Page 4 - Brian Grearson News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.   BRATTLEBORO — Preparations are underway for a jury trial in Windham County next week, the state’s first since the coronavirus pandemic struck Vermont 14 months ago. The criminal trial, taking place at the state courthouse in Brattleboro, is scheduled to start Wednesday, following a jury draw that begins Monday. The proceedings will involve pandemic-related protocols, such as social distancing and masking, according to court documents. As of Friday, six Windham County defendants were being considered for the lone trial spot. At th...

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.   BENNINGTON — The county has received the go-ahead to restart criminal jury trials, with the first trial in a year and a half expected to take place in July. The local state courthouse was cleared on Friday to hold jury trials, after an evaluation of the building’s airflow passed safety standards, according to state court officials. But Bennington County’s first pandemic-era jury trial isn’t expected to happen until sometime in July. The court needs at least eight weeks to summon potential jurors to a jury draw, which pr...

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.   BENNINGTON — Police are reminding the public to be careful of scams after recently receiving reports of local residents being targeted online and by phone. The Bennington County Sheriff’s Department said Monday that an unknown person — using technology to “mirror” the sheriff’s department phone number — called a resident to admonish them for missing their “grand jury date.” The caller told the resident “they need to pay money to make the problem go away,” Lt. Lloyd Dean, of the sheriff...

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.   MONTPELIER — The courts are preparing to hold back-to-back jury trials in May after the jury trial restart in Windham County fell through last month. Officials have greenlighted eight courthouses to resume jury trials amid the pandemic, but they don’t include those in Bennington County. Windham County will get another shot at paving the way for the resumption of jury trials, with a jury draw set for May 17 in Brattleboro, according to State’s Attorney Tracy Shriver. Three more counties have also scheduled jury selections nex...

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.   In honor of baseball’s Opening Day last week, I’ll start with a question: What does hitting or pitching a baseball have in common with solving the state’s pension funding crisis? The answer? If it was easy, anyone could do it. When I was a would-be high school baseball player, I read “The Art of Pitching” by Tom Seaver and “The Science of Hitting” by Ted Williams, hoping their Cooperstown-quality guidance would help me make the varsity roster. “Would-be,” because I lacked the athletic ability to...