Previous Meeting

APRIL 2011 MEETING

Where: State Police Barracks, Newport, Vermont

When:  April 8th, 2011

9:30 am - 2:30 pm

Meeting Program:

Lt. Kirk Cooper, Commander of the Troop B Headquarters at Derby Station welcomed the chapter to the barracks and provided a tour of the facilities including the holding cells and all other areas.   He also discussed the mission and responsibilities of the barracks which includes the following:

The Vermont State Police, Troop B-Derby Station provides public safety and law enforcement services to the towns of Albany, Averill, Avery’s Gore, Barton, Bloomfield, Brighton, Brunswick, Brownington, Canaan, Charleston, Coventry, Craftsbury, Derby, Ferdinand, Glover, Greensboro, Holland, Irasburg, Jay, Lemington, Lewis, Lowell, Maidstone, Morgan, Newport Town, Norton, Troy, Warners Grant, Warren Gore, Westfield and Westmore in the counties of Essex and Orleans.

The Derby Station is located in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. This northeastern corner of the Green Mountain State is still one of the least populated areas. The terrain and lack of straight, level roads in Orleans and Northern Essex County make it a difficult area to police. Over the years, the State Police have been, and continue to be, the primary law enforcement agency in the Kingdom. They police 30 towns from the top of Jay Peak east to Beecher Falls on the New Hampshire/Canadian border and as far south as Sheffield Heights on Interstate 91 and the town of Craftsbury.

The Derby Station area encompasses half of the Canada/Quebec-U.S./ Vermont border and is responsible for an integral part of the Vermont State Police’s Homeland Security mission. The Derby Station Troopers work with other agencies on a daily basis, such as the U.S. Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to insure our citizens are protected from foreign and domestic terrorism.

After Lt. Cooper’s tour and talk the supervisors and custodians for the barracks and other Vermont State Buildings in the area spoke about the cleaning systems they use and how the state maintains and cleans its buildings. The Department of Buildings and General Services is responsible for the state buildings.  Richard LaPage and Gary Kimball explained some of their cleaning challenges such as having all marmoleum floors at the Derby Station and the fact that they have to refinish them.  They use green products and are committed to staying green.  

 Statewide, the Department of Buildings and General Services exists primarily to provide the facilities and services required for all state agencies and departments to accomplish their missions. Building construction and renovation, buildings and grounds maintenance and custodial services as well as the security of state facilities constitute some of the most significant aspects of the BGS mission. Over 350 employees are dedicated to providing safe and healthy working environments in over 4 million square feet of office, customer service areas, information centers, courtrooms, correctional facilities, and storage space. In addition, BGS provides postal, print and copying services, manages the state’s fleet vehicle inventory, coordinates workers compensation and liability claims, and oversees all of the state’s purchasing, contracting, and surplus property requirements.