bed. "It's sort of an automotive Swiss army knife," a Ford official says. Story in Money, 6A The Associated Press International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei (left) and chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix address the media Thursday at the United Nations.

explosive that Iraq says was used for industrial purposes but which can also be used to detonate nuclear weapons. Blix and ElBaradei said their teams need more time and more intelligence from U.N. members to help aid them in a search that already has taken inspectors to more than 300 sites in the past two months. For much of the Security Council, evidence of clandestine Iraqi weapons programs would Volume 176, No. 10 By Dafna Linzer The Associated Press UNITED NATIONS U.N.

weapons inspectors said Thursday there's no "smoking gun" to prove Iraq has nuclear, chemical or biological weapons but they demanded that Baghdad provide private access to scientists and fresh evidence to back claims that it destroyed its weapons of mass destruction. The Bush administration warned that Saddam Hussein is hiding evidence and will face serious consequences if he doesn't disarm. Briefing the Security Council ahead of their trip to Baghdad next week, Hans Blix, chief of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, and Mohamed ElBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said they were investigating illegal Iraqi imports of parts for its missile program and the fate of 32 tons of HMX high Iraq, motorists should be ready to pay at least a dime a gallon more for gasoline this spring, the Energy Department says. Oil and gasoline imports from Venezuela probably won't return to normal before summer if then.

Despite tight supplies of crude, the Bush administration gave no sign Thursday it was ready to use emergency oil reserves to soften the supply or price impacts, although U.S. officials were lobbying foreign producers to increase oil output. "There's no change in the decisions that have been made," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said when asked whether the government's Strategic Petroleum Reserve might Index Classified 7C Living 1C Comics 5C Money 6A Crossword 5E Movies 2C Deaths 2B Opinion 10A Forum 1 1 A Sports ID Horoscope 5C TV list 4C Printed in the U.S.A. be crucial for support of any mil I Th Burlington itary action, and members were determined to give inspectors the time they needed. rras rress 18 available lot rioma of otIicb delivery.

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