Based on lessons learned
in Irene and other emergencies, the Middlebury Police Department is preparing
for potentially heavy and prolonged rain and wind associated with Hurricane
Sandy. Police officials have
contacted the Fire Department, Vermont State Police, Vermont Emergency
Management, CERT, MVAA, the Public Works Department and the Humane Society to
coordinate response to the storm.
The emergency shelter at the Municipal Gymnasium is also on standby for
storm evacuees, if needed. If
storm conditions warrant, an Emergency Operations Center will be set up in the
Police Department, with representatives from the Dept of Public Works and the
Fire Department on-site to provide a coordinated response to emergency
conditions. Town Officials are planning to touch base first thing on Monday morning to
assess the situation. Updates on
preparations on the storm and emergency alert notices are available on the
Middlebury Police Department's Facebook page.
As the North Country turns
its attention toward the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, people are taking steps to
prepare. The Red Cross is currently mobilizing numerous resources to respond to
Sandy, including calling their 2,500 volunteers in 17 New York counties to
gauge who is available for emergency response, transporting relief supplies and
staging more than 100 emergency response vehicles to respond wherever the need
should arise. They are also preparing to open 18 emergency shelters throughout
northeastern New York.
Staff at Vermont Yankee
say they're making sure the nuclear power plant is ready for Hurricane Sandy. Staff say they're preparing for high
winds and rain. They have been
securing equipment around the plant.
They're also reviewing staffing plans and emergency communications. If power to the plant is lost staff say
there are back-up generators to keep safety systems running.
Vermont Gas Systems and
the Town of Middlebury will hold a public informational meeting on Thursday
November 8th at 7:00 PM at the VFW on Exchange Street in Middlebury. Vermont Gas Systems will present the
latest plans for construction of the planned natural gas pipeline to Middlebury
in 2014 and 2015 including the proposed general areas of service, and routes of
proposed future extensions to Rutland and Ticonderoga. Vermont Gas will also have information
on the procedure for permitting and right of way acquisition. For additional information citizens may
call: Steve Wark, Director of Communications, Vermont Gas Systems, Inc. (802)
951-0373, wark@vermontgas.com. Fred Dunnington, Middlebury Town
Planner 388-8100 x 208, dunnington@townofmiddlebury.org.
Vergennes Union High
School will host an opening ceremony and public demonstration of their new
composting facilities November 3rd from 1 - 3 PM. Community members
and VUHS families are encouraged to come with bags of leaves, which students
will add to the pile to contribute carbon to the compost. Vergennes students now
have a new opportunity to learn about food systems and waste management. The
school will start converting all of its food scraps and organic waste into
fertilizing compost this week now that it has complete a new composting
facility at the school.
Consumers and businesses
in Essex County are expected to experience improved mobile Internet coverage
and voice performance as a result of continued investment and innovation by
AT&T. The company has completed a key initiative in its ongoing efforts to
enhance the wireless capacity and performance of its mobile Internet network in
Lake Placid. The network enhancement adds new layers of frequency, also known
as “carriers,” to cell sites in Essex County to more efficiently manage
available spectrum and increase mobile broadband capacity.
Officials say a 44-mile
section of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail across northern Vermont has received
the final permit needed to begin construction. The project received $5.2
million in federal funding in 2005, but it's been on hold during an
environmental review process. Eventually the project will run 93 miles from
Swanton to St. Johnsbury.
The state of Vermont is
taking applications for grants to help protect and restore the state's
watersheds. This year, $120,000 is available for grants of up to $15,000. The
money is available to municipalities, government agencies and nonprofit and
citizen groups for work such as protecting or restoring water quality, shorelines
or fish and wildlife habitats.
The Vermont Department of
Fish and Wildlife is warning boaters of the need to wear personal flotation
devices when boating on the New York side of Lake Champlain during the
cold-weather months. The New York
state boating law applies to all people on motorboats, canoes, kayaks, rowboats
and sailboats less than 21 feet from November 1st to May 1st. The law doesn't apply in Vermont, but
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Patrick Berry is encouraging anglers’
and boaters to be cautious and safe while on any watercraft as the water
temperatures decline. The
department is also reminding anglers and boaters that children under 12 must
wear a Coast Guard approved personal floatation device at all times while boating
on any body of water in Vermont.
A new commission has been
charged with reviewing quality standards in Vermont schools. The new 17-member
Education Quality Standards Commission will hold its first meeting in November
with the ultimate goal of developing recommendations to be adopted by the state
Board of Education. The recommendations could include new graduation
requirements and the amount of time students spend in class.
Even if all the races in
New York's state Senate are clearly decided on election night, control of the
chamber could remain unknown well past November 6th. That's because the upstart
Independent Democratic Conference holds four seats, potentially threatening the
Senate majority now held by Republicans. The four members of the conference are
closely aligned with Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Jeremy Davis will present
a program on his book “Lost Ski Centers of the Southern Adirondacks” at the
Hancock House in Ticonderoga this Friday at 7 p.m. The Adirondack region has long been a favorite of
skiers. In this presentation, ski
historian Davis will chronicle the history of these vanished ski areas with
photographs and memories from those who enjoyed them, while also paying homage
to restored and classic skiing opportunities still available in the
Adirondacks. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own ski memorabilia,
photos, and their memories to share with the group. For more information
contact the Ticonderoga Historical Society.
The readers of Conde Nast
Traveler have named Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa as the number one resort in
the Northeast. In its rating of
the 20 best properties in the region, the AAA-rated Four Diamond resort, and
accompanying Four Diamond restaurant, The View, on the shores of Mirror Lake in
Lake Placid, received the highest honors.
The Lake Placid Lodge and Whiteface Lodge also ranked in the top five
among the respondents. The magazine’s Readers’ Choice Rating scored the Mirror
Lake Inn at 94 out of 100 points. The listing is found in Conde Nast Traveler’s
Best in the World issue, soon to appear on newsstands.
From Fox 44 and ABC 22
News Your Voice in Vermont & New York:
In less than a day
Hurricane Sandy will make its presence felt across Vermont. With the storm
threatening the entire New England region, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin
issued a state of Emergency. He held a press conference today at the Emergency
Operations Center in Waterbury on the state's preparations. The governor said that sandy would be a
completely different storm than Irene .
"In Vermont we do not expect the kind of flooding that we saw from
Irene. It's not going to be that kind of weather event," Gov. Shumlin
said. Instead wind gusts from 60
to 80 mph are likely to pound the state. One of the main threats during the
storm will be fallen trees that land on power lines and cut off electricity.
Yard signs could become flying missiles, which is why it would be a good time
to take them down now. One
Emergency Management officer said that Rutland would be the "ground
zero" of the storm in Vermont.
The Northeast Kingdom and across the spine of the green mountains are
also likely to see strong winds lasting for 10 to 12 hours when Sandy hits.
It's why emergency personnel and electric company crews are preparing across
the state. "We've deployed
our emergency management folks to handle any challenge they may face,"
Gov. Shumlin said. After the
governor declared a state of emergency at noon Sunday the Vermont National
Guard is ready and waiting to help too. Federal aid would also be available if
there is severe damage but the Shumlin administration is not expecting that to
happen, even though a state of emergency was declared. "That does not mean that I'm
expecting the worst. What it means is that we're preparing for the worst and
hoping for the best," Gov. Shumlin said. The governor did not say that schools should be canceled in
the coming days but that each school district should determine on their own
whether it's worth keeping students home. In North Country New York State
Bushton-Moira Central School District, Crown Point Central School District, St.
Lawrence Central, Ticonderoga Central, Ticonderoga Elementary, Middle and High
school will all close at 1 PM.
One of the state's iconic
bike paths has suffered damage during severe weather before. The Colchester causeway has been under
repair for more than a month and is now open to the public. But for a long time
the path was unusable as parts were destroyed during spring flooding in two
thousand eleven. This year however Localmotion is betting that the causeway
will standup against sandy. “It’s
a much more resilient trail..piece of structure than it was before...and I
think it'll do just fine.” this
week there will be an official ribbon-cutting opening to the causeway for its users.
New York residents can
call 1-888-769-7243 or 1-518-485-1159 for inquiries related to citizen
preparedness information. New York
State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jerome
M. Hauer announced that the state's Hurricane Sandy Helpline is operational for
New York State residents in anticipation of the storm's landfall. Residents can call 1-888-769-7243 or
1-518-485-1159 for information about preparing for the hurricane and its
impact. Information will also be
available for referrals to county emergency management offices and American Red
Cross shelters and road closures.
Language translation services are also available by request.
Amtrak says it is
canceling service across the northeastern U.S. on Monday as Hurricane Sandy
threatens to create a wet, windy mess in the region. Amtrak said in a news release Sunday that it was canceling
all service north of New York at 7 PM. Nearly all service across the Eastern
Seaboard will be canceled starting Monday. Amtrak says it has not yet determined when train
services will resume. Alternate transportation is not available. Some trains will continue to run in
Florida and the Carolinas. The
news release says customers can receive a refund or voucher for future travel. For Amtrak alerts, click here.
