BENNINGTON — The Friends of the Bennington Battle Monument have invited the public to the monument on Saturday, July 3, for a climb to the top.

The 417 steps of the monument were closed to the public in the 1970s. All climbs will be escorted and narrated. The tours start at 10 a.m. and continue until 3 p.m. The cost for the escorted tour of the steps will be $3 for an adult and $2 for children.

The 306-foot monument, a Vermont state owned historic site, opened to the public in 1891, to commemorate the Aug. 16, 1777, Revolutionary War battle fought over the military storehouse located on the site where the monument now stands.

The steps were the only method of reaching the top until 1953 when the Otis elevator was installed. Thousands of visitors ride the elevator each year for the scenic vistas of Vermont, Massachusetts and New York, seen from the observation level high within the monument. The monument and gift shop located in Old Bennington are open daily from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. through Oct. 31.

For more information, visit www.historicvermont.com or call 802-447-0550.

Reprinted with permission from The Bennington Banner, Monday June 28, 2010

While this event does not have any impact on the Bennington VT real estate market, it’s a great way to see behind the scenes of the Bennington Battle Monument.

What is good for Plasan North America is good for Vermont.

As part of a March contract awarded to Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Corporation to build an additional 1500 M-ATV armored vehicles, Plasan North America, which manufactures armor kits for the vehicles will be the beneficiary of $170 million of the $640 million deal.

This is just the latest in its venture to secure military contracts. In late February, Plasan delivered its 5,000th armor kit for the M-ATVs – armored fighting vehicles developed by Oshkosh – successfully fulfilling all contracts on-time during the seven-month period.

Plasan specializes in the development and manufacture of add-on armor systems for the military and commercial armored vehicle market using composite material technologies. Plasan North America is a part of Plasan SASA based in Israel.

The focus of its core business is the development, manufacture and assembly of Add-On Armor Kits (APK’s) for lightweight military tactical tracked and wheeled armored vehicles, fixed-and rotary-wing aircraft, naval platforms and civilian armored vehicles.

“Plasan is very excited to be a growing part of the Vermont _economy. We are bringing high-value jobs to the region in developing our survivability solutions,” said Plasan spokesman Don Goldberg of Qorvis Communications in Washington, D.C.

The new contract will be geared to the ongoing Afghanistan military operation. Varying from the conditions in Iraq, the Afghan terrain is steeper and required a lighter, more flexible armored vehicle.

Plasan is an asset to the Bennington business community, said Bennington Town Manager Stuart Hurd. “We have been very pleased with all the Plasan contracts. It confirms that they are turning out a good product,” said Hurd.

“Plasan has been a godsend in putting people to work in Bennington with good jobs, good pay and good benefits,” Hurd said.

Plasan’s additional employment offset earlier layoffs in the automotive sector in Bennington, said Hurd. For the most recent quarter, unemployment dropped by half a point in Bennington.

Bennington is also home to Vermont Composites, which works in the aerospace and medical/industrial markets. “We are hopeful to develop a niche in the composite field for additional business opportunities in town,” said Hurd.

Reprinted from The Battenkill Business Journal, Published May 11, 2010

By TRICIA N. HAYES

Positive economic news like this is always nice to hear in the Bennington VT real estate market.

Home buyers may get three more months — until Sept. 1 — to close on purchases they made prior to May 1 and still qualify for the federal tax credits.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, introduced the proposal as an amendment to a bill that would extend jobless benefits through November. Reid represents the state with the highest foreclosure rate.

The National Association of REALTORS® has been lobbying for the extension because buyers whose purchases are delayed by slow-moving short sales and financial transactions will lose out.

“Time is of the essence,” said Lucien Salvant, NAR managing director. “It’s important for Congress to get this done, because there’s whole bunch of loans that aren’t going to close on time.”

Source: Associated Press, Alan Zibel (06/10/2010)

This may be great news for many buyers in the Bennington VT real estate market.

Did you know that energy-efficient variable speed and two-speed pool pumps use as little as 1/3 the energy of that single-speed pump in your pool now? They also operate more quietly than most single speed models, and provide superior filtration.

Efficiency Vermont is offering residential customers a $200 mail-in rebate for installing a qualifying energy-efficient pool pump. The rebate is available for pool pumps installed between April 1, 2010 and September 30, 2010. So act now for a better swimming experience this summer.

To print the $200 Energy-Efficient Pool Pump Rebate, view a list of qualifying pool pumps, and trained pool-pump installers, go to efficiencyvermont.com/poolpumps or call Efficiency Vermont, toll-free, today at 888-921-5990.

Troy’s Comments
In the Bennington VT real estate market, we don’t see a lot of in-ground pools, but there are plenty of above-ground pools. A pump and filter system is critical to the health of the pool. Have a happy and energy saving Summer!

Convenient and comfortable laundry rooms are an increasingly popular feature among home buyers.

Tom Byrne, president of Rockville, Md.-based Chadsworth Homes Inc., says they are more popular than such features as studies and media rooms.

“In the past few years, 30 percent of the homes we build … have a laundry room with granite countertops, a single-level kitchen-style faucet, and the laundry tub will be an undercounter sink,” Byrne says.

Stephen Melman, director of economic services for the National Association of Home Builders, concurs.

“These rooms are becoming larger and more multifunctional, with organizers, a table for folding, ironing stations, and windows with a view,” Melman says.

Source: Washington Times, Carisa Chappell (5/14/2010)

In the Bennington VT real estate market, we have mostly older homes and laundry rooms are usually in the basement, but if you have the extra room to create a laundry “room” it will definitely add value to your home.

Reprinted with permission.

BENNINGTON — The book sale is back, and it’s twice as big as last year’s.

That’s the estimate of Leslie Noyes, a member of the board of the Friends of the Bennington Free Library, the organization which runs the popular annual benefit event.

“We’re very excited this year, because usually we have 15,000 to 20,000 books, and I believe this year we have 30 or more thousand,” Noyes said. “Usually, a truck and three-quarters of books is moved from the library to the church, but this year, it’s three and three-quarters trucks.”

(more…)

If you’ve been thinking about replacing your refrigerator or clothes washer, there’s never been a better time to buy than right now. When you buy a qualifying ENERGY STAR® fridge or clothes washer and recycle your old one, you could get up to $200 back with valuable mail-in rebates through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Appliance Rebate program and Efficiency Vermont.

ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators use half the electricity of standard models manufactured before 1993 and can save you up to $100 a year on your electric bills. ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washers save up to $60 a year in energy and water costs.

Rebate offers include:
• $100 mail-in rebate on the purchase of an eligible ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator.

• $200 mail-in rebate on the purchase of a select ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator.

• $200 mail-in rebate on the purchase of a select ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washer.

To take advantage of this limited time offer through Efficiency Vermont, visit your local appliance retailer or call Efficiency Vermont toll-free at 888-921-5990 to reserve a rebate directly. All ARRA-funded rebates must be post-marked no later than May 31, 2010.

For more information and a list of qualified ENERGY STAR appliances, visit www.efficiencyvermont.com or call, toll-free, 888-921-5990.

Note: ARRA funds are limited and rebate forms are available on a first-come first-served basis.

Wainwright Bank & Trust Company (Nasdaq: WAIN) has provided $10 million in financing to Commonwealth Dairy, LLC for the construction of a state-of-the-art yogurt production processing facility in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Commonwealth Dairy is a joint venture between Ehrmann USA, a subsidiary of family-run Ehrmann AG, an international yogurt company based in Germany with annual revenues in excess of $1 billion, and Commonwealth Yogurt. The new facility will be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) compliant as determined by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Read full story here.

This firm was looking in the Bennington VT real estate market, and the Broker who was assisting them called Troy Richardson at RE/MAX Maple Leaf Realty to help with the search in the Bennington VT area. RE/MAX Maple Leaf Realty’s Commercial Division is ready to help firms big and small with their relocation, expansion or start-up needs.

BENNINGTON — While student enrollment in Vermont’s public schools has been steadily declining for years, the local technical center is reporting more students have been choosing its services in recent years.

According to numbers shared with the school board last week, this school year the CDC has 232 students enrolled in introductory 50- to 60-minute courses, a figure that has increased each year since 2007, when 123 students were enrolled in these courses.

In the CDC’s 90- to 150-minute courses, which generally include laboratory work, there are 386 students this year, up two years in a row from 284 in 2008.

The adult education program has also been growing, with 839 adults enrolled in 2009.

Because the students are not at the center the full day, the school’s most important number, the full-time-equivalent (FTE) enrollment, which calculates the percentage of the school day students are at CDC, is 438, up over two consecutive years from 324 in 2008.

The increased FTE has increased the amount of state aid the school receives, which in turn lowered the tuition rate more than $300 to $12,332 next school year.

CDC Director Frank Barone said no one factor can be credited for the boost in enrollment, but he said the school has worked hard to recruit students by spreading information about its courses. “We make a conscious effort to get our good name out there,” Barone said. “We live and die by enrollment. We do, we’re a school of choice. If the kid decides not to sign up for a course, why run it?”
Barone said the school’s outreach coordinator has done a good job promoting the school, but it’s the students who are the most effective recruiters when they talk about the unique learning opportunities.

“Our number one ambassadors are our kids, who go back to their home schools and say ‘man … I had a great morning at the CDC,’” Barone said.

Another reason enrollment has likely grown, Barone said, is because of popular new programs, including cosmetology, which has grown from 10 students in its first year in 2007 to 31 students this year.

Another growing program has been the forestry program, which has increased from about 10 students in 2008 to 30 this year.

Keeping an open mind on adding new courses, and changing or eliminating courses that aren’t drawing many students, has helped keep the technical center a good choice for students, Barone said.

There are some programs Barone and the Education Committee have mentioned changing, primarily those that compete with courses taught at public schools, such as business, accounting and pre-law.

Enrollment in the accounting and financing program has shrunk each of the last five years, from about 25 students in 2006 to five this year.

“There is some competition. Kids can take business courses at their home school; why should they come here? So what we need to begin looking at is what can we offer here (to separate CDC programs from other schools)?” Barone said at Monday’s Education Committee meeting.

One way to make the CDC programs stand out, Barone suggested, is to incorporate additional credentials or specific training students couldn’t receive at a traditional school, which many programs already do.

The CDC is also attempting to start a culinary program by next spring and is considering changes to the building trades program to incorporate plumbing. “We just need to stay active,” Barone said.

Contact Dawson Raspuzzi at draspuzzi@benningtonbanner.com

Reprinted with permission from The Bennington Banner, written by DAWSON RASPUZZI, Tuesday April 27, 2010

Troy Richardson is a Board Member of the Building Trades Department of the Career Development Center, which works to educated students in the building trades by building a home in the Bennington area from the ground up.  This education allows students to enter the workforce trained to build, and exposed to the various skilled trades involved in building a house in the Bennington VT real estate market.