By Eric Francis, Standard Correspondent

UPDATE 8:23 p.m. Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union Superintendent David Baker has posted a message saying there could be special arrival instructions for school districts in the morning. He will have an update around 5:30 or 6 a.m. He has no reason to believe students or the general public are in danger.

UPDATE 7:52 p.m. The victim has been identified as 22-year-old Molly Helland and her long-time ex-boyfriend Jason Kendall, 27, is being described as a “person of interest” who is wanted for questioning in connection with her killing.

Helland, who is the mother of the couple’s five-year-old son, recently broke up with Kendall and moved back in with her parents at 43 Main Street in Windsor, which sits right next to Everett’s Lane railroad crossing that leads to the former Cone Blanchard factory on the northern edge of Windsor’s downtown.

Windsor Police received a 911 at 7 a.m. Monday morning reporting that the caller could hear screams and gunshots at 43 Main Street and officers arrived to find Helland on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds laying next to a vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A source close to the investigation said that later on Monday authorities learned that Helland had reportedly told relatives over the weekend that she was planning to go to court on Monday to obtain a restraining order against Kendall because he’d allegedly threatened her while placing a gun against her head on Friday.

A large contingent of police from across the region poured into Windsor throughout the morning in order to help the Vermont State Police’s newly formed Major Crimes Unit hunt for Kendall around both Windsor and West Windsor, where he had been living most recently in an apartment at a residence on Strawberry Hill Road.

In a message that was emailed to parents this morning, Dr. Baker, the superintendent of schools in Windsor, said that he ordered a lockdown of all of the schools in the Southeast Supervisory Union district as a precaution but he hastened to add that “there appears to be no danger to the general public” following what he said was “a domestic dispute in Windsor this morning that resulted in a shooting.”

Other schools in the area, including Woodstock Elementary and Hartland Elementary, also took security precautions and notified parents to pickup their children directly from their classrooms at the end of the school day.

Police initially said that Kendall might be driving a silver 1996 Honda Accord with Vermont license plate EAR558 but later in the day they issued an update saying that another license plate may have been switched onto the same vehicle, possibly Massachusetts’ plate 842YM3.

WINDSOR — A murder this morning in Windsor that is being described as a shooting which occurred during a “domestic dispute” has prompted a large police manhunt around Windsor and West Windsor.

Police from a number of agencies are seeking Jason Kendall, 27, a lifelong resident of Windsor, and describing him as a “person of interest” at this point but they are urging anyone who may know of his whereabouts not to approach him and to call 911 instead. State police would not release any more information on the incident.

In a message that was emailed to parents this morning, Dr. Baker, the superintendent of schools in Windsor, said that he ordered a lockdown of all of the schools in the Southeast Supervisory Union district as a precaution but he hastened to add that “there appears to be no danger to the general public” following what he said was “a domestic dispute in Windsor this morning that resulted in a shooting.”

Woodstock schools are in shelter-in-place mode.

Kendall has a history of minor arrests for drug possession and brief vehicle pursuits with police that date from when he was a teenager.

Police say that Kendall may be driving a silver 1996 Honda Accord with Vermont license plate EAR558.

Checkpoints have been set up along Routes 5 and 44 and police have been stopping and talking to motorists as part of their search efforts.

Staff report

In a speech Monday, Gov. Peter Shumlin announced he will not run for re-election in 2016.

“I reached this decision after a lot of thought and consideration. It is the honor of my life to serve as Vermont’s governor. I want to serve in this role until I feel confident that we have accomplished what we promised to do,” said Shumlin to reporters at the State House in Montpelier.

Shumlin said he’s “never seen politics as a lifelong career.”

Shumlin was narrowly elected in 2014, holding off a challenge from Republican Scott Milne. Shumlin received 46.36 percent of the vote, forcing the decision to the legislature, which picked Shumlin in a 110-69 vote.

The Wasps are scheduled to face Chelsea at home Wednesday at home at 4:30.

By David Miles, Standard Correspondent
Playoff lacrosse is important business and the Woodstock girls lacrosse team has been all business of late.
Business-like enough that the team eschewed the WUHS Spring Sports Award Night on Thursday in favor of heading north to East Montpelier. It was not a pleasure trip, but a chance to scout U-32 and Chelsea, the winner who would await the Wasps in the semifinal round should the green-and-white also advance past the quarters.
Business-like enough to build a 9-4 halftime lead in their own quarterfinal game against Harwood the following day. And they did this even though they did not play their best in the first half. All business by answering each Highlander goal with a quick one of their own, maintaining a comfortable margin.
And ruthlessly business-like in the second half, shutting Harwood down as completely as an unfriendly corporate takeover. Six goals in the half’s first 10 minutes turned the game into a rout as Woodstock cruised to a 17-4 victory in front of about 100 fans.
“We hadn’t played for a week and our heads weren’t quite in the right place the first half,” said co-captain Clancy Farrand.
It’s not that the Wasps played poorly in the opening half; but they were just not at the top of their game. Several times they lost out on ground balls and then gave up quick goals once Harwood gained possession.
“We might have been feeling a little pressure early on. We’ve never had a bye before,” said Lauren Kaija, who led the scoring with seven goals. “But at halftime, Amanda told us to start playing Woodstock lacrosse again. And we did just what she said.”
Playing Woodstock lacrosse meant shutting out Harwood 8-0 after intermission. And the Wasps did not just shut the Highlanders out, they barely allowed them any possessions at all.
“Our defense really stepped it up the second half,” said coach Amanda Soule. “We played well in the first half, but not our normal well.”
Grace Vosburgh and Farrand backed up Luaren Kaija with three goals apiece. Abby Kaija added two, while Miranda Johnson and Kallan Piconi both had one. Vosburgh, Farrand, Lauren Kaija and Holli Olson all had one assist.
Olson’s assist came on one of the prettiest sequences of the game. With Woodstock leading 5-1 she intercepted a pass in the defensive zone and raced downfield, getting off a good shot that Harwood goalie Willow Barbero-Menze made a nice save on. But Olson picked up the rebound, ran behind the net and fed a cutting Lauren Kaija with a beautiful pass for a picture-perfect goal.
Woodstock twice defeated Chelsea in the regular season, but both games were close with the Wasps winning by four goals each time.
“Chelsea-U-32 was a really good game,” said Soule. “Even though we’ve played them twice, it was good to see them in a different light.”
And as the Red Devils’ comeback against U-32 proved, you can never take anything for granted in the playoffs. They are a traditionally strong program that lost in the championship game last year and made five consecutive finals from 2007 through 2011, winning twice.
“Chelsea has a number of good players,” said Farrand. “We have to want it more than they do.”
The Wasps were scheduled to face Chelsea at home Wednesday, after the Standard’s deadline. The Devils trailed U-32 by a 7-2 margin at the half, but came back to upset the No.-3 seeded Raiders in double overtime.

We Got It Covered

Tracey Spruce of Andover, Mass. runs near the Taftsville Bridge in Sunday’s Covered Bridges Half-Marathon. (Rick Russell Photo)

Read these stories and more on the eEdition, on Wednesday night, pick it up on the newsstands Thursdays or subscribe.

Top Headlines
Local Pols On Shumlin: Most People ‘Ready For A Change’ (read related article)
by Katy Savage, Standard Staff

W. Windsor Man Sentenced For Child Porn
by Eric Francis, Standard Correspondent

Manhunt Continues For Windsor Murder Suspect - Read more
by Eric Francis, Standard Correspondent

Auto Body Shop Owner Threatens Employees With Shotgun
by Eric Francis, Standard Correspondent

Hartland Elementary School Getting Physical With Discipline
by Katy Savage, Standard Staff

Select Board Adopts New Solar Standards
by Katy Savage, Standard Staff

Consolidation Bill Could Change District Landscape
by Katy Savage, Standard Staff

Bridgewater Select Board Asks For Voter Input Of School Building Future
by Virginia Dean, Standard Correspondent

Snow Dump Relocation Faces Another Delay
by Katy Savage, Standard staff

Chamber Relocates From Central to Mechanic Street
by Virginia Dean, Standard Correspondent

Film Crew Arrives In Barnard Working On Dorothy Thompson Documentary
by Chloe Powell, Barnard News

New Eshqua Bog Boardwalk Dedication Is Set For June 20
by Judith Howland, Hartland News

Grass Menagerie: Local Artist Shannahan Uses Vegetation For Prehistoric Sculptures
by Virginia Dean, Standard Correspondent

WUHS Girls Track team takes Vermont State title for sixth year. (Ben Leavitt Photo)

Ten Athletes Honored At WUHS Spring Awards Night
by David Miles, Sports Correspondent

Girls Track Team Leaps Into Sixth Title
by David Miles, Standard Correspondent

Girls Lacrosse Play In Finals Wednesday
by David Miles, Sports Correspondent

Mt. Tom Farmers Market
Local food and craft vendors gather at the Mt. Tom farmers market just off Route 12.

Trek to Taste, 2015
Trek to Taste, the annual event that combines local foods, communities and hiking took place on Saturday, June 6 at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park in Woodstock.

Downhill Throwdown, Killington 2015
The second annual Downhill Throwdown, street luge event, took place in Killington on East Mountain Road.

Covered Bridges Half Marathon, 2015
The annual Covered Bridges Half-Marathon was held on Sunday, June 7. This event attracts thousands of people to the area and sells out each year.

Update, 9:51 a.m.:

By Eric Francis, Standard Correspondent

WINDSOR — The Windsor man who was being sought in connection with the ambush and murder of his estranged girlfriend in Windsor on Monday morning appears to have shot and killed himself at the conclusion of high-speed chase with the Kansas Highway Patrol late Wednesday afternoon.

Police are awaiting the results of an autopsy to confirm that the deceased driver is in fact Jason Kendall, 27, who was being sought by Vermont authorities for the murder of Molly Helland, 22, the mother of Kendall’s young child, but Vermont State Police said late Wednesday night that the description of the body and the circumstances appear to be a match for Kendall.

A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper spotted a silver 1996 Honda with a stolen Massachusetts license plate on it headed west on Interstate 70 in western central Kansas not far from the town of Ellis around 6 p.m. local time Wednesday evening and attempted to stop it, according to a KHP press release.

The car fled west reaching speeds of 105 mph before “stop sticks” were successfully deployed in its path, puncturing the tires and sending it through the median and clear across the eastbound lanes where it entered a ditch and drove through a Kansas Department of Transportation highway boundary fence before coming to a stop.

Troopers approached the vehicle and determined that the driver, who was the lone occupant of the Honda, was dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Captain J.P. Sinclair, the Chief Criminal Investigator for the Vermont State Police said in a press release late Wednesday night that the car and the body were “consistent” with Jason Kendall who owned such a vehicle and had been spotted stealing Massachusetts license plates outside a Denny’s restaurant in Holyoke just hours after the shooting late on Monday morning.

Before the fatal pursuit erupted on the far side of Kansas late Wednesday afternoon, the last credible sighting of Kendall had been in the town of Springfield, Massachusetts mid-afternoon on Monday.

Staff report

WINDSOR- Following investigation, police have determined that a homicide suspect wanted for killing his girlfriend has died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after leading police on a high-speed chase in Kansas.

Jason Kendall, 27, was found dead in his vehicle Wednesday evening after leading highway patrol officers in Kansas on a high-speed chase, at times reaching 105 miles per hour, police said.

When police approached the vehicle, a .243 caliber rifle in his silver Honda Accord. Police believed he used the same gun to kill his girlfriend and his self.

Police issued an arrest warrant for second degree murder for Kendall on Tuesday after he shot and killed Molly Helland of Windsor the day before, police said.

Kendall was driving a vehicle with stolen Massachusetts license plates when he was spotted in Kansas. After killing Helland, he stole one front license plate in Holyoke, Massachusetts on Monday before switching to a different stolen rear Massachusetts license plate, police said.

Police investigation continues.

Staff report

The Woodstock girls lacrosse team is heading to the Division II state title game after beating Chelsea, 14-13, at home Wednesday.

The Wasps (13-4) will play 6 p.m. Monday at Castleton State College against No. 5-seeded Stowe, which upset No. 1 Green Mountain Valley School last Monday.

Woodstock beat Stowe, 13-7, on the road April 28. It was the Wasps’ second game of the season.

Woodstock was 4-10 last season. This is the Wasps’ first winning season since 2009. Woodstock’s only losses this year are to Division I teams.

Stowe lost in the semifinals last year, 12-10 to Chelsea. The team has never won a state title.

Woodstock hasn’t been to a final since 2000, when it lost 16-7 to Middlebury. The Wasps won three consecutive state titles from 1995-97.

By Katy Savage, Standard Staff
Jimmy Johnson became an uncle before he was even born.

The 18-year-old student at Woodstock Union High School has a total of 25 nieces and nephews. He goes to school with two of his nieces.

“A lot of people will say, ‘oh is that your sibling?’ Or ‘oh, is that your cousin.’ The whole concept of how someone is an uncle goes right over their heads,” Johnson said. “They can’t comprehend that their dads are my brothers.

“It’s a little awkward…but whatever.”

Jean and Moroni Johnson raised 10 boys and three girls.

But their lives will be less busy soon. Johnson, the youngest of 13 children, is about to graduate from Woodstock Union High School and is currently taking classes to be a phlebotomist — a medical professional trained to draw blood. The reality is starting to set in.

“He’ll say ‘Mom this is the last such and such, Mom next Saturday is the last track meet, Mom this is the last senior game,’” Jean said. “It’s this really funny, bittersweet feeling I have.”

She won’t have to drive him to games and practices and appointments. She won’t have to make sure he’s awake in the morning.

“I’ve done it for so long that, it’s like what do you do?” she said.

Life in the Johnson House

Jimmy Johnson, front, played football at WUHS his junior and senior years of school after convincing his mother to let him play. He also had to wear the No. 32 jersey — another family tradition.
His eight brothers before him wore that same jersey.
“I looked at him and I looked at his eyes and I could see he really wanted to play,” said Jean, who was concerned about concussions.
Jean never understood football, but she volunteered for every game anyway.
She plans to buy the No. 32 jersey for her youngest as a graduation gift. (Rick Russell Photo)

“Let the good lord have a say in that. We accepted the responsibility we were given. I’m not sorry we did,” Moroni said.

There were up to eight kids living under the Johnson house roof in Barnard at the same time. There were three different age breaks between kids, so to the parents it felt more like having three different families.

“The largest challenges were: it’s hard to adjust when you’re old enough to be your youngest brother’s father,” said Tim, one of the brothers.

Jean and Moroni have grandchildren who are as old as their own children.

“A lot of people said, ‘it must have been difficult,’” Moroni said. “It was not difficult.”

The Johnsons lived by some simple house rules like, “When you take your clothes off at night and you don’t have two socks, you march back up to where you took them off and find them,” Jean said.

Jean has only lost three socks in her entire marriage. She bought different socks for each child so she could keep the laundry straight.

She admitted she was overprotective. None of the Johnson children were allowed to drive until they turned 18.

If Jean had to be away from her kids for an extended period, she called several times: in the morning to make sure they were up, then when it was time to take the bus and 15 minutes later, to make sure they were on the bus. In the afternoon, she called to make sure they got home OK and then she called before they went to bed.

“I wanted to make sure it was taken care of,” said Jean.

Jean took them to all their games and practices and all their appointments. She wrote everything down, looking at her to-do list every night before she went to bed and every morning. She likes to cross things off, she said.

She took care of the kids during the day. At night, Moroni gave them their baths, put on their pajamas and read to them — usually Uncle Remus stories — giving Jean time to clean.

Tradition was important in the Johnson household.

The family went to church every Sunday. At every Christmas, Jean decorated the rooms in the house to a different color and different theme. There was always one room designated the “kid’s room” with all of their homemade ornaments.

Between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, there’s a Johnson family brunch, complete with sweet rolls and homemade dishes.

“It’s things like that, that mean the most to me,” Jean said. “I don’t need presents.”

Some of the most important Johnson family values are working hard, being honest and respecting others.

Moroni supported the family through his own logging and excavation business. A number of his kids worked for him growing up. Some have started businesses of their own.

Tim Johnson started a business when he was in ninth grade with his brother Mike. They split firewood and sold it locally. They still work together now.

“Mike and I have a unique relationship,” Tim said. They can have tough days, but “at the end of the day I can sit down and have a beer with him and not think about it a bit,” Tim said.

There are two Johnson brothers working for a construction business in Utah. The others have stayed local. One of them is an art teacher, one is a caterer and one is a pharmacist.

Those that own their own businesses have often worked for each other in some capacity through the years.

The Johnson’s don’t always agree, but they always respect each other, they said.

‘Families are families forever’

Jean has 25 grandchildren to keep her busy, but she realizes her life could be different with an empty nest.

“When they’re little and have booboos, you can kiss them and go away,” she said. “When they’re big, they have big booboos and they don’t go away, but what matters is if you’re there for each other.”

Jean wears a colored diamond ring on her finger. She has a different color representing each child.

“Diamonds are forever,” she said.

And so is family.

“Families are families forever,” Moroni. “We’re a family and we look out for each other.”

This article first appeared in the June 4, 2015 edition of the Vermont Standard.

Staff report

Emergency crews are responding to an accident involving a motorcycle Monday afternoon on Route 4 in Bridgewater.

The driver of the motorcycle, a man in his 50s from New York, is being treated for a head injury, according to reports. He was unresponsive but breathing when emergency crews arrived.

Emergency officials asked for a medical helicopter to take the motorcyclist to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, but the helicopter can’t fly due to the weather.

The road closed to traffic around 3 p.m.

The motorcyclist was wearing a helmet, according to police.

The annual Woodstock High School alumni parade was held around the Green in Woodstock on Saturday, June 13. Rick Russell Photos

A portion of these photos appear in the June 18, 2015 print edition of the Vermont Standard.
Click here if you are having trouble viewing the collection of photo galleries, click on an image below to view in a larger format and to see more photos.

Rick Russell Photos

Nancy Nutile-McMenemy Photos

The longest continuously running hot air balloon festival in New England will be held June 19-21 on the Quechee Village Green.
The festival has been chosen by Yankee Magazine as one of the top 20 events of summer. It features up to 20 hot air balloons, with flights scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, June 19; 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 20 and Sunday, June 21 (always weather and wind permitting). Balloon rides are now available to purchase on the event website (quecheeballoonfestival.com) prior to the event.
Don’t miss this exciting events featuring continuous music and entertainment for all ages, and more than 60 craft artisans and commercial vendors. Children’s activities include train rides, a bounce house and more. And of course there will be festival food, a beer and wine garden, and more surprises.

Balloon Flights
A hot air balloon approaches the Quechee Gorge Bridge during a flight. (Rick Russell Photo)

There is entertainment offered throughout the weekend. (Rick Russell photo)

By Michelle Fields, Standard Correspondent

The Woodstock Inn and Resort is soaring to new heights to attract and entertain guests as they launch their new falconry center at the Rutherford Barn on Hartland Hill Road next month.

“What we’d really like to do is market informally as a raptor destination,” says Master Falconer Chris Davis of New England Falconry who is both supplying the raptors and providing the two trained falconers who will offer hawk walks, raptor receptions, and maybe even a winged ring bearer for weddings.

He envisions a future partnership with the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) in Quechee. At VINS, visitors can see a variety of local birds and watch some flight demonstrations, at the Woodstock Inn’s Falconry Center, for $95 they can have an up close and personal experience with the raptor as they don a leather glove and allow the bird to land on them. For those who just want to observe, the experience is $50.

“We’ll do some events at the Inn,” says Davis noting that not all raptor functions will be at the Falconry Center. “The hands-on experience is best experienced here in the field,” he says gesturing to the 50 acres that surround the barn. There may also be off-site hunting events planned in the future.

In the meantime, at the Rutherford Barn this week, construction crews are rapidly working to turn the historic structure into the new center with nine bird chambers, a reception center, retail shop and offices.

Despite its name, the sport of falconry is not limited to falcons. The term that defines the sport refers to the training, flying, and hunting of hawks, falcons, eagles or owls. Just to make things more complicated, Davis says when a bird is on the hunt it is called “hawking”.

The process of training the birds, which Davis has been doing since 1979, involves taking the natural cycle of chase, catch, kill, and feed and interrupting it with a return to the handler before the feed. Instead, says Davis, they learn that they will be fed by returning to the handler. “For them (the raptors) it is a food-based relationship.”

The initial residents at the Woodstock Inn Falconry Center will be six Harris’s Hawks, one Eurasian Eagle Owl, and one falcon.

Although new to Woodstock, and even the United States, the sport of falconry has been enjoyed for thousands of years in Europe, Asia, and NorthAfrica. “The feudal system supported falconry in Europe,” says Davis. “When settlers came here (to the U.S.) they did not need falconry, they had guns.”

However, according to Davis, the sport became popular about 100 years ago in the U.S. and there are currently 3-4,000 licensed falconers in this country.

The visitors to the Woodstock Inn’s Falconry Center will not be going through the training to become licensed falconers, but instead will get “an experience of falconry… we will educate about falconry in general,” says Davis. He notes that the Falconry Center has both state and federal permits for falconry education.

“As beautiful as the Woodstock Inn and Resort is, we encourage our guests to get out to experience the many riches of the town of Woodstock, the Green Mountains and Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park,” says Gary Thulander, president and general manager of the Woodstock Inn and Resort. “Falconry and our newest Kelly Way Gardens classes, while wildly different, are both natural fits for our guests to explore different aspects of the resort that will enrich their stay.”

Accuweather.com

A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect, according to the National Weather Service. From 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22 there is a chance of developing Thunderstorms with lightning, damaging winds up to 60 mph and potential hail.

Staff report

Police are searching Quechee Gorge after reports that a woman may have jumped from the bridge over the Quechee Gorge late Tuesday night.

A caller told police they saw a woman leaning over the railing on the bridge around 8 p.m. and when they looked into their rearview mirror, the woman was no longer there, said Deputy Chief Braedon Vail of the Hartford Police Department.

Police and fire officials attempted a search of the gorge around 9 p.m., but cut it off because conditions were too dangerous.

By Katy Savage, Standard Staff
QUECHEE —A middle-aged Plymouth woman committed suicide after she jumped from the Quechee Gorge bridge on Tuesday night, according to the Hartford Police Department.
Hartford Police planned to release the name and identification of the person on Wednesday afternoon, after the Standard’s deadline.
Police and the Hartford Fire Department started searching the Quechee Gorge on Tuesday after a caller told police they saw a woman leaning over the railing on the bridge around 8 p.m. When the caller looked into the rear view mirror, the woman was no longer there, said Deputy Chief Braedon Vail of the Hartford Police Department.
Police and fire officials started searching for a body on Tuesday but cut off efforts around 9 p.m. because conditions were too dangerous.
The Hartford Fire Department resumed search on Wednesday morning and located the body in the water around 9 a.m.
The woman was at the Quechee Gorge on Monday night, indicating that she wanted to do harm to herself, Vail said. Another police officer talked her down and took her to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
“She was having some mental crisis issues due to personal things in her life. She needed that intervention,” Vail said.
She was released from the hospital on Tuesday after spending one night there. She returned to the gorge that evening.
Police eventually located her vehicle Tuesday night. It was hidden in the Quechee Gorge parking lot behind a restaurant.
The Hartford Police Department is looking at funding and grant opportunities to get a mental health worker on staff to prevent suicides and other incidents at the gorge and elsewhere.
“I think this would be a perfect example of why they would have been beneficial in preventing a tragedy,” Vail said.

Staff report

The motorcyclist injured in a June 15 accident on Route 4 in Bridgewater died Tuesday morning.

Craig Fairfield, a 62-year-old man from Waterford, New York, was in intensive care at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for a week due to a severe head injury.

Fairfield’s Harley Davidson was struck by a fellow motorcyclist, 76-year-old Peter Fulgan of Green Island, New York, as the two were heading east near Bridgewater Hill Road around 2:30 p.m. June 15. Fairfield slowed to turn left and was hit by Fulgan’s Harley Davidson. Fulgan had a few cuts and scrapes and Fairfield was unresponsive, but breathing, when emergency crews arrived.

Emergency officials asked for a medical helicopter to take Fairfield to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, but the helicopter couldn’t fly due to the weather.

Fairfield was wearing a helmet, according to police.

Interstate 89 Northbound in Royalton is closed due to a tractor trailer crash near mile marker 23.

By Eric Francis, Standard Correspondent

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The sight of several state police cruisers traveling “like a blur” westward through Woodstock on Wednesday afternoon was all part of the response to a violent incident that led to a Plymouth man being ordered held without bail.

Vincent Brisson, 49, was brought into the downtown White River Junction courthouse on Thursday afternoon where he sat dejectedly at the defense table as Judge Robert Gerety ordered him held without bail because the judge said that in his opinion Brisson potentially posed an on-going threat to family members.

A public defender entered innocent pleas on Brisson’s behalf to two felony counts of aggravated domestic assault with a deadly weapon as well as to accompanying misdemeanor counts of domestic assault and drunk driving.

Brisson’s wife, Ruth, and 24-year-old daughter, Olivia, called police after they said Brisson allegedly began hitting them with the butt of a loaded rifle and then fired three shots out the backdoor into the ground for emphasis.

In her sworn written statement to police, Olivia Brisson said that her father was “highly intoxicated” when family returned to the home mid-afternoon and that he became enraged because she hadn’t washed the dishes.

Trooper Christopher Blais was first to arrive at the residence on Messer Hill Road in response to the 911 call for help and he spotted Brisson behind the wheel of a Jeep coming down the driveway and ordered Brisson out of it at gunpoint.

After Brisson was handcuffed, he blew a 0.155 percent blood alcohol level on a breath test and claimed that he had not actually struck anyone during the course of the argument at the house, Trooper Gary Salvatore noted in his report with Trooper Joseph Pregent adding in his own separate report that Brisson allegedly told him later when he was being processed at the police station that he’d consumed eight pints of beer starting at noon that day and was driving away from his own house, “In a totally unlawful manner intoxicated.”

“Ruth advised that the last few days have been extremely stressful around the house due to relatives not agreeing to sign over the house to them” as part of a dispute centered over the will belonging her aunt who’d recently died, Trooper Salvatore explained in his affidavit, which was filed with the court.

Brisson “became irate and picked up a kitchen chair and struck Olivia with it” which Ruth said caused her to jump into the fray “to try and protect Olivia” after which “a struggle ensued and they all fell to the floor,” Salvatore wrote.

After Olivia broke free and ran upstairs to call for help, Brisson allegedly struck his wife in the face and head with his fist and then “grabbed his rifle and threatened to kill himself” before he “struck her in the head with the stock of the rifle,” Salvatore wrote, adding that Ruth, “eventually got the rifle away from (her husband) and hid it under the covers of their bed.”

Judge Robert Gerety ordered Brisson held without bail at the conclusion of Thursday’s arraignment, noting that Brisson’s family members had expressed serious concerns about the potential for more violence.

“My pain level is currently about an eight out of ten,” noted Ruth Brisson in her written statement to the troopers, where she added, “I am worried about what he will do when released. I fear he will hurt himself and we will be at risk if he drinks after (his) release.”

For her part, Olivia Brisson described her injuries as “a nine” on the pain scale and said she had been hit by her father during past arguments.

“I’m scared that he’s gonna keep doing this whether some little thing goes wrong or not,” she noted, continuing, “He’s always been a violent man. I want a restraint order against my father whether mom wants it or not. I want to be safe, period.”

Brisson faces a maximum potential penalty of up to 35 years in jail if he were to be convicted of all the charges now pending against him.

Staff report

Congressman Peter Welch will be campaigning in 2016, but not as governor.

Welch announced his plan in an emailed statement Friday morning to run for re-election in 2016 for the Congressional seat he’s held since 2006. Welch was rumored to be a candidate for governor after Peter Shumlin publicly decided not to seek a fourth term.

“I deeply appreciate the outpouring of support I received from those who urged me to return home to run for governor as well as those who urged me to keep at it in Congress,” said Welch in a statement. “While being governor would be a distinct honor, I believe I can best serve Vermonters by continuing the hard work of getting Congress back to work for Vermont and the nation.”