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The Brattleboro Reformer from Brattleboro, Vermont • 3

Location:
Brattleboro, Vermont
Issue Date:
Page:
3
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

rattlrboro Tuesday, June 9, 1987 Page 3 State buildings get new additions AT HISTORIC BRIDGE BURNS A fire Monday morning destroyed a century-old covered bridge that spanned the Missisiqnoi River in Swanton. The bridge, thought to be the longest covered railroad bridge remaining in the country, was 360 feet long and had three spans erected in 1898. Owned by the State Division of Historic Preservation since the 1970s after it was no longer used for railroad traffic, the loss of the bridge was termed monumental. Arson is suspected. Historic railroad bridge razed in suspicious in fire By CHRISTOPHER GRAFF MONTPELIER (AP) The home of Vermont state government is abuzz with activity this summer, as the state complex gets its first additions in nearly two decades.

Two separate projects underway will greatly expand the Statehouse and the Pavilion Office Building and will pave the way for a complete renovation of the building housing the Supreme Court. The first project, a $1.9 million, three-story expansion of the State-house, is being built onto the back of the building that houses the Legislature. It will contain a new cafeteria, new offices for the Legislatures support staff, new bathrooms, a private dining room for meetings, the offices of the House clerk and a new office for the House speaker. The second project, costing $4 million, will add 35,000 square feet onto the Pavilion Office Building, which was built in 1971, and houses the offices of the governor, the Agency of Development and Community Affairs, the Budget and Management Department, the Tax Department, the attorney general, and the state Historical Society. The new structure will be attached to the back of the existing one, which originally was a hotel.

State Buildings Commissioner John Zampieri said Monday the five-story addition will house divisions of the Development Agency, the Tax Department and Budget and Management that are now in quarters elsewhere in Montpelier. The state library and the librarys administrators will also be moved to the Pavilion addition from the first floor of the Supreme Court budding, clearing the way for a total renovation of the court budding. That work will almost double the space for the court, from 10,990 square feet to 20,290 square feet. The Supreme Court justices, most of whofn now share offices with their law clerks, will get their own private offices. The project will also provide conference rooms and offices for court staff now located in other buddings in Montpelier.

The Pavilion addition will be joined to the Supreme Court budding by a two-story colannade and glass link. The state librarys reading room and book display, as wed as some administrative offices will be located in the connecting budding. Zampieri said the plans call for relocating the governors office, now located in the Pavilion, to the new addition. But he said Gov. Madeleine Kunin has not yet decided whether she wants the office moved.

He said the back of the budding wid have an enclosed parking area for the governor. A new elevator wdl be budt that wdl be available for the pubdc but can be used privately by the governor. The Statehouse addition is scheduled to be completed in December. The new cafeteria wid seat 180, compared to the 80-seat capacity of the existing one. The Statehouse project wid provide 10,000 square feet of new space and renovate 9,500 square feet of existing space.

The Pavdion addition is scheduled to be completed within a year. Once the state library moves into the addition, the renovations wid begin on the Supreme Court. They are scheduled to be completed by the fodowing November. Zampieri said the ambitious budding project is designed to give the state much-needed space, at a time, when many state offices are bing moved to Waterbury. We ran out of room here a long time ago, he said.

I think this wid help keep state government in Montpeber. was known by bridge people across thg country. The fire was reported around 5 a.m., but Swanton Fire Chief Marcus Bostwick said there was basically nothing we could do to save the structure. Although state police investigators had not completed their investigation, fire officials at the scene said arson was the likely cause. They cited the fact the bridge was engulfed in flames so quickly, the time of the fire and the fact there was no electricity or anything else at the structure likely to spark the fire.

The state had insurance for the bridge, but with the entire span gone, it is unlikely it will be rebuilt, Gilbertson said. 6 SWANTON (AP) A fire Monday morning, believed to have been started by arson, destroyed a historic covered bridge that had spanned the Missisiquoi River for nearly a century. Eric Gilbertson, the director of the state Division of Historic Preservation, said the bridge was believed to be the longest covered railroad bridge remaining in the country. It is a a monumental loss, certainly for the area, the state and the country, said Gilbertson, whose division bought the bridge in the 1970s, after it was no longer being used for railroad traffic. Gilbertson said the 360-foot-long, three-span bridge, built in 1898, Barre abortion clinic opens TAX INCREASE Work continued Monday at the Pavidon Office Building, viewed from the back, construction site.

The $4 million project in Montpelier wid add 35,000 square feet to the budding, which houses the Tax Department, Attorney Generals Office and the governors staff. High schools ready for alcohol-free parties procedure in 1978. Several private physicians and two other womens health facilities, the Vermont Womens Health Center in Burlington and the Southern Vermont Womens Health Center in Rutland, also perform the procedure. The change in facility made it a possibility, Mosher said. But we also saw the 40-mile drive (to Burlington) as a barrier to service.

Since the service became available in Barre, Mosher said about half the women visiting the clinic each week who test positive for pregnancy opt for an abortion. BARRE (AP) Planned Parenthood of Northern New England has begun offering abortions at its office in Central Vermont. Before, the closest facilities were in Burlington and St. Johnsbury. Regional manager Nancy Mosher said the board approved offering the service after the Barre office was moved to a new location on Washington Street.

The new location meets state health regulations for surgical procedures, she said. The service began last month. Five other Planned Parenthood clinics also perform abortions, the first of which began offering the MONTPELIER (AP) Thousands of dollars wid be spent this month on Vermont high school seniors, and not just for graduation gifts. Parents of the high schoolers also are throwing lavish, alcohol-free graduation parties. In Brattleboro, parents have set up an $8,000 ad-night, ad-you-can-eat-dance-swim-and-sport party with a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit as a door prize.

In Fair Haven, a 1983 Renault Al- dance is the door prize at the graduation party. And for Windsor seniors, a $10,000 party is to be held at the Ascutney Mountain Resort, where students can swim, play racket sports and have a chance at winning a television, videocassette recorder and a 1980 Pontiac Firebird. The parties do have some rules. Only seniors are edgible for the big door prizes and they must arrive before midnight and stay until dawn to win. Parents have raised the money for the parties through ticket sales, community contributions and state grants.

The Vermont Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program has given grants of up to $2,500 to such schools as Bedows Fads, Windsor and Green Mountain in Chester. Also, the state Agency of Transportation has provided $300 grants for bus transportation from the schools to the parties. The 12th graders appear to Uke the idea. In Brattleboro, a senior class of more than 200 students bought 250 of the 500 available $5 tickets. In Bellows Falls, 70 of the 114 seniors have signed up, and in Windsor, its 50 of the 64 seniors.

Organizers of the parties say they are confident the planning wid pay off. If the students arent bored, theres no need to drink, said Brenda Gravelle, one of 30 parents organizing the Windsor party. Man disappeared one year ago Teenager washed overboard during whale watch boat, declined to comment on the incident on the advice of their attorney, according to spokeswoman Kathy Baldi. The Super Squirrel II reportedly was taking the maiden voyage for the only Rhode Island-based whale-watching tour. Rogue waves are caused when several waves coming from different directions merge to create an unusually large wave, according to Mark Wimbush, an associate professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island.

juries, bumps and bruises and released from Westerly Hospital, said Richie Bavasso, a hospital spokesman. Reports of the size of the wave varied. The boat docked at Old Harbor, Block Island, where students were checked for injuries. Those needing medical treatment were transported to Westerly Hospital, Brear said. Officials at Super Squirrel Fisheries, operators of the chartered ST.

JOHNSBURY (AP) State police are still puzzled by the disappearance of a Walden man who has been missing for a year. Russell Bovit disappeared from his dairy farm in May 1986. Since then, police have tracked down numerous clues, and Bovits father has hired private detectives to work on the case. But police have no substantial leads that could crack the case, said state police Detective Sgt. Wayne Dyer.

We still do get little bits of information here and there, and we check them all out. But it doesnt look like very good news, Dyer said. Bovit was classified as missing on May 11, 1986, after his blue Renault was found abandoned on a road near the Walden-Danville line. Police searched his house and the area around his car, but found no substantial leads. It may be coming to a Bovits father, Robert, said.

Ive had private detectives working on the case for six months. Unfortunately, no one has come forth to answer the ad he has placed in a local newspaper since his son disappeared. The Ridgewood, N.J., man said he will continue running the advertisement, which offers a $50,000 reward, despite the lack of information about his son. Russell Bovit has been described as an avid outdoorsman and experienced mountain climber. He was a part-time student at Lyndon State College, one of the last places he was seen before he disappeared.

His father bought the Walden dairy farm in 1980, giving his son power of attorney to handle the 20-acre property. The elder Bovit sold his interest in the land to co-owner Deborah Dawson in early 1986. were in the air like I was doing a handstand. I came down so quick and I fdpped into the water, Savoie said. The impact burst his ear drum, he said.

The 120-foot, two-deck chartered boat from the Narragansett fishing vidage of Point Judith slammed down from the crest of the wave, students bounced around the deck, Brear said. Everyone was on the ground moaning and groaning, said one student after the boat docked. Kerri Brissette, 14, of North Kingstown was admitted to Rhode Island Hospital with broken bones and was listed in satisfactory condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. Four other students and one teacher were treated for bone in NEW SHOREHAM, R.I. (AP) A freak wave struck a whale-watch boat off Block Island Monday, washing a 12-year-old North Kingstown boy into the chidy waters and tumbling others around the deck, Coast Guard officials said.

Twenty-five students and a teacher were injured but none seriously, said Beth Brain, a pubdc safety dispatcher. A crewman on the Super Squirrel II dove after Damian Savoie, a student at Wickford Middle School, and puded him to safety, said Petty Officer David Brear. Savoie, who cannot swim, said he was in the bow of the boat holding the railing when he saw a 20-foot wave. The big wave hit, then my feet NOW ON SALE! Building a home? Building an addition? Need more heat? Hart aide joins Dukakis Metalbestos Type HT Buy the Best! Now at 10 OFF has worked on two U.S. Senate and one House campaign in Iowa and was Massachusetts Sen.

Edward M. Kennedys top Iowa aide during his unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980. Vilmain joined the Dukakis campaign six days after Paul Tully, the former national director of the Hart campaign, was named to the same post in the Dukakis effort. Four other former Hart staffers joined Dukakis campaign with Tully, including staffers from Oregon, California and Illinois. BOSTON (AP) The top Iowa official of Gary Harts defunct presidential campaign on Monday joined the team of Massachusetts Gov.

Michael S. Dukakis, the second time in a week the governor has won over key Hart supporters for his White House bid. Teresa Vilmain was named Iowa state coordinator for Dukakis, the same position she held with Hart, said Mark Gearan, campaign manager for Dukakis in Iowa, where the first Democratic presidential caucuses will be held. Vilmain, 28, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, FREE IN-HOME ESTIMATES COMPLETE INSTALLATION 30-minute video available -Learn how to install the Metalbestos Chimney System for yourself! (Rmn uo the Sun Snelling discharged from hospital BURLINGTON (AP) Former Gov. Richard Snelling has been discharged from the Medical Center Hospital, following treatment for an infected foot.

Snelling, who entered the hospital May 27, was released Sunday, a hospital spokesman said. His wife, Barbara, said Snelling bumped his left foot on a family boat off of Bermuda and an infection later set in. He was treated at a Bermuda hospital, but she said they did not feel he was getting adequate care and he was flown to Burlington. Putney Road, Brattleboro 254-4208 Sat. 9-5.

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About The Brattleboro Reformer Archive

Pages Available:
476,112
Years Available:
1879-2009