Christmas Eve Roundup

Our editor at the Times Argus was looking around for some happy news to print, and here it is: Rutland set the record for most pints of blood donated in one day in New England: 849. That may not seem like a big deal, but it is, since the recent weather canceled or curtailed many regional blood drives. And, Rutland Mayor Chris Louras shaved his head in honor of the occasion.
If you're looking for some old news, last week's column by Jim Sabataso touched off a letter that spurred a bunch of comments about Rutland City and Rutland Town patching up relations and working together. Seems like there's still some bitterness there, but hopefully we can move on in '09.
In other statewide news, Louis Porter reports that the Yankee nuclear power plant could continue running past 2012 with some changes, according to a study released Tuesday. The study still points out a number of concerns with that scenario, though. Peter Hirschfeld reports on the possibility of the death penalty for accused killer Michael Jacques. We're pretty tired of seeing his face in the paper, but on the upside, hopefully this whole saga will spur changes in the way we deal with sex offenders.
A Vermonter from the Barre area will be premiering his first solo movie as a director this week – Frank Miller's "Spirit" will open tomorrow.
And finally, if you're looking for good this day, here's a letter about people helping out at U-32.