Archive - Sep 3, 2011
HANCOCK/GRANVILLE — “Look, headlights,” shouted someone in the crowd gathered at the Hancock Town Hall late Wednesday afternoon.
Every one of the 70-some town residents at the impromptu town meeting turned to look, craning their necks and inching out of their seats to catch a view of the bright orange Central Vermont Public Service truck rolling through town.
In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, the silver lining can be found in the hundreds of stories of neighbors helping neighbors, communities pulling together and finding new strength in those connections, and of the generous offers of help from all corners of the state and region.
Check the disaster aid hotlines and you’ll find some amazing accounts. Here’s one set of exchanges found on Vtresponse.com concerning a Aug. 30 plea for medical aid, baby formula and other supplies:
VERGENNES — The new Vergennes Union High School cross-country coach calls himself a lifelong runner — and credits the sport with helping point his life in the right direction.
Eric Carter, who takes over from Jeff Kauffman, is a 51-year-old Panton resident who logs up to six miles a day in his running shoes and has coached the VUHS middle school team and helped out the Commodore track program.
BRISTOL — Selectboard chairman Joel Bouvier late last week indicated that progress was being made in Bristol after Tropical Storm Irene tore up chunks of the town, but he noted that it came with a big price tag.
“Our biggest loss was Lincoln Road, the main road to Lincoln,” Bouvier said on Thursday. “We lost about 200 feet and that’s probably going to be in excess of $75,000 (to repair). Town-wide we had about $75,000 to $100,000 worth of damage.”
LINCOLN — When heavy floodwaters came tearing through the mountain village of Lincoln on Sunday, Aug. 28, a group of 20 community members rescued their local elementary school’s garden — one of Lincoln Community School’s central pillars.
MIDDLEBURY — The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles will have an expanded presence in the Addison County Courthouse as a result of flood damage from Tropical Storm Irene.
The Vermont Department of Buildings and General Services early last week authorized the temporary relocation of Rutland County DMV offices to the Middlebury courthouse. That became necessary after Irene-related flooding heavily damaged DMV offices in adjacent Rutland County.
ROCHESTER — Residents of Rochester, one of 13 communities isolated for five days by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene, were well under way with clean-up efforts late Thursday afternoon as Route 125 over Middlebury Gap to Route 100 was opened for emergency vehicles and vital traffic late Wednesday.
WEYBRIDGE — Weybridge residents on Tuesday, Sept. 6, will be asked for their feedback on town plan revisions that have been a decade in the making.
The revised plan includes new maps, updated facts and figures charting the growth of the community, an entirely new energy section, and a variety of suggestions aimed at helping Weybridge plot a smooth development course for at least the next five years.
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