ARLINGTON — The Preservation Trust of Vermont has officially presented The Arlington Common and Nick Albert of Albert Construction with a 2026 Preservation Award at the annual Downtown and Historic Preservation Conference.

The Preservation Awards recognize outstanding contributions to the preservation and revitalization of Vermont’s historic buildings and community spaces. The Arlington Common was selected for its “exceptional impact on community gathering and historic stewardship.”

The success of The Arlington Common relies heavily on the dedication of local partners who brought the vision to life. Among the key honorees was Albert Construction, led by Nick Albert, whose exceptional craftsmanship and dedication to historic integrity were vital to the project’s completion.

“Preserving historic structures requires more than just standard construction; it demands a deep respect for original materials, architecture, and community legacy,” said Don Trachte, Head of the Buildings and Grounds Committee and Arlington Common Board Member. “Nick Albert and the team at Albert Construction went above and beyond to ensure that every detail honored the past while engineering a space that will serve Arlington for generations to come.”

A smoke scare on a Delta Airlines flight from Boston caused it to turn around.

The flight, with more than 250 people on board, was headed to Nice, France, when the pilots reported smoke in the cockpit.

As a precaution, the flight was treated as an emergency and was given priority once it returned to Logan Airport.

The plane landed safely and the passengers were reaccommodated.

(Copyright (c) 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

A woman from Armstrong County is accused of stealing nearly $300,000 from the Penn Hills refrigeration company that she used to work for. 

The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday that Ashley Apperson, 34, of Leechburg is facing multiple charges after police she say she stole nearly $300,000 from Ventec Refrigeration.

According to the criminal complaint filed by police, detectives said that Apperson worked for the company from nearly four years and was responsible for things like processing payroll and other accounting duties and was terminated last month for performance issues.

Investigators said that the alleged thefts were discovered shortly after Apperson was terminated when an employee was looking up a check in the company’s computer system when a typo led to the discovery of a non-payroll check made out to Apperson in a large amount.

A further search of the computer system, according to police, showed that between January 2025 and last month, approximately 88 non-payroll checks were issued to Apperson. None of these checks were authorized by the business, police said. 

Police said they obtained a search warrant for the bank account where the unauthorized checks were deposited and learned it belonged to Apperson.

In addition to the unauthorized checks allegedly being deposited into Apperson’s account, police said purchases were made by Apperson on a company credit card at places like Dave and Buster’s, PayPal, and Amazon. 

Police said that when they questioned Apperson about the alleged thefts, she admitted to using funds for online gambling and that she wanted to take responsibility for wheat was stolen.

Investigators said they determined that the approximately amount of money stolen from the company by Apperson came to just shy of $300,000.

According to online court records, Apperson was arraigned and released on nonmonetary bail and is set to face a preliminary hearing early next month on charges of theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, access device fraud, among others.