Top stories in the news this week included debate again over whether F-35 fighter jets should be based in South Burlington. The state rejected a new health insurance co-operative. Head Start programs prepared for federal budget cuts. And on Memorial Day, a World War 2 veteran in Randolph reflected on his service.
These were some of the voices in the news this week:
Guard Defends F-35 In Advance Of New Environmental Impact Statement
(Vermont Adjutant General, Steven Cray) “I think it’s reasonable to deduce there is more population in the surrounding communities," Cray said. "As far as changing my opinion on basing the F-35 here in Vermont, absolutely not. It’s a 30 to 40 year investment in Vermont and it ensures the viability of not only the Air National Guard but a vital part of our nation’s security.”
F-16 Architect Calls F-35 A Combat "Turkey"
(Pierre Sprey, F-16 chief architect) "The airplane has relatively poor range. It also means the airplane will be heavier than it ought to be. This airplane is like a turkey waiting to be shot down."
State Regulators Defend Vt. Health CO-OP Decision
(DFR Commissioner Susan Donegan) “This is a very tough road for them,” said Donegan. “When we say you can file a new application you have to have an entity before us that would show us it would be a radically different entity not a company that looks similar to the company that we just rejected.”
Vermont Health Cooperative Fights State Rejection
(Vermont Health CO-OP CEO, Christina Oliver) “It can only have been knowingly. They took the piece of our rates a proposed rate, that was filed and then calculated their whole financial solvency based on that rate,” said Oliver. “So there was no intention for us to ever enter the market with rates that were 15 percent higher than our competitors.”
Head Start Braces For More Cuts
(Lyndonville Head Start Director, Sue Bates) “You know at that point when the school year has already started it will be very difficult for families if we have to cut families or staff,” Bates said.
Annual Memorial Day Service Commemorates WWII Air Crash
(WW2 veteran Azel Hall) “I always felt that I owed somebody something, somewhere," Hall explained to the crowd. " So, every day in the garage we would do something for somebody for nothing. I’ve always thought in my life ever since that it doesn’t do any harm to do a little something for somebody.”
