The Burlington Free Press from Burlington, Vermont • Page 14

The Burlington Free Press Saturday, June 9, 2007 2B www.burlingtonfreepress.com Racoon peekaboo in Burlington State briefs Inspections yield violations along 1-89 in Colchester 7 i I fitness for duty and use of seatbelts. Officers issued 132 traffic tickets totaling $24,953 in fines, the department said. Officials from the Department of Motor Vehicles, state police, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S. Border Patrol, Internal Revenue Service Federal Fuel Compliance program along with officers from South Burlington and Shelburne police departments participated in the check. A check of commercial vehicles on Interstate 89 in Colchester resulted in taking 87 commercial vehicles and 26 drivers off the roads for safety violations, the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles announced Friday.

The inspections were done Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Over the three-day operation 3,863 trucks and buses were checked and weighed and 416 were inspected. Officials checked critical safety elements as well as drivers' 7 --J 7 Bookkeeper embezzlement has Vermont connections r-' JSftA'S sr-y AS Vf-'; I t. frto courtesy of Helena Nicoay This photo was taken last summer in a back yard on Charlotte Street in Burlington. The mother raccoon had four babies and was moving them to another tree.

This little guy looks likes he was tired of waiting for his turn. titution, plus interest, to her former employer, Materials of Rehoboth, Mass. She pleaded guilty in February to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property. Prosecutors said Piatt, whose annual salary was $40,000,, began writing checks from company accounts to herself in 1999. Over time, they were for as much as $50,000.

The thefts were discovered in 2006 when another bookkeeper was hired to assist her. Prosecutors said Piatt spent the money on homes, property, cars and other things. Her former John Ferreira, said he had to downsize his company and lay off 35 workers because of his losses. The Associated Press BOSTON A bookkeeper was sentenced to four years in prison for embezzling $6.9 million from a company to spend on such things as a ranch in Vermont, a life-size statue of Al Capone and a private performance by singer Burt Bacharach. "I'm very ashamed for what I did," a tearful Angela Buckborough Piatt, 43, told Judge William Young in federal court Thursday.

Property ownership records in Vermont list a Pamela Piatt as the owner of an eight-acre plot on Ben Roberts Road in Starksboro. The land is cate-. gorized as miscellaneous and is valued for tax purposes at $51,500. Buckborough was ordered to repay million in res- SEND US YOUR PHOTOS: Have a snapshot you'd like to share with your neighbors? The only thing that we ask is that you acknowledge that you took the picture. We cannot accept any photos that were taken by anyone other than yourself.

WHERE TO SEND IT: E-mail the photo to: or, mail it to: Photo The Burlington Free Press, 191 College Burlington, VT 0540 1 If you e-mail a photo, make sure it's in jpg format and at least 200 DPI. If you're mailing the photo the old-fashioned way and want it returned, include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. MAC'S: Market opens in Essex Junction Police investigate Maitland lead MONTPELIER State police detectives have returned to Atlantic City, N.J., to investigate a second lead in the disappearance of a Franklin County teenager. Brianna Maitland of Sheldon vanished in March 2004 after leaving work at a Montgomery restaurant. This week police are investigating the report by an Atlantic City business owner who said he saw someone who resembled Maitland.

Police extended the search to Atlantic City last year after receiving a tip that someone fitting Mait-land's description was working in a casino there. That search, however, proved fruitless. N.H. man faces assault charges BRATTLEBORO A New Hampshire man faces aggravated assault and other charges after police said he used his vehicle to ram another and threatened to kill its occupants. Winfred Savard, 50, of Westmoreland was arrested after two cars were seen speeding Thursday night.

The occupants of the other whom police did identify, said Savard had been following and har-'. assing them. Savard, who had brass knuckles in his possession when he was arrested, was charged with aggravated as-' sault, first-degree aggravated domestic assault, aggravated stalking, possession of a dangerous weapon while committing a crime, criminal contempt and resisting arrest. Police Lt. Robert J.

Kirk-patrick said the domestic assault charge stemmed from a relationship between Savard and one of the vehicle's occupants. Fired officer cites sex discrimination BRANDON A woman fired from her job as a defective sergeant with the town police has filed a complaint of alleged sex discrimination with a federal agency. A lawyer for Laurie Krupp, who was fired from her job May 29, said he had sent documentation supporting the sex discrimination claim to the Boston regional office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday. The complaint also says Krupp was not paid as well as a male officer of similar rank and experience. Rutland lawyer James Levins said the town gave as its reason for firing Krupp that she failed to respond to a call at 2:23 a.m.

May 9 from a state police dispatcher asking her to investigate an open door at a Chinese restaurant in town. Levins said Krupp had come down with a severe sinus infection the day before and had taken medication before bed that caused her to sleep heavily. Dispatcher's calls are routinely recorded. The tape of the call to Krupp does not reveal her saying she is not feeling good; instead she is heard saying she believed the building owner had left the restaurant's door open, and that she was not going to respond. The dispatcher followed up with a call to Lt.

Christopher Brickell, Brandon's acting police chief, who did go to the restaurant. "He found no evidence of a crime," Levins said. Former selectman placed on probation ST. JOHNSBURY A former Lyndon selectman accused of growing marijuana pleaded guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor drug charges and will not serve time in prison. Under the plea deal, Robert Elmes, 56, was placed on probation and ordered to perform community service.

Elmes, a financial planner, had been charged with growing marijuana on his property after a state trooper participating in an aerial search spotted what 1 he thought were marijuana plants Aug. 14 near Elmes' home, court documents said. Elmes denied any knowledge of the marijuana. After obtaining a search warrant troopers recovered marijuana from the trunk of his vehicle. From staff, wire reports Tim Carter, the owner of Fleet Feet Sports across the street from the store, also stopped in.

"From a retail perspective, I just wanted to see how they did," Carter said. "They did a very good job, I think." The company plans to open another Mac's Market in Richford on July 1. Contact Matt Ryan at 651-4849 or mryanbfp.burlingtonfreepress accepting applications, Weatherby said. Employees gave samples of cookies and sushi to customers. A woman behind the deli counter handed out roses.

Light jazz played amid earth-tone shades an atmosphere customers appreciated. "I needed some eggs, so I thought I'd stop in and see what it's like," said Bernice Aja of Williston. "I think it's delightful. It's something we needed." on Vermont 15, many of Friday's customers prefer Mac's proximity to their homes. "We moved here in October and whenever we wanted something we had to go to Hannaford's or Price Chopper," said Maura O'Neil of Essex Junction.

"It's slightly more upscale and a little more expensive, but it sells local produce, which the outlets don't have." The new store, which employs about 50 people, is still Sherman Allen, the company's owner, delayed the opening to "make sure everything worked." The store opened on the former site of the Green Mountain Lanes bowling center. Its aisles, spotted with yellow sale tags, run perpendicular to where the lanes once ran. Although the store has only half the registers of the Hannaford in Essex Shoppes and Cinema plaza, about three miles east Continued from Page IB spent a year planning, then constructing the store. "It's better than we expected," said Bob Weath-erby, the company's vice president. "The customer response has been very positive." The store will host a grand opening next week, complete with grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for customers, Weatherby said.

The store was scheduled to open a week ago, but SALE: Thousands of items at Wake Robin ment support and a welcoming committee. The association also funds the Residents' Assistance Fund, which helps some people remain at Wake Robin. "Everyone at Wake Robin is not a millionaire," Colter said. "Once you get here, we're like a family and we're going to see to it that nobody gets fired out because they can't pay the rent." Contact Ashley Matthews at 651-4811 or If you go WHAT: The 13th annual Tag Book Sale at Wake Robin WHEN: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

today, rain or shine WHERE: Wake Robin, 200 Wake Robin Drive in Shelburne COST: 25 cents to $175 INFORMATION: Bring cash, because the sale doesn't accept checks or credit cards Continued from Page IB and one man stood in electronics, admiring his handiwork a neat assortment of telephones, answering machines, speakers, a record player and other corded items. "There's an enthusiasm, just like kids putting on a high school play," said Rud-yard Colter, a Wake Robin resident who handles publicity for the tag sale. Colter advertises the sale throughout Chittenden and Addison counties, relying on its reputation for offering fine items to help attract customers. The sale, Colter said, is an opportunity for Wake Robin residents to downsize as they move from houses into cottages or apartments. "We all come from bigger places.

We pawn off the stuff our kids want and then we still have too damn much," he said. "So, as a consequence, there's some pretty nice stuff." Though many of the items cost less than $1, there are also collectibles, like ornate China teacups and decorative silver trays, hand-made bedspreads and a Turkish rug. There's furniture, including a $175 sofa the most expensive item at this year's sale. And, there are items that, as one woman explained holding a small, metal orb, "nobody knows There's a plastic jack-o-lantern, a folk art dollhouse, an antique shovel and six irons. For $5, one can purchase an antique bread knife, or for $30, an iron doorstop.

There are even plants live and silk. "There really is no rhyme or reason to the pricing," explained a man in the furniture department. Each year, the sale earns thousands, which the Residents' Association uses to maintain its swimming pool, plant flowers, buy books, host activities, offer bereave- J.JL 1 jSC, Vv, y. iffimn-fi-i-tfgj MMtfjnitiMifiiiiariii imi if iiii ii 'HEENi-IOIJSE Get $5 OFF all 10" Flowering Baskets Save on Full Flats of Seed Geraniums $21.99 Save $5 on Full Flats of Annuals Now $14.99 And 4.5" Flowering Container Plants Assorted Varieties 4 Buy Five Get One Free Great Selection! This magnificent family home is located in the exclusive Ridgefield neighborhood in Shelburne. It features 4000 sq.

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