Vernon

To Fill Void Left By Vermont Yankee, Vernon Looks For New Energy Projects

By • Sep 13, 2016
Howard Weiss-Tisman / VPR

Energy leaders from across the state met in Vernon this week to help the town plan for life after Vermont Yankee.

State In Talks With Vermont Yankee Over Groundwater Issues

By • Mar 25, 2016
Howard Weiss-Tisman / VPR

State officials were surprised last month when they found out Vermont Yankee was storing low-level radioactive water in swimming pools. But now, the incident has lead to improved communications between Entergy administrators and the state.

Vernon Supports Natural Gas Plant Near Former VY Reactor

By • Mar 1, 2016

The town of Vernon strongly supports a plan to build a natural gas power plant near the shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor.

Towns Set To Lose Vermont Yankee Emergency Planning Money

By • Dec 23, 2015
Howard Weiss-Tisman / VPR

Seven Windham County towns that have been used to receiving emergency planning money from Vermont Yankee will have to write budgets this year without that funding.

Vermont Yankee Says It Will Move Spent Fuel Ahead Of Schedule

By • Dec 16, 2015
The spent nuclear fuel at Vermont Yankee is being stored in dry casks on the property in Vernon.
Courtesy Vermont Yankee

Entergy Vermont Yankee says it wants to move its spent nuclear fuel into dry cask storage in 2017, two years earlier than originally planned.

Consultant Says Investors Are Lining Up For Vernon Natural Gas Plant

By • Nov 19, 2015
Howard Weiss-Tisman / vpr

As Vernon continues to head toward a referendum on siting a natural gas power plant in town, investors with serious money are waiting to see how the vote turns out.

If a natural gas power plant is built in Vernon it's going to take between $10 million and $12 million just to do the planning and preliminary work, and if the project doesn't move forward, for whatever reason, that money could be lost.

VY Panel Backs Up More Local Say In NRC Rulemaking

By • Nov 13, 2015
AP Photo/Entergy

An advisory panel that was set up to gather and share information on the decommissioning of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant wants communities to have a say in how federal regulators write a new set of decommissioning rules.

Vermont Yankee Wants To Use Decommissioning Fund To Pay Its Property Tax

By • Oct 29, 2015
AP Photo/Entergy

Entergy Vermont Yankee wants to use money from its decommissioning trust fund to pay a property tax bill it received from Vernon.

Proposed Pipeline Wouldn't Run Through Vermont, But Could Bring A Plant To Vernon

By • Oct 22, 2015
Howard Weiss-Tisman / VPR

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of national energy giant Kinder Morgan, will file an application for a 420-mile natural gas pipeline next month that may have implications for the town of Vernon.

Vernon Board Nixes Complaints About Select Board Chair

By • Nov 18, 2014
Susan Keese / VPR

More than 40 Vernon residents turned out for their town select board meeting Monday. Many said they’d come to air frustrations with the board and with the leadership of Select Board Chairwoman Patty O’Donnell. Their efforts were stymied when board members declared that public participation at the meeting was limited by law to issues on the agenda.

O’Donnell, a former state legislator, is under investigation for allegedly trying to intervene in a friend’s drunk driving arrest. Since the allegations became public disgruntled residents like Sue Cobb have been showing up at meetings.

Vernon Official Investigated In Obstruction Of Justice Probe

By • Nov 3, 2014
Susan Keese / VPR

The chairwoman of the Vernon Select board is under investigation on allegations that she tried to interfere with a drunk driving arrest in her town. Vernon Selectboard Chairwoman Patty O’Donnell denies those allegations. She says she objected not to the arrest, but to "aggressive behavior" by a sheriff’s deputy.

Entergy Raises Cost Estimate, Lays Out Timetable For VY Decommissioning

By • Oct 17, 2014
AP File Photo

A Site Assessment Study released by Entergy Vermont Yankee Friday significantly raises the estimated cost of retiring the Vernon plant. The report also provides an early estimate of the timetable for decommissioning, which Entergy says could begin in about three decades.

Vernon Passes School Budget On Second Try

By • May 14, 2014

Voters in Vernon Tuesday passed a slightly pared-down version of the $4.4 million school budget they rejected at town meeting in March. Vernon School Board Chairman Mike Hebert said the board shaved about $50,000 from the original budget.

"We did say to people that we were going to do as much as we could without changing our offerings in the school and what we need to do to maintain our quality level education," Hebert said.

Vernon Votes Again To Defund Police Department

By • May 6, 2014
Susan Keese / VPR

Residents of Vernon have voted for a second time to eliminate the town’s police force.

The original vote to de-fund the Vernon Police Department came as a surprise at the town’s annual meeting this past March.

Local residents reaffirmed that decision at a special meeting Monday night that drew what some said was the biggest turnout in the town’s  history.

Voters agreed to contract instead with the Windham County Sheriff’s Department. They accepted a proposal made by Sheriff Keith Clark for round-the-clock police coverage at significant savings to the town.

Windham County Sheriff Addresses Vernon's Budget Decision

By & • Mar 18, 2014

One of the most surprising votes on town meeting day came from Vernon, which, with a mere six-vote majority, elected to eliminate its police force. That leaves the policing in the town to be done by the Windham County Sheriff’s department.

Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark spoke with Vermont Edition about the vote and what it means for his department.