SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — An elderly woman was transported to Springfield Hospital on Friday with unknown injuries following a house fire on Mays Road in Springfield.
The Springfield Fire Department responded to 14 Mays Road in the Brockway Mills District around 10:15 a.m. for a reported structure fire.
A Meals on Wheels driver and neighbors had evacuated Nancy Hathaway from the home, and ambulance personnel transported her to the hospital, according to a news release. She was the sole occupant of the home.
The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation.
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — The town of Springfield has selected its next police chief.
Lt. Mark Fountain, who has been the acting chief since Douglas Johnston was fired, has been formally appointed to the position, according to a Friday news release.
Fountain has worked for the Springfield Police Department since 1990. He started as a police officer in 1984 with the city of Burlington.
“Chief Fountain has had a distinguished career with Springfield Police Department. He is well respected by his fellow officers, other employees of both the police department and the town, and by the citizens of Springfield,” the release says. “This is the beginning of a new era for the Springfield Police Department as we anticipate updates to operations and practices resulting in better service to Springfield citizens.”
Fountain stepped in as acting chief in February, when the town fired Johnston, who then sued the town, alleging wrongful termination. He and the town settled in April.
Fountain will officially be sworn in at 6 p.m. on Aug. 21 at the Springfield Town Hall.
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Eighteen Vermont organizations will receive $7.9 million in federal grants through the Northern Border Regional Commission, the program designed to spur job creation in communities along the U.S. border with Canada in upstate New York and New England.
Among the Vermont projects announced this week was a $235,000 grant to convert an old school in Springfield into an entrepreneurial hub and $444,000 for the city of St. Albans to build infrastructure to help redevelop an old manufacturing site.
“The NBRC has quickly become one of the largest economic development tools we have in Vermont,” said Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who announced this year’s grants in Springfield alongside Democrat Sen. Patrick Leahy and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch. “These grants help build critical infrastructure, expand our workforce, and strengthen our communities.”
The commission was created by Congress in 2008 based on the model of the Appalachian Regional Commission to focus on economically challenged areas along the Canadian border. It was first funded in 2010.
Officials in the four states say the border program has helped create and save hundreds of jobs by using relatively small amounts of money to generate other investments while encouraging developments in traditionally underserved areas.
In 2017, the Trump administration unsuccessfully proposed eliminating funding for the program.
During Wednesday’s announcement in Springfield, Trevor Barlow of the Black River Innovation Campus said the grant will be used to convert the old Park Street School into an entrepreneurial hub that will include coworking space, apartments and educational space.
—Staff and wire reports