The Burlington Free Press du lieu suivant : Burlington, Vermont • 21

Ifree press IV ERMONT INSIDE Opinion 6C Business 7C Comics 1 IB SECTION www.burlingtonfreepress.com Friday, September 25, 2009 Metro Editor Patrick Garrity 660-1897 or (800) 427-3124 Page 1C Telecom looks to expand Burlington Chief Administrative Officer Jonathan Leopold said the city expects strong opposition from Comcast, the giant telecommunications company that is Burlington Telecom's main competition in the city. "It's their worst nightmare," he said. "They will try to drag this out as long as possible." The expansion to other regions of the state Leop What' news 'Date-rape' drugging suspected Free Press Staff Report A suspected "date-rape" drugging last weekend has Burlington police reminding people to be careful and aware when socializing. Police said the potential victim was not assaulted or injured and left a downtown bar safely with friends. Police are unable to confirm whether a drug was administered to the woman, though she reported some symptoms that are consistent with "date rape" drug ingestioa i The most common date-rape drugs are GHB, Ro-hypnol and Ketamine, police said.

Ketamine and GHB frequently come as a clear liquid that can be added to beverages. Rohypnol is usually distributed as a white pill that dissolves quickly in liquid. All three are virtually odorless and tasteless. Police remind people not to leave drinks unattended and to discard drinks if they have been. City-owned firm asks for right to serve state By John Briggs Free Press Staff Writer Burlington Telecom, the city-owned Internet, cable television and telephone service provider, will ask the Vermont Public Service Board in a filing early next week for authority to expand across the state.

com has concluded that it is in the best position to meet this need and can provide critical assistance to the state of Vermont and the Vermont Telecommunications Authority in providing universal, affordable broadband access to all Vermont-ers." Council President Bill Keogh, D-Ward 5, whose resolution to strengthen the oversight of Burlington Telecom failed in Monday's council meeting, said the Board of Finance has been briefed on BT's expansion See TELECOM, 4C Vermont was recently rated as 47th among the states in Internet connections, and Leopold noted that the U.S. lags far behind other nations. "We're at the bottom of the bottom," he said, and that has implications for the state's future economy. "Building such a network universally accepted as essential to sustaining and developing the economy and quality of life in Vermont," he said. "Burlington Tele to new beat old didn't specify particular towns or regions would allow the state to improve the accessibility of residents to state-of-the art Internet connections, he said.

Students march is machines at the business over the weekend, police said. They also took three radios. Police have also linked the three suspects to the theft of car radios and keys at TDI. All of the items were recovered, police said. Bank manager indicted in fraud: A former manager of a bank in Bennington was indicted on bank fraud charges Wednesday.

The U.S. Attorney's Office of Vermont alleges Kevin Thi-vierge approved three loans totaling $85,000 in the name of a bank customer and used the money for his personal benefit. Thivierge served as a manager for two Chittenden Bank branches in Bennington for almost four years. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million Ljine on.each.of the three'. Hrf GLENN RUSSELL, Free Press Schoolchildren celebrate Burlington's two new magnet schools as they parade down Church Street in Burlington on Thursday.

The two schools are the Sustainability Academy at Lawrence Barnes and the Integrated Arts Academy at the H.O. Wheeler. Magnet schools celebrate opening Burlington Police search near where Maitland's car found: The Vermont State Police and game wardens are searching a section of Montgomery looking for clues into the 2004 disappearance of 17-year-old Brianna Maitland. Police say there's a strong possibility that Maitland was a victim of foul play. The Sheldon teenager disappeared after leaving her job at the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery.

Her car was found about a mile away, backed into a building. Officials Thursday were planning an extensive search of the fields and wooded area near where the car was found. Woman charged with kidnapping: A Brattle-boro woman has pleaded innocent to charges that she beat and kidnapped another woman and then rongntwith pohce-when they tried to arrest Desiree Boucher, 22, was charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping, re- sisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Court records say Boucher forced the woman, who was out for a run, into her car and beat her. A passenger in the car said Boucher had asked the woman about a boyfriend.

Strafford mine shows effects of bat disease: Biologists with the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife say they're continuing to see how devastated the bat population has been by what is being called white nose syndrome. This month, biologists visited the Elizabeth Mine in Strafford, once considered the second largest bat cave in New England. Biologist Scott Darling says the mine has lost nearly its entire bat population. As recently as 2006, more than 950 bats were captured by biologists during a three-hour survey. Two weeks ago, only one bat was cap- tured.

Winning ticket bought in Vermont: A shopper at Stewart's Ice Cream in Poultney holds a $200,000 winning Vermont Powerball ticket, officials said. The unknown winner guessed the five white ball numbers 7, 8, 20, 25, 29, but not the Powerball number, 11. Four other players in the United States also won $200,000 by correctly guessing the white ball numbers. Juveniles cited in Swanton burglary: Three juveniles were cited Wednesday with burglarizing and vandalizing Poulin Grains in Swanton Village, police said. The suspects cut open a large bag of whey powder and damaged bourines.

The celebration came about three weeks after the official opening of the schools, or rather reopening because they operated for decades as traditional neighborhood schools before the makeover. The newly named Integrated Arts Academy at H.O. Wheeler will, among other things, celebrate creative thinking, as one student emphasized to the audience at the Flynn with the following promise: "Einstein said imagination is more important than knowledge. We will use the arts to make the world a better place." See MAGNET, 5C By Molly Walsh Free Press Staff Writer Students at Vermont's first two magnet schools paraded down Burlington's Church Street with teachers and parents Thursday to celebrate the opening of what many said is an exciting new venture for public education in the state. Vermont Education Commissioner Armando Vilaseca cheered the throng after it paraded into the Flynn Center and told the audience that he believes magnet schools -r so-named because they are designed to draw students beyond an immediate school neighborhood by em- phasizing a particular discipline are a good model for the rest of the state.

"What a thrill," Vilaseca said to the audience. He praised all who worked to launch the schools and urged students to work hard, enjoy school and take advantage of the people who are available to help them. Students sang, danced and waved banners in the bright sunshine as they snaked their way into the theater to the beat of drums and tam School for sale Color season hard to predict Biochemist Hoagland dies: Mahlon Hoagland, a biochemist from Thet-ford known for his pioneering DNA research has died. Hoagland died Friday at his home. He was 87.

Hoagland suffered from kidney failure and heart problems, and he died after choosing not to eat or drink for nine days. His daughter Judy Hauck says her father wanted his death to be under his own control. Many of Hoagland's discoveries came while he worked as a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital. Fraud suspect remains jailed: Hector Be-tiku, 28, will remain jailed on fraud and identify theft charges until his trial, U.S. Magistrate Judge John Conroy ordered Thursday.

Betiku, who has been jailed since his arrest in Iowa last month, pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Burlington to charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. He faces up to 30 years in jail and a fine of up to $1 million on the bank fraud charges. The other charges have lesser penalties. His indictment affidavit alleges that Betiku, who was a student at the University of Vermont in the fall of 2008, defrauded friends and strangers by obtaining unauthorized access to their bank accounts and credit cards, in one case allegedly transferring $40,000 from a victim's California bank account to his own account at UVM.

He also allegedly used others' credit cards to order merchandise and forged a signature on a stolen check. Betiku is British and has resident alien status in the United States. From staff, wire reports a PINE RIOGE A SCHOOL H' Pine Ridge By Molly Walsh Free Press Staff Writer The 136-acre Pine Ridge School property in Wil-liston is for sale for $4.3 million, and, the seller is "highly motivated," according to a new marketing brochure. The residential high school for students with dyslexia closed in the spring amid mounting debt, shrinking enrollment and disagreement about the management style of headmaster Dana Black-hurst. School trustees this Drr ilia nlinlt The Pine Ridge School property In Wil-liston is for sale.

By Matt Sutkoskl Free Press Staff Writer Those bright colors you see spreading across Vermont's hillsides and forests this time of year might be in part the product of weather that occurred months ago. But how spring and summer weather affect fall foliage is still mostly unknown. Autumn colors are expected to approach their peak in the high elevations of the Northeast Kingdom this weekend, and the intense color will spread downhill and southward, as they always do, in the coming three weeks. The best theories about this year is the weather since May could hot have hurt See FOLIAGE, 4C summer explored the idea of turning -FOLIAGE VATCII Share colors FOLIAGE WATCH: Do you have color to report or a hidden gem worth a visit? Send details, Including your name, town and daytime phone number, to Hannah Crowley at hcrowley bfp.burlingtonfree press.com. FALL PHOTOS: Upload Images to our Web site.

Visit www.burllngtonfree press.comfall; tag your photos "fall." Or e-mail JPEGs to winter when expenses related to heating and plowing go up. Sev- eral institu- 7ii i. tional buyers WllllStOn have boked at the campus, said Tony Blake, VT co-owner and broker. "There's a lot of curiosity about it." Calls to Mitch Roman, chairman of the Pine Ridge board of trustees, were- not returned Thursday. The campus is located off U.S.

2 in the ruralagricultural zoning the See SCHOOL, 4C campus into a postsecondary residential program for adults with autism buf 'dropped it, said Ken Belliveauj "Williston director of planning7zoning administration. School officials told him they weren't able to put together the financial backing they had hoped to arrange, he said. The property is listed for sale by VT Commercial of Burlington, which is marketing the campus more aggressively in the hopes of closing a sale before.