News

Robert Balewicz File photo

Hermitage Club ordered to pay former manager

BOSTON- The US Department of Labor has ordered Hermitage Club Realty LLC to pay a former employee $22,693 in back pay and bonuses with interest, and $20,000 in compensatory damages.
“Hermitage Club Realty LLC terminated the employee on December 18, 2017, after informing the company of what...

Taxman cometh: State wants club cash

NEWFANE- The Vermont Department of Taxes has filed a motion seeking summary judgment in their lawsuit against James Barnes, seeking more than $1 million in unpaid meals, rooms, alcohol, and sales taxes.
The state filed the lawsuit on July 30, 2018, alleging that Barnes failed to remit tax...

Barnes ordered to comply with agreement

HARTFORD, CT- Superior Court Judge Robert B. Shapiro has issued an order granting a motion filed by a group of Hermitage ski lift investors asking to validate a settlement agreement Hermitage owner James Barnes refused to sign.
The order directs the parties to comply with the terms of the...

District not sure on tax buy-down

WARDSBORO - At an informational meeting held by the River Valleys Unified Union School District Board on Monday, chair Rich Werner said that at the district’s annual meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, February 12, the board will ask voters to approve using capital reserve funds to offset...

Judge allows injunction motion to move forward

By Mike Eldred
NEWFANE- Superior Court Judge Robert Gerety has ordered White House Inn owner Bob Grinold’s motion for a preliminary injunction lifting a mechanic’s lien filed by James Barnes to proceed along with Grinold’s lawsuit in the matter, at least for now.
Barnes filed the $1...

Officals not sure school articles can be discussed at March Town Meeting

WARDSBORO - On Monday, River Valleys moderator Dr. Robert Backus and clerk Andy McLean attended an informational meeting about the board’s upcoming annual meeting. McLean and Backus talked about whether it would be proper for residents of Dover and Wardsboro to discuss River Valleys matters at...

Board approves funding

By Lauren Harkawik
DOVER - The Dover Selectboard approved funding for two events at its meeting on Tuesday, $8,500 for the Wine and Harvest Festival and $11,505 for the Blueberry Festival. Under discussion of the Blueberry Festival, festival organizer Janet Boyd urged the board to begin to...

The Barnstormer lift under construction in 2015 at Haystack Mountain. The lift was financed by a group of Hermitage Club members, five of whome have since sued club owner Jim Barnes for lack of payment. The group has asked a Connecticut court to enforce a settlement. File photo

Group wants court to enforce settlement Barnes refuses to sign

HARTFORD, CT- Attorneys for a group of five investors in the Hermitage Club’s Barnstormer ski lift have filed a motion to asking the court to enforce a settlement agreement they say James Barnes agreed to, but refuses to sign.
The five members of Barnstormer Summit Lift LLC filed the...

Wilmington tax rate headed up for 2020 budget

WILMINGTON- Wilmington homestead taxpayers are facing a 20-cent increase in the combined municipal and school tax rate next year.
The bulk of the increase is in the homestead school tax rate, which is slated to rise by 18 cents, from $2.12 in the current year to $2.30 in 2020. But even...

Board mixed on secondary tuition support

DOVER - At its meeting on Monday, the River Valleys Unified Union School District Board discussed the warning for its upcoming annual meeting. Two articles spurred discussion: one pertaining to the amount the district should pay in tuition to independent schools for secondary students and one...