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WTSA NEWS FOR SATURDAY AUGUST 2nd 2025

Brattleboro, VT, USA / 96.7 WTSA FM
WTSA NEWS FOR SATURDAY AUGUST 2nd 2025


Police have identified a Bristol, New Hampshire, man they say was involved in a
stabbing at a Lebanon Park on Thursday and who remains on the run. Lebanon
Police say Dahlton Fairbank, 29, stabbed another man in the neck at Colburn
Park around 9 a.m. Police say he ran from the scene and was picked up by
someone on I-89 and brought to his home in Bristol. When police searched the
property, they say Fairbank took off again. They did find his cell phone and
several edged weapons. Police say he should be considered dangerous and
should not be approached. Call 911 or the Lebanon police at 603-448-1212. You
can also submit an anonymous tip online. There was no immediate word on the
condition of the victim, who suffered serious injuries. There’s also no word yet
on what the motive may have been or whether the two men knew each other.

The Brattleboro Police Department is putting a new squad of resource officers
out on patrol to help address persistent problems downtown. The Brattleboro
Resource Assistance Team, or B.R.A.T., is made up of plainclothes employees
focused solely on the downtown corridor that has seen issues with drug-related
crimes. The team members do not carry guns and will supplement regular law
enforcement officers. The BRAT team has received specialized training from the
Vermont Police Academy. They are just one piece of the department’s
downtown safety action plan, which includes opening a police substation at the
transportation building in November.

Vermont Governor Phil Scott says he will not allow Vermont National Guard
soldiers to help in federal immigration efforts. The secretary of defense had
asked governors of several states — including Vermont — to activate National
Guard troops to help ICE crackdowns. But Scott administration officials say the
governor declined the request for 12 soldiers, saying that he didn’t think the
situation met the criteria to federalize National Guard personnel. The governor
so far has taken a light-handed response to a number of hot-button issues since
Trump won the presidency, saying instead that Vermonters should rise above
the president’s rhetoric.

A new push on Capitol Hill aims to roll back what Democrats are calling a “sick
tax” on some of the country’s most vulnerable patients. President Donald
Trump’s “big beautiful bill” comes with a long list of changes, including out-of-
pocket fees for Medicaid patients visiting the doctor, a change Vermont Sen.
Peter Welch says unfairly penalizes low-income Americans trying to get the care
they need. GOP leaders emphasize that the bill delivers one of the most
significant tax cuts in years, while restoring personal responsibility and reducing
waste in the system. Democrats contend that also tucked into the bill are out-
of-pocket costs for patients.

Thursday marked the end of a Vermont mental health program geared toward
flood victims. The Starting Over Strong Vermont program was launched by the
Department of Health after the devastating flooding in July of 2023. It provided
mental health, community outreach, and flood recovery services for survivors.
The FEMA-funded program was extended after flooding last summer. Officials
say ongoing support will continue through Long-Term Recovery Groups, the
FEMA-funded Disaster Case Management program, and other community-based
services. Other general flood recovery information is also available by calling
211.

Grace Cottage Hospital hosts it’s 75 th Annual Fair Day this Saturday on the
Townshend Common from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Free parking, free admission, pony
rides, Specialty Booths, Auction, food galore, entertainment, a Hole-in-One
contest sponsored by M&T Bank, a Birthday Parade with a stork and bagpipers,
and much more. All proceeds of Hospital Fair Day will go toward the long-held
dream of a new primary care building at Grace Cottage.

A trooper from the Westminster Barracks was notified of a vandalism incident
at the Wardsboro Country Store Sunoco located on Main Street at
approximately 8:50 p.m. July 30. Surveillance video showed a male hitting a gas
pump screen, causing damage. The vehicle involved was a white Volkswagen
Jetta station wagon with a kayak roof rack on the driver’s side, occupied by a
male and a female. The vehicle had a Vermont registration with a “Vermont Strong” front plate. The vehicle was at the Country Store between approximately 8:45 p.m. and 8:55 p.m. Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to call Trooper Maldonado at 802-722-4600.