By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer

GEORGIA – A well-known on-air radio personality died when her motorcycle crashed on U.S. 7 in Georgia on Wednesday night, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department reported.

Amy McGovern, 46, of Johnson had been involved in radio in Vermont for almost three decades and currently had the mid-day show on KOOL-105 FM in South Burlington.

McGovern was northbound on U.S. 7 on her motorcycle and following her boyfriend on his motorcycle about 6:20 p.m., the Sheriff’s Department said at the scene to the County Courier of Enosburgh.

McGovern’s boyfriend turned onto Oakland Station Road, but when McGovern attempted to follow him, she was not able to negotiate the corner, hitting a sign after leaving the pavement, the County Courier reported.
Rescue crews were summoned to a single-vehicle crash with a woman who was reported to not be breathing.

Speed and alcohol/drugs do not appear to be factors in the accident, the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

Investigators asked anybody with any information on the crash to call the Sheriff's Office at (802) 524-2121.

Besides working at KOOL-105, McGovern also covered shifts on other stations owned by Hall Communications in South Burlington, including WOKO-FM and WIZN-FM.

McGovern also had worked for Vermont Radio Group, which includes WDEV-AM/FM in Waterbury and WLVB in Lamoille County.

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer 

Town clerks in the Champlain Islands region say there is considerable interest in early voting for the Aug. 11 Vermont Primary election.


​The extra attention comes as there are few contests on the lower half of the ballot next month, but some interesting and muchly contested races among the top seats.  Winners in the primary will advance to the General Election in November.
Secretary of State Jim Condos said statewide there had been 74,907 requests for early ballots as of 9 a.m. Monday.  He said if this keep up over the next month, Vermont could see a record turnout.
He said the state sent postcards to all registered voters within Vermont offering early voting ballots to those that returned half of the post cards.
Condos said that is about nine times as many as were sought at the same time in 2016 – the last time there also was a presidential race.  Condos said 7,966 had been requested in 2016.   
Two years ago 3,560 had been sought during a non-presidential year, he said.
He said voters seeking an early ballot will actually get ballots for three political parties.  There will be one for Democrats, Republicans and Progressives.   He said the ballot of only one party can be filled out and placed in the proper envelope.  The two unused ballots will go into a separate envelope and all need to be returned, Condos said.
Failure to return all three ballots may negate the one that is filled out, Condos explained in a press briefing on Monday afternoon.
Condos said the extra push for advanced voting is designed to reduce the threat of COVID-19 for those working at or going to polling places on Aug. 11.
South Hero has seen more than 300 requests for an early ballot this year so far, Town Clerk and Treasurer Janet Yates said Tuesday afternoon.  That compares to 137 for the entire campaign period four years ago, she said.
South Hero had 771 voters through early or in-person balloting four years ago – the last presidential race, Yates said.
She said voting will be easy through the post cards mailed to each voter offering ballots.
“I think it is great,” she said.
South Hero residents, like all municipalities, will still allow people to vote in person on Aug. 11, she said.  Voting in person will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the town office.
“We are taking all the (safety) precautions,” she said.
Town officials in Milton also are seeing an incredible response.   
“It’s been nuts since last Monday,” Town Clerk Sheryl Prince told The Islander.  “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
For just over a week, Milton had received 1,299 requests, she said on Tuesday. 
“And I have a stack right here that have not been entered, probably 40-50.  It has been a bit overwhelming.”
She said the total includes 195 requests for West Milton which is part of a legislative district covering the Champlain Islands.
By comparison the August 2016 primary had 1,701 total voters in Milton, including 319 by absentee, Price said.
North Hero has seen 168 requests for early ballots from among the 793 voters on the checklist, Town Clerk and Treasurer Corinn Julow reported on Tuesday.
She said some requests still needed to be entered.
Julow said by comparison 69 early ballots were requested four years ago and just 21 two years ago – a non-presidential year.
Alburgh also is seeing considerable interest with more than 230 requests, according to Town Clerk and Treasurer Donna Bohannon. 
She agreed that the recent push for early voting through the post cards from the state is going to increase participation.

THE RACE IS ON
The race for Governor has Republican incumbent Phil Scott challenged by Brookfield lawyer John Klar and three other somewhat lesser known candidates:  Doug Cavett of Milton, Bernard Peters of Irasburg and Emily Peyton of Putney.
Running for the Democrats are Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman of Hinesburg, former Education Secretary Rebecca Holcomb of Norwich and Bennington lawyer Pat Winburn.  Also filing is Ralph “Carcajou” Corbo of Wallingford, who also is running against U.S. Rep. Peter Welch of Norwich for the party’s nod for the Congressional seat.
On the Republican side for the U.S House, Miriam Berry of Essex, Jimmy Rodriguez of Montpelier, Justin Tuthill of Pomfret and Anya Tynio of Charleston all have filed to be on the ballot.
For the Progressive Party, both Chris Brimmer of Ryegate and perennial candidate Cris Ericson of Chester have filed for the U.S. House.  It is one of seven major offices Ericson has filed for this year.  She also is running for Governor, Lt. Governor, Treasurer, Secretary of State, Attorney General and Auditor of Accounts.
The race for Lt. Governor has picked up a little steam since the legislature adjourned -- at least on the Democratic side.  Senate President Pro Temp. Tim Ashe of Burlington and Assistant Attorney General Molly Gray of Burlington have run the highest profile campaigns.  State Sen. Debbie Ingram of Williston and Brenda Siegel of Newfane, an unsuccessful candidate for governor two years ago, also are in the race.
On the Republican side, Scott Milne, who narrowly lost the governor’s race to Peter Shumlin in 2014, has the greatest statewide recognition among the 5 candidates. The others are Dana Colson Jr., of Sharon, Meg Hansen of Manchester, Jim Hogue of Calais and Dwayne Tucker of Barre Town.
In the race among Democrats for Auditor of Accounts is incumbent Doug Hoffer of Burlington against State Rep. Linda Joy Sullivan of Dorset.
The Republicans also have a primary contest for Attorney General H. Brooke Paige of Washington being challenged by Peyton, who also is running for governor.

​LOCAL RACES
State Sen. Dick Mazza, D-Grand Isle/Colchester appears to have smooth sailing for re-election.  The Dean of the Vermont Senate is the lone Democrat to file and nobody filed for any other party for the general election.
The same might be possible for two Republican Senators from the Franklin/Alburgh District.   Sen. Randy Brock of Swanton and Corey Parent of St. Albans Town do not have any competition in the Republican primary and there are no announced candidates for any other party.
In the House race for the Grand Isle/West Milton district, House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero and Andy Julow of North Hero are seeking the two seats for Democrats in the primary.
Rep. Leland Morgan, R-West Milton and his nephew Michael Morgan also of West Milton are the lone candidates for the two Republican nominations.

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer 

​SOUTH HERO – The closure of the tiny South Hero Pharmacy and the buyout of patient records by giant Walgreens took less than a week, according to the owner.
The crush of the world-wide pharmaceutical industry on small independent stores coupled with the deadly COVID-19 pandemic was just too much for South Hero Pharmacy to handle, Riyaz Merali, the store owner and only pharmacist, told The Islander over the weekend.
Merali was reacting to negative social media postings from longtime customers that say they were given no notice of the South Hero Pharmacy closing, nor were they allowed to choose where to move their prescription business.  It was the only pharmacy in Grand Isle County.
Customers arriving for prescriptions on Friday found the pharmacy closed and learned Merali had transferred the patient medication records to Walgreens in Milton about 15 miles away.  He declined to say the price of the sold records, but said federal medical privacy laws were followed.
The sale to Walgreens was designed to ensure uninterrupted service for customers, said Merali, who also is known as “R.J.” 
He said unhappy customers are free to move to any pharmacy of their choice.
The Walgreens is almost a half mile further north on U.S. 7 than two other Milton Pharmacies:  Hannaford’s and Kinney Drugs, which has a drive-up window. 
Other local customers that travel more often toward Colchester or Winooski said they might have preferred a pharmacy in one of those communities and not have to detour to Milton.
Merali said his first preference was always to sell the store so the Champlain Islands would continue to have a local pharmacy – the only one for the five towns.
The current customer volume at the store was not enough for Walgreens to be interested, he said.  Walgreens also would have needed to add a second pharmacist to cover its more expanded hours, he said.
Independent pharmacies have felt the squeeze in recent years – especially with direct and indirect fees put in by industry middlemen, known as Pharmacy Benefits Managers, Merali said.  PBMs play a major role as they are positioned between pharmacies and insurance carriers, he said.  They help set medication prices.
Independent pharmacy owners also frequently get surveys about possibly selling, Merali said.
He said he had received surveys through the years, but as he was struggling, Walgreens made a strong pitch last Monday. By Wednesday a draft contract was available.  By Thursday it was a done deal and a district manager for Walgreens showed up that evening.  He came with large colored posters announcing the closing with a large picture of a Walgreens and a map to the Milton store.
COVID-19 pandemic cost Merali about a half dozen store employees, he said.  A couple were in the high risk category and a couple were students and did not want to deal with it.  At least one employee needed to home school a child, he said. That left Merali and two part-time employees to keep the store afloat since March.
A Walgreens spokeswoman has declined an interview, but issued a statement confirming that the corporation had reached an agreement with South Hero to acquire their prescription records.
Walgreens did not disclose the sale price.
The South Hero store has been renamed “Nadia’s Health, Wellness, Gift and Variety Store,” he said. It will feature non-regulated health and beauty products.
Nadia’s (named for his daughter) can be reached at (802) 372-6407.  The old drugstore phone number rings into Walgreens in Milton.
He said initial hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and probably 9 a.m. to 3 on Saturday.  Merali, who did open sometimes on Sundays during the summer, said he will consider those hours too.
South Hero Pharmacy, previously known McGregor’s Pharmacy, was incorporated by Merali in December 2013

By MIKE DONOGHUE,
Islander Staff Writer

​ALBURGH – Organizers for an early July 4th fireworks display in Alburgh said Sunday they are postponing the show due to electrical rainstorms forecast for early this week.
The special show – like nothing Vermont has ever seen – was planned for 9:20 p.m. Monday with a rain date of Tuesday evening, according to Matthew Lavigne of Green Mountain Fireworks.
But it looks like Mother Nature has other major plans for the skies this week.
“It is with great sadness that I must inform you that we are forced to postpone the fireworks display due to the impending electrical storms that begin today and are forecast to continue through the night of the 1st,” Lavigne said in an email Sunday.
“We would press forward if it were just rain and wind. Electrical storms simply make it too dangerous when there is more than a mile of copper wire on the ground in the middle of a ton of explosives,” he wrote.
The 20-minute show would be choreographed with appropriate Independence Day music and available for people through live streaming, he said. Lavigne said the Alburgh event would be greater than the fireworks show last year in Burlington, which spent $40,000.
A fireworks celebration in Grand Isle planned for Friday, July 3 is still set, according to Bill Champagne of the Island Center for Arts and Recreation (ICAR). The towns of Grand Isle, North Hero and South Hero are among those supporting the event, which has a rain date of Sunday, July 5.
In Alburgh, the idea is to postpone the fireworks show until possibly the fall or winter, Lavigne said. By that time, he said the hope is it will also be safer for crowds to gather.
The town of Alburgh had earlier pulled the plug on its annual parade and fireworks for July 4.
Green Mountain Fireworks later sought a town permit for its own show next to its business on U.S. 2 on Monday evening.
Alburgh residents were being encouraged to view them from home because of the musical scores that were planned to accompany the pyrotechnics, Lavigne had said.
The Alburgh Selectboard discussed the fireworks show during its special meeting on Thursday night. The plan was to have no parking along U.S. 2 near Green Mountain Fireworks. The Grand Isle County Sheriff’s Department and Vermont State Police would be asked to help keep traffic moving, Lavigne said.
The show used the name: “A 1st for the 4th: Vermont’s COVID-19 Edition Fireworks Exhibition.”
It also was known as “The Fireworks Show That Comes to You” said Selectboard member Kenneth Millman, who was assisting with publicity. In order to get the full impact, people need to both hear the music and see the fireworks.
Millman said besides being live streamed to computers and smart devices via two South Burlington radio stations there also was a plan to re-broadcast the fireworks show on TV on Saturday July 4.
Lavigne said the hope was people enjoying the fireworks would consider supporting a Go-Fund Me Page for the Alburgh Family Clubhouse, a proposed new center designed to provide desperately needed childcare and afterschool programs in the community.
Lavigne said his company and the clubhouse will split the Go-Fund Me donations. About $750,000 of the $1 million goal for the clubhouse has been raised, officials said

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer
 
ALBURGH --  Authorities have found the body of a New York man who was missing and presumed drowned in Lake Champlain near the Alburgh Dunes State Park.

The body of Dennis Rabideau, 52, of Mooers Forks, N.Y. was located about 5 p.m. Thursday by state police divers, according to the Alburgh Volunteer Fire Department.

Rabideau will be taken to the office of the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy on Friday, Fire Chief Ron Kumetz said.  Grand Isle County State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito, who was at the scene, ordered an autopsy.



Rabideau had jumped off a pontoon boat and into the water to go for a swim about 6:20 p.m. Tuesday and never resurfaced, officials said.  His companions tried to throw him lifelines to no avail, the fire department said.
​
First responders had searched Tuesday night and all day Wednesday with no luck.

The search resumed early Thursday morning with the Alburgh firefighters and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officials using the last known GPS tracking from the pontoon boat to start combing the area.

Rabideau and four other adults on the New York-registered boat departed from Chazy, N.Y. on Tuesday afternoon, Vermont State Police said.

The boat was near Alburgh Dunes State Park when  Rabideau jumped into the water, police said.  When Rabideau failed to resurface efforts by several other people on the vessel were unsuccessful in locating him.
Windy conditions pushed the boat away from Rabideau, and he was unable to return to the vessel, Detective Sgt. Richard Desany.

The Grand Isle County Sheriff’s Department received the initial emergency call Tuesday evening and summoned several agencies.

Besides the sheriff’s department and state police, also part of the search were fire departments from Alburgh, Grand Isle, Isle La Motte, North Hero, Swanton, and Rouses Point, N.Y.; and a helicopter and motorboat from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer

GRAND ISLE – Plans continue to build for a July 3 fireworks display coordinated by the Island Center for Arts and Recreation (ICAR).

The towns of North Hero and South Hero have agreed to join in with Grand Isle, which had earlier approved the nighttime festivities, according to ICAR spokesman Bill Champagne.

The fireworks will be ignited at dusk from a high hill off Lover’s Lane in Grand Isle, he said.

Parking will be available at several sites, including the Grand Isle Elementary School, he said.  He said as more parking sites are secured they will be announced in The Islander next week.

Private funds were secured early on for the fireworks, but since the news story in The Islander last week, more people have made donations to make the night bigger, Champagne said.

“The more we get, the more we put on,” he said.

Local businesses, residents and clubs are welcome to donate to ICAR, which is a non-profit, to buy fireworks.  Checks may be mailed to ICAR, P.O. Box 121, Grand Isle, VT  05458. 
Northstar Fireworks of East Montpelier, a professional company, will be detonating the pyrotechnics, Champagne said.

A joint decision was made to go forward with the celebration after consulting with multiple groups.  Many were concerned about the need to have a positive event in the Champlain Islands in light of so many happenings getting cancelled or postponed due to the deadly COVID-19 virus.

Appropriate safety measures will be undertaken in light of the pandemic, Grand Isle Selectboard member Jeff Parizo said.

Gov. Phil Scott noted recently that while many towns were doing away with fireworks and parades for the July 4th holiday, he said some communities were still moving forward with state guidelines in mind.

​The town of Colchester is the latest to announce on its website that it was cancelling its 50th annual celebration, which included a Saturday full of activities, a parade, a 5K run and fireworks. 

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer
 
ALBURGH --  A swimmer is missing and presumed drown in Lake Champlain after taking a dive off a boat Tuesday evening near the Alburgh Dunes State Park, authorities said.
 
When the man did not resurface efforts by several other people on the vessel were unsuccessful in locating him, Vermont State Police said.

The name of the man is being withheld pending further investigation and notification of next of kin.
 
The Grand Isle County Sheriff’s Department received the emergency call at 6:19 p.m.  Multiple police, fire, search and rescue personnel responded to the scene, but had no luck before calling off for the night.

Search and recovery efforts continued late into the night.  If they have no luck, the search is expected to resume Wednesday and will include the Vermont State Police Scuba Team.
​
The boat is believed to have originated at a marina in New York, Detective Sgt. Richard Desany said.
 
Police are interviewing witnesses and gathering additional information.
 
Besides the sheriff’s department and state police, also part of the search were fire departments from Alburgh, Grand Isle, Isle La Motte, North Hero, Swanton, and Rouses Point, N.Y.; and a helicopter from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
 
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call state police at (802) 524-5993. 

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer

ALBURGH –  Alburgh voters approved more than a $6.6 million annual town school budget on Tuesday.

​The school budget passed 152-144 during day-long voting.  A special drive-by balloting process was used outside the Alburgh Municipal Offices due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Voters also agreed 205-91 to ensure a previously approved $75,000 expenditure will be part of the town budget when the new tax rate for 2020-21 is set.

The money was authorized at the 2019 Town Meeting for the capital budget to help pay for replacing vehicles and equipment for the Alburgh Volunteer Fire Department.  The line item failed to make it into the town budget when compiled this year.  The missing item was uncovered a few days before Town Meeting Day, the Selectboard said.
There are 1,456 voters on the town checklist.

The proposed $6,680,217 school budget had more than $100,000 in cuts from a budget rejected on Town Meeting Day in March.  That $6,784,186 budget went down 334-268.

“The Alburgh School Board would like to thank the voters of Alburgh for coming out to vote on such a hot day,” School Board Chairman Michael Savage told The Islander.  It was the sixth straight day the temperatures hit above 90 degrees – a record for the month of June in Vermont.

“We expect the upcoming school year to be even more challenging educationally and financially than this year has been,” Savage said.

“This positive result allows our staff and students to focus on the hard work ahead.  We really appreciate the support our community has given our school in these extraordinary times,” he said.

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer 
ALBURGH – The longtime political phrase is: “Vote early, Vote often.”
Next week Alburgh plans a new slogan: “Vote by Driving In.  Vote by Driving Out.”
In the crazy world of COVID-19, voters are going to see a whole new way of voting and one special ballot item is leaving people scratching their heads.
Alburgh voters will consider a proposed $6,680,217 school budget from the School Board and a $75,000 question from the town Selectboard.
The $75,000 ballot item is the question confusing voters, Alburgh Volunteer Fire Chief Ron Kumetz said.
Voters in 2019 agreed to add $75,000 to the town budget every year to help fund the capital budget for replacement of vehicles and equipment for the Alburgh Volunteer Fire Department.  
Officials said a glitch surfaced when the 2020-21 budget was compiled this year and Town Clerk and Treasurer Donna Bohannon did not include the $75,000 line item in the final budget that the Selectboard approved and sent on to voters in March.  The mistake was discovered a few days before Town Meeting Day and the bottom line could not be amended, the Selectboard told voters.
Now a ballot item asks residents if the town should include the $75,000 previously approved in March 2019 into the 2020-21 fiscal budget.
The $75,000 is not new money to be added.  It is designed actually to ensure that when Alburgh tax bills are distributed that the previously approved $75,000 is covered.
Kumetz said he hopes that voters will support the ballot item.  He said the fire department believes a rejection will mean the Selectboard will still need to find the previously approved $75,000 somewhere else in the approved town budget for next year.
There will be an informational meeting Monday at 6 p.m. on June 22 at the Alburgh Community Education Center.   The plan is to keep people socially distant in light of COVID-19 and the meeting may be moved outside if a large crowd attends.
Balloting is planned from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23 at the Town Offices, but will actually be conducted outside.
Voters will drive up and remain in their vehicle while handed a ballot.  They will drive forward and mark their ballot.  They will then drive to the checkout point, provide their name again, and deposit the ballot in a ballot box.
This is designed to keep both voters and election workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Early voting also is available for those calling the town offices.
The proposed $6,680,217 school budget is the same amount residents were expected to consider in April before COVID-19 spiked the election.
Alburgh’s initial school budget proposal of $6,784,186 went down, 334-268, on Town Meeting Day March 3.
The School Board has cut more than $100,000 for the new proposal.

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer

SWANTON – The shooting of  Swanton man has turned into a homicide and appears to be over a fight concerning petting a dog, officials said.

Kyle A. LaBelle, 32, of Swanton died from multiple gunshot wounds Friday night as doctors tied to save his life at the UVM Medical Center in Burlington, police said.

Police jailed James A. Mulholland, 22, of Swanton on a charge of first degree murder at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans early Saturday, records show.

Franklin County Deputy State’s Attorney Diane Wheeler said Judge Scott Kline, after finding probable cause for the murder charge, ordered Mulholland held without bail.

Wheeler said she expects Mullholland will be arraigned Monday afternoon in Vermont Superior Court in St. Albans.

The two men, who were believed to be acquaintances, got into an argument on 2nd Street near Greenwich Street in the village shortly before 3 p.m., police said.
​
Swanton Officer Dean Scott was in the area and arrived  quickly on the scene to take the shooter into custody, Wheeler said.

Police recovered a .22-caliber semiautomatic at the scene.

Preliminary reports indicate that about 11 shots may have been fired. 

The victims’ three children were in the area, officials said.
 
Investigators said the shooting was captured on at least two videos.  One was by a bystander and at least one other was from a security system at a home.

Initial reports indicated one man pulled a handgun from his waistband and fired several times at close range, striking the second man in the stomach and chest, police said.

Missisquoi Valley Rescue rushed LaBelle to the UVM Medical Center in Burlington due to the serious nature of the multiple gunshot wounds, police said.

Mulholland gave investigators a statement after being caught at the scene by Swanton Village Police, who are working with state police on the case.

Investigators  are asking anyone with information or who may have witnessed the shooting to call Swanton Police at (802) 868-4100.

Little is known about Mulholland.

LaBelle, who police initially said was 31, was arrested in April on a charge of suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, records show.

Trooper Dylan LaMere reported he made a traffic stop for an undisclosed reason on Lake Street in Swanton about 5:55 p.m. April 15, police said.

​Police took LaBelle to the state police barracks in St. Albans, processed for suspected DUI, and released on a citation ordering him to appear in criminal court on July 13.