The Burlington Free Press from Burlington, Vermont • Page 13

fje Turlington Frec press; Vermont INSIDE Calendar 2B Deaths 4B SECTION www.burlingtonfreepress.com Wednesday, June 9, 2004 Metro Editor Ed Shamy 660-1862 or (800) 427-3124 Page IB Fire destroys St. Albans housing Vt. inmates to be moved in Kentucky Complaints arose around prison By Jill Fahy Free Press Staff Writer An early-morning blaze Tuesday in St. Albans Town destroyed much of an unoccupied 66-unit senior housing complex that was under construction and set to open next month. Flames were showing when firefighters arrived just after 3 a.m.

at Hawk's Nest, a three-floor apartment complex at the intersection of Vermont 104 and 36. It took another two hours for about 100 firefighters from Franklin and Chittenden counties to contain the fire, said Randall Swann, assistant chief of the St. Albans Town Fire Department. The fire was reported at 3:10 a.m. by employees at the Franklin County Rehab Center, which is next door to the housing complex.

"We have no idea what caused it yet," said Swann, who spent early Tuesday afternoon checking the remains of the building for "hot spots," or small fires. Vermont State Police fire investigators and insurance adjusters were on the scene, picking through the rubble for clues to what might have started the fire. Swann, who said the building was insured for $3 million, estimated the housing complex is a total loss. About half the building was destroyed by fire and the other half sustained heavy smoke and water damage, he said. The building's sprinkler system was scheduled for inspection next week and had See FIRE, 5B sexual assault." The guard involved in the alleged assaults was fired by the prison company shortly afterward and Vermont transferred the two inmates who made the assault claims back to Vermont prisons.

Gold said negotiations to improve living conditions at the St. Mary prison preceded the assault incidents. Last month, he disclosed that the prison firm had agreed to move about 30 prisoners from St. Mary to Lee, expand the recreation space and provide tables in the prison gymnasium that could be unfolded and used when meals were served. Barry Kade, a lawyer and prison rights activist, said he was glad Vermonters were being transferred out of Marion but said Gold as recently as last month had insisted the St.

Mary site met terms of the state's contract with Corrections Corporation of America. "He now recognizes that CCA was not providing services that were required under the contract," Kade said. Gold also announced that Corrections Corporation of America was exploring whether to transfer about 11 maximum-security Vermont inmates now housed at a company prison in Florence, to a Tallahatchie County-based facility in Mississippi. Gold said his department had concerns the Arizona site, which requires all inmates to be in their cells 23 hours a day, was too restrictive by Vermont standards. He said the Mississippi jail's design allowed for more flexibility in handling maximum-security inmates.

Contact Sam Hemingway at she- mingwaybfp.burlingtonfree press.com ABOVE: The Hawk's Nest senior housing complex at the intersection of Vermont 36 and 104 In St. Albans Town burns Tuesday as firefighters go to work. About 100 firefighters from nine departments responded to the blaze. LEFT: Firefighters work to extinguish the blaze. The building, which was under construction, was unoccupied.

'i Lawmakers made other, last-minute changes to the bill that proved to be problematic, Crowley said. Representatives of the insurance industry told him they don't understand some of the provisions. For example, Douglas noted in his veto letter that he and his legal advisers could not determine whether a provision increasing the deductible from $150 to $250 applied to everyone. Rep. Brian Dunsmore, R-Georgia, was one of three House members negotiating with senators on the bill during the final hours of the session.

He concluded then that the issue was too complex to be resolved on the fly. Having voted against the bill, Dunsmore said Tuesday, "I completely agree with the governor's veto." Contact Nancy Remsen at 229-9141 or nremsenbfp.burlingtonfree press.com rhdiiji (Cidfe By Sam Hemingway Free Press Staff Writer MONTPELIER All 205 Vermont inmates housed at a privately run jail in St. Mary, will be moved to another, better run prison in the same state, Vermont Corrections Commissioner Steve Gold said Tuesday. "All of the Vermont offenders will be leaving that facility and will be moved to the Lee, facility," Gold told a meeting of the legislative Corrections Oversight Committee. "I think this is a very positive step." The Marion Adjustment Center in St.

Mary has been criticized as too small and unwieldy, while Lee has been praised by Vermont officials as a model facility. Prisoners at the St. Mary prison have complained about being fed food on trays in prison hallways, and about the lack of recreation and program meeting space. Gold said the transfer of inmates from the St. Mary facility to the Lee prison will be completed before the end of June.

Both prisons are run by Corrections Corp. of America, which has handled the placement of Vermont inmates in out-of-state jails since February. Gold said prison company officials informed him of their transfer plans Monday. Vermont prison officials have been increasingly concerned about crowding and other issues at the St. Mary site, particularly after two Vermont inmates were allegedly sexually assaulted by a guard at the prison in April.

"I appreciate that Corrections Corporation of America took our concerns very seriously," Gold said. "I think they were very responsive to the situation, as they were with the allegations of Brianna Maitland was reported missing this month. Her body has been found, and her husband was charged in her death Monday. "We just don't know what happened to either one," said Lang, speaking at a news conference after a meeting in St. Albans between New Hampshire and Vermont investigators on the cases and an FBI agent.

Lang said anything includ-See MISSING, 3B -s I lit '1 Photos by PETER HUOPPI, Free Press Douglas vetoes insurance bill House will convene June 16 to address issue Police find no connection in missing-women cases Of TOWNS A Shelburne woman blends yoga and storytelling to teach young children. The children learn how to be still, stretch and hold postures. 2B VERMONT The Burlington City Council has decided not to open an inquiry into the resignation of codes director Ray O'Connor. 3B Burlington Technical Center and Vermont Commons School in South Burlington announce the graduates in the Class of 2004. 4B LOCAL SPORTS UVM restructures its radio contract with WVMT, which will no longer broadcast men's basketball games.

7B vf.i.Mktfi..vii would have to vote for the bill to override the governor's veto. Three-quarters would have to agree to suspend rules to introduce a revised bill and pass it. The full Senate wouldn't have a chance to consider the bill in any form if the House agreed with Douglas' veto. The bill was supposed to provide a larger chunk of insurance settlement money to people injured in motor vehicle accidents caused by others with insufficient insurance. In rare instances, injured motorists and their passengers face a cap on how much of their own insurance they may tap to pay medical bills.

The cap affects the special insurance they have purchased as protection against drivers without enough insurance to cover serious injuries. Banking and Insurance Commissioner John Crowley said the bill was intended to fix problems faced by "maybe five people a year." By Nancy Remsen Free Press Staff Writer MONTPELIER Gov. Jim Douglas vetoed a bill Tuesday that was intended to clarify and simplify auto insurance coverage. In a letter explaining his opposition, Douglas said he applauded the Legislature's intention to remedy a problem identified in a 2003 Supreme Court decision but he and his legal advisers concluded the bill had flaws. This is the only veto Douglas has issued this year.

He vetoed a juvenile justice bill last year, also because of technical problems. House members are scheduled to come back to the Statehouse on June 16 to respond to the veto, either by agreeing, voting to override or rewriting and passing a new bill. The House has first crack at the bill because it originated there. Two-thirds of the House members present next week pl By Sam Hemingway Free Press Staff Writer ST. ALBANS Police investigating the March 19 disappearance of Sheldon teenager Brianna Maitland said Tuesday that they see no link between her case and that of a woman reported missing in New Hampshire a month earlier.

"There is no serial killer out there," said Capt. Bruce Lang, chief criminal investigator for the Vermont State Police. Police said they did find Maitland had links to people connected to illegal drugs. Maitland vanished March 19 after leaving work at a Montgomery restaurant. Her car was found rammed into an abandoned house the next day.

Maura Murray, a University of Massachusetts student, disappeared after a minor accident on a back road in Haverhill, N.H., in February. Extensive searches have been conducted for both women to no avail, and police considered a serial-killer scenario after a Johnson woman towtai.