Wheelock Road Crew Looking for Crew Member

Wheelock Road CrewWHEELOCK- Not only has the road crew been out fixing bumps in the roads, they have also been busy trying to fill holes in their crew.

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Chandler Pond Farm Drips into Maple Weekend

maplesugarWHEELOCK- Maple sugaring season is now on tap and Chandler Pond Farm opened up to the public for their annual sugaring open house over the weekend. Dahlia Dill co-owner of Chandler Pond says the event is a real community gathering. "People from the community near and far just come and see how syrup is made and hangout with their neighbors."

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Wheelock Dog Licenses Due April 1

Dog LicensingWheelock- Do you own a dog and live in Wheelock? Is your dog over six months old? Dog licenses are due by Monday April first in the Town of Wheelock. All residents with a dog who is over six months old must license their dog. Besides being required by state law, the biggest push behind this registration is to prevent the spread of rabies.

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Wheelock Town Hall Upgrades

wheelock town hall

WHEELOCK - Lyndon Institute students have been helping with construction at the Wheelock Town Hall in.

In January, LI students began coming every Thursday morning for their wood-shop class to help with renovations. The students come for about an hour every Tuesday morning. One of their big projects was to paint the entire ceiling of the main level. They have started to paint the walls of the main level as well. Downstairs by the town clerks office they have repurposed a closet, which will now be used to help organize votes on town meeting day. They have also refurbished the boiler downstairs. The next project they would like to complete, is to sand and polish the wooden floors of the main level.


Even though these students only show up for an hours worth of work each week, this particular hour has made a significant difference in the structure of the building. The students are dedicated to reconstructing the town hall and the town clerk is taking notice.

"They are building closets for us, so we can properly store our materials. They have hung legal fire extinguishers in the right places, at the right height to code. They have done repairs to the damages to our ceiling and woodwork, that were caused when we had some temporary shoring put in to hold the roof up," said Wheelock Town Clerk, Carol Rossi.

Lyndon Institute does not plan on continuing any renovations come Summer break, but coming back sometime in the future has not been ruled out yet.

 

Cows are Starting to Move into the Barns

chandlerfarmcowsWHEELOCK- The foliage has sprung, the temperature is starting to drop and the cows are heading to the barn, at least they are at the Chandler Pond Farm in Wheelock Farm owner Chuck Dill is starting to prepare his farm for the winter season.

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A Slow Start For Farming

onionsWHEELOCK - A sigh of relief can be heard among Vermonters as temperatures finally begin to resemble Spring. For many, Winter's prolonged presences has been an annoyance. And for those that depend on a successful transition of seasons for business, it has impacted their scheduling tremendously.

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Wheelock Eyes Changes in Road Maintenance

WHEELOCK- One of the more heated topics on the agenda for the town of Wheelock was the direction in which they should go for the maintenance of roads in their town.

Article four, in the original town report, stated that the selectboard members would take the necessary steps to sub out work to an independant contractor for taking care of the roads, but that's where the voters stated their differences.

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Wheelock Construction Proposal Faced Challenge

WHEELOCKWHEELOCK – The Wheelock town hall project hearing was held in its town hall’s meeting room on Tuesday night. The proposal’s goal is get $714,440 grant for fixing broken to save the building, which including construct handicaps accessible and municipal room for the community town hall. However, the process of the meeting did not go well as planned. Two residents came to argue against.

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Making Wheelock More Accessible

Wheelock Grant ThumbnailWHEELOCK- Wheelock's Town Hall has been lacking something for a long time. There is no handicapped accessibility to the building, which poses a big problem.It's something that they've known is a problem for a while, and are now taking action to change it. They were awarded a Vermont Community Development Block grant in 2015, and now have a proposal to fix the problem.

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Spill in Wheelock

wheelock oilWheelock- Last night at around approximately five o'clock the Wheelock Fire Department was called to contain an oil spill. The spill was located on the Wheelock Bridge on Route one twenty two. Residents said they noticed a strange odor in the area.

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Christmas Tree Shortage

TreeShortageWHEELOCK- Friday marks December 1st, which signifies the time that families in the Northeast Kingdom start to shop around for conifers and balsam trees to fill their homes for the Christmas season. But, according to the National Christmas Tree Association, there may not be as big of a selection when you go to purchase a tree.

 

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Wheelock Looks for Grants

WHEELOCK - Thirteenth time is a charm according to Wheelock town officials. Both the town hall and the garage are in need of immediate renovations.

 

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Wheelock Town Hall

wheelock townie hallWHEELOCK- Standing for 144 years, the Wheelock town hall is in need of almost $200,000 worth of repairs. Officials are now searching for grants to repair the building on a strict budget.

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Police Looking for Man Who Left Fire Scene

wheelock fireWHEELOCK – Police are hoping to locate a man who was found on the site of a structure fire that broke out over the weekend. During a walk through of the site Sunday morning, investigators found Jason Henderson in the attic of the garage. The police asked Henderson a few questions about details of the fire, but he later left the scene without permission and could not be found.

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Mary Pat O'Hagan Anniversary

ohagan

UPDATE- The Caledonia County court sentenced Michael Norrie to 23 years in prison on Thursday. Norrie took a plea deal back in July after being charged with Burgalary, Kidnapping, and First Degree Murder of Mary Pat O'Hagan. According to court documents, Norrie admitted to pulling the trigger on O'Hagan, and is the second to be sentenced among the three charged in the killing. He has also waived his right to appeal his sentence and is being charged a fine of $423. Included in the court documents was a written letter of apology by Norrie to the O'Hagan family.

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Costs Rising with Water

wheelockfloodWHEELOCK- The town of Wheelock is having an ongoing discussion about flooding and the impact it could have if the town is not insured. Although the topic was not brought up at Wheelock's town meeting last Tuesday, it is now being discussed, because as of now, Wheelock is not insured for flooding.

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A Frightful Fundraiser

wheelock fundraiserWHEELOCK- The Wheelock Way is playing host to a frightful experience this Halloween season that raises money for the cemeteries of the town of Wheelock. The Haunted Trails fundraiser kicked off last night and is aming to scare anyone who decides to brave wooded trails until October 25th. 

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Taking a Walk Down Wheelock Way

wheelockwayWHEELOCK - As the seasons change, so do our hobbies. From snowmobiling in winter, to mountain biking in the spring, The Wheelock Way wants to cater to your seasonal activities.

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Plane Crash Training

mock plane crashWHEELOCK- After the recent plane crash in Hyde Park, Vermont, State Police as well as local fire departments and EMT's all participated in a mock plane crash scenario Monday evening.

EMT's and Fire Departments from Sheffield-Wheelock, Sutton, East Burke, and Lyndonville attended the training exercise accompanying the Vermont State Police department.

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Supporting Local Agriculture with CSA

csa barnSOUTH WHEELOCK - In a modern business world, farmers have to make ends meet. One of the ways they can do that, is through Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA.

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Raw Milk on the Shelf?

rawmilkWHEELOCK-Vermont is changing their minds on raw milk. A bill that is sitting in congress at the moment will allow Vermont raw milk producers to sell their product at local farmer markets.Tamara Martin of South Wheelock is all for the bill. She owns the Chandler Pond farm and she says she has been indulging in raw milk for years and has never seen anything wrong with it. She believes producing raw milk now is different from 200 years ago.

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Trash Debate Looms in Wheelock

Wheelock Preview

WHEELOCK - As town meeting day approaches, the town is making preparations for July 2015. That's when a pay-as-you-go system for trash removal - already approved by the state legislature - will go into effect in both Wheelock and Sheffield. 

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Farms Need to Prepare

Farms Need to PrepareWHEELOCK - With every frost that the morning brings, winter is closer and farms in the Northeast Kingdom are harvesting crops and storing food before the frost overtakes them. The Chandler Pond Farm in South Wheelock is in the process of moving crops into the root cellar below the house. 

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Farm to Plate

farmtoplateWHEELOCK - The Farm to Plate plan is meant to help local farmers like Curtis Sjolander of Mountain Foot Farm, but the program is adding confusion in certain areas for some farmers.
The plan was implemented in 2009, and was designed as ten-year plan that would strengthen Vermont's food system and focus on locally produced products.

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Issues With Proposed Wheelock Garage

Wheelock Town HallWHEELOCK - The debate over the new proposed Wheelock Town garage continues.

In 2007, on Town Meeting Day, plans to have a new building and garage for the fire department were shot down.

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