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Heated legal battle continues on Vermont farm

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Heated legal battle continues on Vermont farm


MORRISVILLE, Vt. (WCAX) – Eight months after WCAX’s first visit to Morin Farm, their outdated wood boiler is still running – and tensions with the state are at a boiling point.

Earlier this year, we told you about a Morrisville farm at odds with the state over its heating system.

As temperatures sunk this season, Dennis Morin sparked up his wood boiler that wasn’t supposed to last into this winter.

“They wanted it gone a long time ago,” said Morin.

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11 years ago, the state told Morin and his wife Anita their Outdoor Hydronic Heater – or OHH – was uncertified and outdated.

Today, it’s still burning.

The Agency of Natural Resources offered to cover half of the $20,000 price tag for a phase two OHH.

“These certified OHHs produce less emissions and subsequent impacts on neighbors. Additionally, they are far more efficient than Morin’s current OHH,” the ANR told WCAX in an email statement.

Concerned Vermonters are willing to help pay too, but the couple declined all offers.

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Morin says he needs concrete proof that a new heating system like an updated OHH could heat his barn of cows using the donated pine scraps he burns now.

“It’d have to show me that it could burn the wood that I got because I don’t wanna take this one out and then I’m stuck with no heat,” said Morin.

The Morins owe the ANR thousands in fines and only made it to one of many court hearings.

Morin says he can’t leave the farm during milking hours.

“They should come here, milk my cows, and I could go to the court,” said Morin.

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In October, the Vermont Superior Court issued the Morins a second contempt order.

Morin says he’s waiting for someone to show up to his farm demanding action.

He wants to find common ground but says he needs more from the state to meet the mark.

“I don’t wanna give up. I mean, I’m gonna be 66 here. I want to go as long as I can go. This is my life,” said Morin.

The ANR says they’re not requesting imprisonment at this time.

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21-year-old killed in wrong-way crash on I-89 in Vermont; other driver cited

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21-year-old killed in wrong-way crash on I-89 in Vermont; other driver cited


A 21-year-old is dead after a pickup truck slammed head-on into her vehicle on Interstate 89 Wednesday evening in Bolton, Vermont, and the other driver involved has been cited.

State police say they responded around 5:22 p.m. to reports of a wrong-way driver in the area of mile marker 71. As troopers were responding, a multi-vehicle crash on the interstate was reported to dispatchers.

A preliminary investigation shows 45-year-old Timothy Wooster was driving a Toyota Tundra in the northbound lane when he crossed the median into the southbound lane, where he continued traveling the wrong way until he collided head-on with a Kia Sportage that was being driven by 21-year-old Hailey Westcot, police said.

A third vehicle, a Cascadia Freightliner, was traveling southbound when the head-on collision happened ahead, causing the vehicle to strike Westcot’s car and then rollover.

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Westcot, of Northfield, Vt., was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Wooster, of Jericho, Vt., was taken to University of Vermont Medical Center to be treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The third driver who was involved, 50-year-old Douglas Bailey, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, was evaluated on scene and did not report any injuries, police added.

Officials haven’t said what led Wooster to allegedly drive in the wrong direction on the highway. Wooster was cited on a charge of grossly negligent operation with death resulting. Further charges will be determined as the investigation continues, according to police.

Any witnesses are asked to contact Trooper Shawn Morrow at 802-878-7111. Anonymous tips can be submitted online here. The investigation remains ongoing.

It’s unclear if Wooster has obtained legal representation at this time. He’s due in Chittenden County Superior Court on Jan. 29, 2026.

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UVM men’s rugby team wins first-ever national championship – VTDigger

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UVM men’s rugby team wins first-ever national championship – VTDigger


The University of Vermont men’s rugby team celebrates after winning its national championship game against the University of Chicago on Sunday, Dec. 14. Photo courtesy of National Collegiate Rugby

The University of Vermont men’s rugby team romped the University of Chicago last weekend, 71-5, to win its first-ever national championship. It’s the second time, notably, that a UVM sports team has won a national-level title in the past year.

Rugby is not a varsity sport at UVM — such as soccer or basketball — which means the school’s men’s and women’s teams play outside of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA. The men’s team plays in National Collegiate Rugby’s Division II, which has more than 100 teams in different regional conferences across the country.

The team’s win Sunday capped an undefeated season that also saw it dispatch rivals in earlier rounds of the Division II tournament by double-digit margins.

“It really hasn’t even set in yet, still. Every time I see a picture or something, I’m like, holy — I can’t believe it,” said Jack Worobel, a senior mechanical engineering major at UVM who plays in the No. 4, or “lock,” position. “It’s awesome.”

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In UVM’s rugby league, 15 players are on the field for each team at a time. Players advance the ball by running or kicking it but aren’t allowed to pass the ball forward. Points come primarily through “tries,” which are worth five points each and scored by bringing the ball into the opponent’s in-goal area and touching it to the ground.

Worobel credited UVM’s win to strong bonds that he said he and his teammates have built up over the past four years. A number of the players, including himself, have been on the team every year since they were first-year students, he said.

UVM has had a men’s rugby team since 1970, according to a school press release.

The University of Vermont men’s rugby team handily defeated the University of Chicago 71–5 to win its first ever national championship. Photo courtesy of National Collegiate Rugby

“We all do anything for each other. Anyone would do a favor for anyone else on this team — I think that’s where the win comes (from),” Worobel said Wednesday. “It’s not from the skill or the talents. Really, it’s what’s off the field.”

The rugby team’s win comes about a year after UVM’s men’s soccer team — which competes at the highest level of collegiate athletics — won the NCAA Division I championship last December. UVM has also won six NCAA championships in skiing, with the most recent coming in 2012.

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Police investigating after ATV stolen from Vt. driveway

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Police investigating after ATV stolen from Vt. driveway


Police are asking for the public’s help in their ongoing investigation into a stolen all-terrain vehicle in Derby, Vermont.

State police say they were notified around 4 p.m. on Oct. 31 that a Camouflage 2008 Yamaha Rhino 700 ATV had been stolen from a driveway on Main St. The theft occurred some time between 10 p.m. on Oct. 30 and 7 a.m. on Oct. 31.

No other details were immediately available. Police did released two photos as part of the investigation.

Anyone with information about this theft is encouraged to call Vermont State Police at 802-334-8881, or leave an anonymous tip online.

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