The Burlington Free Press from Burlington, Vermont • Page 13

Crje Turlington Jfrt press; Vermont INSIDE Calendar 2B Deaths 4B SECTION www.burtingtonfreepress.com Wednesday, May 5, 2004 Metro Editor Ed Shamy 660-1862 or (800) 427-3124 Page IB Lawmakers may approve tenaet rights Senate takes up Burlington proposal Photos by GLENN RUSSELL, Free Press Barbara Kenyon had more to look at than just wildflowers on a morning walk along Sand Hill Road near her home in Underbill Center on Tuesday. Some Vermonters awoke to a not-so-rare May snowfall. SPRING BREAKS FOR SNOW Charter changes Changes in the Burlington charter scheduled for consideration by the Vermont Senate today: Voter OK in March 2003 Landlords, in the absence of a lease, must provide tenants with 90 days' notice 120 days if tenants have more than two years' occupancy before evicting them without cause. Landlords must provide 90 days' notice before raising the rent. Renters must notify landlords at least two rental periods in advance before ending their tenancy.

Voter OK in March 2004 City school district may spend increases in state education payments even when voters have rejected the school budget. Police chief is given the power to hire and fire officers, a power previously held by the city Police Commission. City shall hold a special election when there is a mayoral vacancy. University of Vermont police officers are given the power to enforce city ordinances. r- i By Matt Sutkoski Free Press Staff Writer No good weather in Vermont goes unpunished.

So it was that after four days of midsummer weather, wintertime snow slapped a good chunk of the state Tuesday. Waterford won the snowfall sweepstakes, collecting 5 inches, according to the National Weather Service in South Burlington. Other snowfall reports include 4 inches in Brownington, 3 inches in Island Pond, 2 inches in Underbill, Eden, East Haven, East Albany and Smugglers Notch, and a trace in Burlington. Tuesday's snow caused little or no damage to greening trees, plants and crops because temperatures remained near or just above freezing while it snowed, said Bruce Butterfield, the research director of the National Gardening Association in South Burlington. Frost damage to plants usually starts when temperatures reach 28 or lower, he said.

"Plants are much more rugged than we give them credit for," Butterfield said. May snowfalls are fairly common in Vermont. National Weather Service records show that snow has fallen on Burlington in May in 39 of the past 100 years. The latest snow flurry in National Weather Service records in Burlington was May 31, 1945. It can get even more extreme.

David Ludlum, in "The Vermont Weather Book" describes a foot of snow in Burlington on May 15, 1834. The same book mentions a trace of snow in Burlington on June 11, 1842, with up to a foot in the Northeast Kingdom. Aside from the possibility of a few wet snowflakes across the mountain peaks before dawn today, forecasters said any precipitation that falls in the next week will come in the form of rain showers. Contact Matt Sutkoski at 660-1846 or msutkosk bfp.burlingtortfreepress.com By Candace Page Free Press Staff Writer MONTPELIER The Great Burlington Charter Change Debate has gone into reruns perhaps with a new final episode. Today, the Vermont Senate is expected to endorse for the second time a decision by city voters in March 2003 to require a landlord to give tenants more notice before raising their rent or evicting them without cause.

This year, there are signs the House might follow suit. House members last year refused to take up the bill. A leading member of the House Local Government Committee where opposition has been centered said Tuesday he will recommend the House vote to accept the Senate version of the bill when it returns to the House. "There's reason to be cautious about Burlington charter changes, but we've done our review and now I'm happy to give the voters what they want," said Rep. Doran Metzger, R-Milton.

Metzger said he was unhappy with the way the city handled an earlier charter change designed to enable a city cable system that never materialized. Town and city residents can vote to change a community's governing charter but those changes must be ratified by the Legislature, a process that is usually quick and all but automatic. Metzger spoke in the absence of the Local Government chairwoman, Rep. Judy Crowley, R-West Rutland, who blocked the Burlington change last year. "I don't like rental control and the city getting involved with landlord-tenant relations," she said in May 2003.

Her committee took testimony on the charter bill this year but did not act. Chittenden County sena tors are trying again because a principle is at stake, Sen. Jim Condos, D-Chittenden, said. "This is about local control, allowing local govern- 5 A blooming magnolia tree in the front yard of Hubert and Marie Vogelmann's Jericho home carries the weight of a springtime snowfall Tuesday morning. Parents of missing girls to meet LOCAL SPORTS "There's reason to be cautious about Burlington charter changes, but we've done our review and now I'm happy to give the voters what they want." Rep.

Doran Metzger, R-Milton ment to manage itself without interference on issues that stay within its borders," he said. Last week, the Senate Government Operations See CHARTER, 3B Route 112 in Woodsville the night of Feb. 9. Woodsville is across the Connecticut River from Wells River. Brianna Maitland disappeared after finishing work at the Black Lantern Inn restaurant in Montgomery the night of March 19.

Her car was found a mile west of town the next day, its rear end rammed into the side of an abandoned house on Vermont 118. See MISSING, 3B By Sam Hemingway Free Press Staff Writer The parents of a missing Sheldon teen will meet this weekend in New Hampshire with the father of a young Massachusetts woman who recently vanished to discuss whether their daughters' disappearances are related. "We'd really like it if someone would come in and look at both situations and see if a single suspect might have been involved," said Bruce Maitland of East Franklin, father of 17-year-old Brianna Maitland. Bruce Maitland, his wife, Kelly, and Fred Murray of Hanson, will meet at 9 a.m. at the American Legion hall in Woodsville, a few miles north of where Murray's 21-year-old daughter, Maura, disappeared in early February.

Maura Murray, a nursing student at the University of Massachusetts, vanished shortly after her car went off PETER HUOPPI, Fw Fire damages Burlington home Presidential scholars chosen not going to be an English teacher or an engineer. Beyond that, anything could happen." Bogue, who has been taking college classes and expects to earn a From staff, wire reports Two Chittenden County students were named 2004 presidential scholars Tuesday. Michael Zimmerman of Essex Junction and Emily Bogue of Colchester are the two winners from Vermont. Annually, the U.S. Department of Education picks a male and a female scholar from each state.

Zimmerman, a senior at Essex High School, said he learned of his GED, said she had not considered the possibility of advancing beyond the semifinal round. "I never thought too much about what it would be like to Champlain Valley tops Mount Mansfield. 9B TOWNS A Shelburne man has been charged with four felonies after he tried to trade a stolen vehicle to an undercover South Burlington police officer. 2B Drainage issues put a snag in the Snyder Companies plans for a 21 -lot subdivision in Jericho. 2B The Chittenden Solid Waste District is looking for a better way to recycle construction and demolition debris, and is offering up to $10,000 to make it happen.

2B VERMONT One of the state's largest private health insurance companies has agreed to cover methadone treatment for opiate addicts. 5B A landslide closed a section of Vermont 1 5 in Hardwick for the second time this spring. 5B if. it amrm inrTriiiiMiM mmm, "Vh If fc -a selection when the mail arrived at about 10:30 a.m. "There was a FedEx at my front door," Zimmerman said, "and I think some of the neighbors were wondering 1 itL ml BSue win," she said.

"It makes it much more surreal now. I was surprised and completely elated." Bogue plans to study cognitive science at Wellesley in the fall. The scholars are recognized for their achievements in academics, as well as for their leadership and civic values. They win a trip to Washington, D.C., for National Recognition Week, June 19-22. The week culminates in the presentation to the students of the Presidential Scholars Medallion in a ceremony sponsored by the White House.

Zimmerman ALISON REDLICH, Free Press Burlington firefighters doused a fire at 49 Curtis Ave. in Burlington on Tuesday afternoon. The fire started in the garage of Steve Daily, who was at home alone at the time. No one was injured in the blaze and firefighters confined most of the damage to the garage. Windows in the house were removed to air out the building.

The fire was extinguished in about 15 minutes. The Burlington Fire Marshal's Office estimated damage at $45,000 and said the American Red Cross was making temporary housing arrangements for the four occupants, including a child. what was going on. I screamed." Zimmerman will attend Wes-leyan University in the fall with an undeclared major. "Ever since third grade, I've been deciding what I wanted to do.

Earlier this year, I decided to stop pretending," Zimmerman said. "I'm ffe a "TW, I ,1.