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A Republican lawmaker publicly apologized to a Democratic colleague before the Vermont House of Representatives after she was caught on video pouring water into his bag multiple times over the course of five months.
“I am truly ashamed of my actions,” Representative Mary Morrissey, who serves Bennington, Vt., said at a House veto session Monday.
Videos of Morrissey pouring cups of water into a personal bag belonging to Representative Jim Carroll, who also represents Bennington, were first acquired by Seven Days. The news outlet obtained the videos via a public records request after Carroll mounted a camera above where he hung his bag to find a culprit for the frequent soakings his belongings were getting.
“For five months, I went through this,” Carroll said at the meeting after Morrissey’s apology. “It was torment, there’s no doubt about it.”
When House Speaker Jill Krowinski first saw the videos and confronted Morrissey about it, she initially denied it, Seven Days reported. But she later apologized to Carroll, an encounter the latter told the outlet was “uncomfortable.”
On Monday, Morrissey admitted her behavior was “disrespectful” and said she had apologized to Carroll privately. She added that she will be “working toward resolution and restoration through our legislative process.”
“It was conduct most unbecoming of my position as a representative and as a human being, and is not reflective of my 28 years of service and civility,” Morrissey said. She also asked for forgiveness from her colleagues and the citizens of Vermont.
Morrissey has held her seat since 1997.
She did not provide a reason for her actions, and Seven Days reported that the representative claimed to not know why she did it.
Carroll said he has faced repeated verbal harassment from his colleague, mainly for his policy decisions, according to the outlet.
“I hear the sincerity in your voice,” Carroll said. “And I’m gonna be quite frank with you … for five months, I went through this. And each month, each day that I went through this, Representative Morrissey had a choice to make. And each time, she didn’t choose to either drop it or come to me and say ‘I’m sorry, I screwed up, let’s put our heads together and serve our constituents the way they ought to be.’ And for that I’m really sorry and sad.”
Carroll said that he is willing to sit down with Morrissey to talk through their issues, though he admitted it may be “awkward” at first.
“There’s gonna be some work to be done between the two of us,” he said. “That first time that we sit down together its gonna be kind of awkward, but we have to start somewhere.”
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VERMONT (WRGB) — Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark will host a free criminal record clearing clinic on Thursday, January 15, 2025 in Brattleboro, the first to be held in the state since new expungement laws changed in July.
Sealing a record allows an individual to wipe from their criminal record specific convictions and dismissed charges after a certain period of time has passed, including records relating to contact with the criminal justice system, like arrest or citation, arraignment, plea or conviction, and sentencing. Under Vermont’s updated law, most misdemeanors, various non-violent felony offenses, and all dismissed charges can be sealed. The free clinic will focus on sealing criminal charges and convictions from Windham County, and will be open to the public by appointment only.
“For many years, my office has assisted Vermonters with clearing old criminal records that are holding them back from securing stable housing, getting better jobs, and participating fully in their communities,” said Attorney General Clark. “These clinics are a way for us to help Vermonters who have paid their debt to society and stayed out of trouble get a fresh start and strengthen the community as a whole. I want to thank Windham County State’s Attorney Steve Brown, Interaction, and the Brooks Memorial Library for their assistance in hosting this clinic.”
Attorneys from the Attorney General’s Office will offer free assistance with petitions for Vermont-specific “qualifying” criminal convictions and dismissed charges. Appointments will be available from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Vermonters must schedule appointments in advance by calling the Attorney General’s Office at 802-828-3171 or emailing AGO.Info@vermont.gov by Tuesday, January 6, 2026. Eligible participants will be given an in-person appointment at the Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro, Vermont, on the day of the clinic.
More information on sealing and expungements generally is available at Vermont Legal Aid’s website at www.vtlawhelp.org/expungement.
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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.
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.
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.”
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.
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“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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