Vermont

Tim Thomas was a big deal yesterday in his hometown of Flint, Mich., where the Bruins goalie had his day with the Stanley Cup. But in East Conway, N.H., Thomas is a really big deal.  Via the Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce , we discovered the above photo of Thomas's image etched out into the corn field at Sherman Farm . Visitors to the farm are welcome to explore the maze beginning Sept....

MONTPELIER - A federal program aimed at identifying illegal immigrants who are arrested for crimes expanded to Vermont Tuesday, touching off opposition from advocacy groups for immigrants. Those groups say the Secure Communities program was implemented without consulting state officials, and they fear it will destroy a trust that most of Vermont's law enforcement community has worked to build with the immigrant community. The program enables police to check the status of suspected illegal immigrants by sharing their fingerprints with the Department of Homeland Security.

TINMOUTH, Vt. -- Sometime after the 1991 Gulf War, when General Norman Schwarzkopf was at the peak of his popularity, a rumor went around that he had gone hunting at an exclusive preserve in the wilds of Tinmouth. Vermont was a logical place. Hunting is so big here that only Alaska does more of it per capita. Tinmouth is at the end of a winding country road. With a population of 600, there's not much to it. I counted eight houses, a few municipal buildings, and a little white church.

Vermont State Police and other law enforcement agencies will be conducting sobriety and vehicle safety checkpoints within Caledonia and Essex counties. Between Sunday and June 3, an aggressive effort will be made to identify impaired drivers. Troopers, sheriff's deputies and local officers will also be enforcing seatbelt, child restraint and other motor vehicle laws during the checkpoints. So far this year, Vermont has had 30 highway fatalities in 25 crashes, roughly double the number from this time last year.

The Vermont Attorney General's office says a former Vermont state trooper has been cited for assault. Eric. J. Howley of Wilmington will be arraigned on two counts of simple assault on June 12. Howley resigned from the Brattleboro barracks on Tuesday after having been on paid administrative leave since April 8 following a complaint about his conduct while he was on duty. The attorney general's office did not provide any details about the alleged assault on Thursday.

Friday 4 p.m. Check in The Inn at Woodchuck Hill Farm; Woodchuck Hill Farm Road; 802-843-2398; www.woodchuckhill.com Rooms $135 and up Peaceful, comfortable rooms in 1790s home with sylvan views. 5 p.m. Set up Ask the innkeeper to ring the Nature Museum at Grafton (802-843-2111, www.nature-museum.org) or the Grafton Historical Society Museum (802-843-2584, www.graftonhistory.org) for appointments. 7 p.m. Dine in style The Old Tavern; 92 Main St.; 800-843-180; www.old-tavern.com/oldtavern/ Entrees $24-$31 Splurge on lobster-filled ravioli and smoked pork chops.

Governor Peter Shumlin has signed into law the nation's first ban on a hotly debated natural gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. No drilling is currently happening in Vermont, which is believed to have little to no reserves of oil or natural gas, but Shumlin, a Democrat, signed the law Wednesday in a ceremony at the State house. He said it may help Vermont to set an example for other states. Critics say fracking chemicals have polluted water supplies, but supporters say there is no proof of that.

FAIRFIELD, Vt. - Finding the birthplace of President Chester A. Arthur is easy: Turn left at Town Hall and its Chester A. Arthur Conference Room, go past Chester’s Bakery, and turn right on Chester A. Arthur Road. Nearly 5 miles up the winding two-lane country road, past rolling hills and dairy farms, is the tiny Chester A. Arthur Historic Site, proclaiming the spot where the nation’s 21st president was born in a cottage. Or was he? Nearly 123 years after his death, doubts about his US citizenship linger, thanks to lack of documentation and a political foe’s assertion...

Vermont is in for some pre-Thanksgiving snow and sleet. The National Weather Service calls for 4 to 8 inches of snow in central and eastern Vermont. The snow is expected to start after midnight and become heavy at times on Wednesday morning. The snow may also mix with sleet and freezing rain. The storm is expected to end on Wednesday afternoon.

Northeastern skated past Vermont by a 4-2 score at Burlington, Vt., in a Hockey East game. The Huskies' two second-period goals were enough to seal the win, and Northeastern was able to hold off the Catamounts for the rest of Saturday night's game. With the win, Northeastern improves to 10-11-3 overall and 6-11-2 in league play, while Vermont falls to 5-19-1 and 2-15-1 in Hockey East. Vermont faces No. 11 University of Massachusetts-Lowell on a two game road series next weekend.

Is there music in the night sky? Of course thinkers from Pythagoras to Johannes Kepler have pondered "the music of the spheres," and composers from Gustav Holst to Mark-Anthony Turnage have on occasion waxed astronomical in their own works. But none have addressed the question quite as literally as the French spectralist Gerard Grisey, whose hourlong percussion work of 1989-90, "Le Noir de l'Etoile," would seem to settle the matter once and for all. Conceived for six percussionists, tape, and live electronics, the piece takes as its inspiration and musical DNA the captured...

The mail processing plant operated by the U.S. Postal Service in White River Junction has dodged a bullet, with the announcement that the facility will remain open, saving 245 jobs. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch announced on Thursday that the Postal Service plant, which earlier had been threatened with closure, will remain open under legislation the Vermont delegation championed. Sanders says keeping the center open also will help ensure good postal service in Vermont.

Vermont's attorney general says Vermont will share in a settlement with a footwear company over unsubstantiated health claims about its shoes. Skechers USA Inc. will pay $40 million to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that the company made unfounded claims that its Shape-ups shoes would help people lose weight and strengthen their butt, leg and stomach muscles. The settlement also involves the company's Resistance Runner, Toners and Tone-ups shoes. Consumers who bought the shoes will be eligible for refunds.

The winds blowing through Canada's broad St. Lawrence Valley and across Vermont's hilltops are stirring up an international tempest over which country's laws should govern how those breezes are harnessed for electricity. Some residents of the Quebec town of Stanstead are upset about plans in Vermont to erect just south of the border two industrial-size wind turbines — one of which would be about 1,000 feet from a few Canadian and Vermont homes. Quebec requires wind turbines to be at least 1,640 feet from homes, and the Canadian homeowners are demanding those rules be followed.

Governor Peter Shumlin has signed into law the nation's first ban on a hotly debated natural gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. No drilling is currently happening in Vermont, which is believed to have little to no reserves of oil or natural gas, but Shumlin, a Democrat, signed the law Wednesday in a ceremony at the State house. He said it may help Vermont to set an example for other states. Critics say fracking chemicals have polluted water supplies, but supporters say there is no proof of that.

The Vermont Attorney General's office says a former Vermont state trooper has been cited for assault. Eric. J. Howley of Wilmington will be arraigned on two counts of simple assault on June 12. Howley resigned from the Brattleboro barracks on Tuesday after having been on paid administrative leave since April 8 following a complaint about his conduct while he was on duty. The attorney general's office did not provide any details about the alleged assault on Thursday.

The University of Vermont lost a lopsided 5-1 contest to Providence in a Hockey East game in Rhode Island. Myles Harvey's power play goal midway through the second period proved to be the game-winner for the Friars Saturday night on Providence's home ice. Vermont falls to 1-5-0 (0-4-0 HEA) with the loss, while Providence improves its record to 4-3-1 (4-2-0 HEA). The Catamounts return to action next Saturday as they host New Hampshire.

No. 9 Merrimack scored two goals in 44 seconds midway through the second period and hung on to beat Vermont 4-2 in Hockey East action. Saturday night's win gives the Warriors a weekend sweep over the Catamounts and improves their record to 6-0-0 (4-0-0 HEA), while the Catamounts fall to 1-3-0 (0-2-0 HEA). Vermont scored first within the opening four minutes of the game, but Merrimack answered roughly eight minutes later. With Merrimack in the lead later, Vermont had a chance to tie the game on its eighth power play of the night with 11 minutes remaining in the contest but couldn't convert.

NORWICH, Vt. - The top law enforcement officers from New Hampshire and Vermont met Monday in the middle of a bridge over the Connecticut River to confirm that, yes, their shared border has not changed. State laws require the states' attorneys general to meet every seven years to reaffirm the states' 160-mile border, a process called perambulation. The laws are designed to ensure the two states remain in agreement. They followed a 1935 US Supreme Court decision that settled what had been a decades-long legal battle.

One of Vermont's leading tourist destinations opens for the season this weekend. Shelburne Farms is a 1,400-acre working farm on the shores of Lake Champlain that uses its historic landscape and buildings to teach the stewardship of natural and agricultural resources. Founded in the 1880s, Shelburne Farms was turned 40 years ago into a non-profit dedicated to keeping its land in agriculture and sharing a message about stewardship of the land. Today it offers a range of activities, ranging from wagon and walking tours of the property to meals and lodging at its inn. It's a popular...