No serious injuries after incident at Barre high school

BARRE (AP) -- Officials say five people went to the hospital after an unexplained haze was noticed in a science laboratory at Barre's Spaulding High School, but no one is believed to have been seriously hurt.

Barre Police Chief Tim Bombardier says school staff discovered the haze in the lab area at about 12:30 p.m. Friday.

Fire crews from multiple departments were called to the scene and decontamination units were set up.

Officials say there weren't many people in the building at the time.

Central Vermont Medical Center spokeswoman Cheyenne Holland said a decontamination unit was set up at the hospital as part of standard procedure when the staff is informed about a potentially hazardous material spill.

She said some first responders were being brought to the hospital as a precaution.

Tools, copper, taken from Londonderry transfer station

LONDONDERRY (AP) -- Vermont State Police say someone has taken tools, copper and other scrap metal from a transfer station and recycling center in Londonderry.

Police said the burglary happened sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning. The transfer station is on Route 100. It serves the towns of Londonderry, Landgrove, Peru, Weston and Windham.

Anyone with information on the break-in is asked to contact the police.

Firefighters suspect arson

MORETOWN (AP) -- Firefighters believe arson caused $450,000 in damage to a home in Moretown, Vt.

They responded twice to the same house on Dean's Mountain Road last weekend.

WCAX-TV reports during the first response, firefighters contained the fire to just a few rooms.

When they left, they were called to return because the other end of the home was on fire.

Officials also discovered that a propane tank had been turned on, even though they had turned it off while fighting the first fire.

N.Y. fire doesn't threaten Vt.

WATERBURY (AP) -- An industrial fire in east-central New York state should not be considered a threat to Vermont's residents or environment.

That's the word from Vermont public safety and environmental officials who have been monitoring the fire in a transformer recycling plant in Ghent, New York, about 25 miles south of Albany.

The fire broke out Wednesday night and burned through much of Thursday, prompting officials in nearby parts of New York and Massachusetts to issue safety warnings.

Officials urged residents within a 15-mile radius to stay inside with windows closed and the air conditioning off.

Vermont officials say some of the smoke may have blown over the state, but not enough to cause worry.

Cuomo calls ‘yogurt summit'

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo is calling farmers and manufacturers to a so-called yogurt summit to find ways the state can help increase New York's share of the growing trade.

The state will look at regulations and laws that could get in the way of farmers providing more milk and manufacturers making yogurt.

Cuomo made the announcement Thursday at a Greek-style yogurt plant being built in Batavia, near Rochester.

The yogurt summit will be in Albany Aug. 15.

Pittsfield man faces child abuse charges

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- A 22-year-old Pittsfield man has been ordered held on $50,000 bail after pleading not guilty to sexually assaulting several children and forcing them to pose nude for pictures.

Robert Labarre was arraigned Thursday in Central Berkshire District Court on charges of rape of a child with force, distribution of material involving nude children, placing a nude child in a lascivious pose, and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

The Berkshire Eagle (http://bit.ly/M8v8bO ) reports he was arrested Wednesday.

Authorities say Labarre was supposed to take care of five children between the ages of 5 and 9 while their parents were not home. Only the 5-year-old was spared the alleged abuse.

Labarre's court-appointed lawyer said there is no evidence to support the allegations and his client maintains his innocence.

Presidential inaugural to feature Saratoga water

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) -- Whoever wins the presidency, an upstate New York bottler will be a winner.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer says that water from the Saratoga Springs Water Co. will be served at the presidential inauguration. Schumer is chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. He says Saratoga water and its iconic blue bottle will be the official water of the historic ceremonies, regardless of who wins the November election.

Schumer is touring the generations-old plant in Saratoga Springs Friday with local officials and Republican state Sen. Roy McDonald, who represents Saratoga County.

Saratoga water will be used at the swearing-in ceremonies of the president and vice president on the West Front of the Capitol and at the luncheon afterward.