Friday, March 12, 2010

And The Results Are In...

The results for the Australian Ballot at Town Meeting are in and the vote wasn't even close. Residents voted on whether the Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District (NEKWMD) should be authorized to appropriate and expend a budget of $606,120. Sixty-five of the four-hundred and ninety-two residents of Wheelock voted, with 48 votes being cast as yes and 17 votes cast as no.

If you would like more information on any of the events that the NEKWMD are doing, you can visit their site listed here.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The Big Day...

People woke up early and turned out in good numbers Tuesday morning as Wheelock held its annual Town Meeting. As I arrived at 8:30, seats were already quickly being filled as residents were anxious to vote on a few very key articles. They would have to wait though, as legislatures John Morley and John Rodgers took the floor first to discuss topics from high-speed internet to government job cuts to Vermont Yankee being closed down. Their presence also started the morning off with a laugh though, as everyone was happy when someone accused Mr. Morley and Mr. Rodgers of taking a pay increase and were quickly corrected when Mr. Morley stated they actually took a pay cut.

The normal routine then continued along the way as Town Administrators were nominated and easily voted on with hardly any discussion. That is until it came to electing a School Board representative. Three nominations were made and much more discussion followed. A debate continued for twenty minutes before the Moderator, Curtis Sjolander, called order and a vote was taken.

Other issues discussed at the Town Meeting were if the town should appropriate $150,000 to buy land to build a new municipal building which would replace the current one and possibly even have room for firetrucks. Other articles were if the town of wheelock should appropriate $8,200 to assist the Shieffeld-Wheelock Fire Department to buy a replacement firetruck, and if the town should raise $15,600 to help with the operating expenses for that same fire department.

One other issue was to be voted upon by Australian Ballot, which was to decide if the Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District be authorized to appropriate and expend a budget of $606,120. Polls for this vote closed at 7:00pm last night and results will be released today.

Monday, February 15, 2010