Lyndon landmark fighting for its life

Vermont is often accused, fairly or unfairly, of being a "Godless" state. Three congregants are facing that challenge head on as they try to save their church.

The First Congregational Church on York St. in Lyndon is calling on volunteers to help the remaining congregants restore the 180-year-old building. The building has many structural problems. The steeple is leaning, the roof is leaking, the paint is peeling and the wood is deteriorating.

The top priority of the project is fixing the roof. Water intrusion through the roof is causing further damage inside the church. For now, the holes in the roof are being covered with tarps. Another major priority is fundraising for the project. Costs of the restoration are expected to top $200,000.

*Information from the Caledonian-Record was used in this post.

Lyndon Center residents demand town action

A Lyndon Center couple has had enough with cars crashing into their home.

Bill and Mary Cote live at the corner of Back Center Road and Center Street in Lyndon Center, just down the street from Lyndon Institute. The design of this intersection makes it extremely dangerous, as evidenced by the most recent accident at the Cote family's home.

In late March, a pickup truck failed to negotiate the intersection, and plowed straight into the Cote's living room. William told the Lyndonville Select Board that if the accident had occurred a couple hours either earlier or later, he and his wife would've been sitting in the exact spot where the truck went through the wall.

The Cotes would like the town to make long-term changes to make the intersection safer for students and pedestrians who walk through the area, as well as for drivers who are unfamiliar with the intersection.

The select board voted to install warning signs to get drivers' attention. Selectmen will be in contact with the police department to see if these signs are actually making a difference.

*Information from News 7's John Gallagher was used in this post.

LI community shocked by hunting accident

Vermont's turkey hunting season got off to a tragic start yesterday morning. This weekend, the Lyndon Institute community is looking for answers.

17-year-old Jacob Kadamus, a sophomore 2-sport athlete, was killed early yesterday morning while hunting turkeys with his father Kevin in Wheelock. The elder Kadamus shot at what he thought was a turkey, but hit his son instead. He did not know that Jacob had left into his hunting area and moved into Kevin's. Despite his father's best efforts, Jacob died at the scene.

LI Headmaster Rick Hilton called a special assembly to inform the student body of Jacob's death. The students, some of whom were visibly grieving, were then dismissed for the remainder of the day. All LI athletics events scheduled for this weekend have been cancelled.

Captain Ed Ledo of the state police said in a press conference yesterday afternoon that there's no such thing as an accident in hunting. Ledo said the case will be reviewed by the Caledonia County State's Attorney's office after the Fish & Wildlife Department and state police detectives complete their investigation. It is unknown at this time if charges while be filed agaisnt Kevin Kadamus.

Video from the press conference and the funeral can be found at http://news7newslinc.net/.

*Information from News 7's Michelle Frizalone was used in this post.

Philly cuisine arrives in NEK

Opening a new business anywhere in America is not easy in this economy. It's even more difficult when trying to do so in a rural area, and two of your competitors are within sight of your establishment, and a third is less than half a mile up the road.

George Frank is attempting to do just that, and in exactly these circumstances.

The Philadelphia native held a grand opening for his new business last week. George's Deli is located at the recently reopened Valero gas station on Broad St. in Lyndonville, right next to the Miss Lyndonville Diner and across the street from the Bagel Depot. However, his menu offers something that his competitors don't: tastes from the City of Brotherly Love, featuring everything from the classic Philly Cheesesteak to the Blue Devil Sandwich.

Frank's business has been open for just over a month now. He says that if you can start a business in a bad economic climate, you have a leg up on the competition for the future. He also says that he and his employees look to be in for the long haul.

*Information from News 7's Krista Oberholtzer was used in this post.

School cafeterias going private?

3 CNSU schools may be turning to private food service providers in an effort to save money and improve their cafeterias.

CNSU officials met with bidders from three private food service companies two weeks ago at the Lyndon Town School to discuss if privatizing the schools' food services departments would actually cut costs for the schools. Such a move in the past has proven successful in Vermont's larger schools.

Operations Manager Tom Petit says the bidders were looking at Lyndon's kitchen to see how efficient it is and how they could make it more efficient in terms of serving kids and managing costs.

The CNSU will be receiving more bids from food service providers in the coming days before making an official decision.

*Information from News 7's Scott Jaeger was used in this post.

Lyndon Town School still not making the grade

Student test scores at the Lyndon Town School still aren't meeting state standards. For the 5th straight year, test scores were below the level set by Vermont's Adequate Yearly Progress goals. These are goals set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Students with learning disabilities and financial troubles continue to struggle in reading tests, while all students are struggling in math, according to the test scores. CNSU Superintendent Victoria Scheufler says that there needs to be more consistency between programs and from classroom to classroom.

Staff members and special educators will go through training so they can bring their students' learning up to where it should be.

Lyndon is currently in its third year of corrective action, which means the school must continue to implement measures to improve student test scores. It will take two consecutive years with improving numbers to be taken off the corrective action list.

*Information from News 7's Dan Hollis was used in this post.

Lyndonville Water Quality Report Released

The town of Lyndon has released its annual water quality report. The only change in the town's water supply is a minor increase in turbidity. Turbidity is a measure of how clear the water is based on the amount of suspended particles in the water. There are a number of sources that can cause turbidity, ranging from storm water runoff to bottom-feeding fish which stir up the sediment. Turbidity is not hazardous to human health.

Municipal Administrator Dan Hill says that the report is a compilation of a series of water quality tests required by the state. Hill also said that the turbidity test hadn't been done in a few years because of low counts in the past.

Residents can pick up a copy of the report from themselves at the Lyndonville Municipal Building.

*Information from News 7's Phil Viens was used in this post.