WVTK Local & State News December 20, 2013

A lot of preparation is underway for a potentially icy storm this weekend.  The problems could include not only slippery roads but downed trees and power lines.  State Police are warning people to have emergency items like flashlights, batteries and water on hand.  Green Mountain Power is preparing as well and has already had plenty of meetings with staff and other Vermont utilities.  G-M-P already has 400 additional workers in New England on standby.

It’s one of Vermont’s fastest growing tech companies, and now it’s getting a new owner.  Dealer-dot-com was sold Thursday to Dealer-track Technologies, a publicly-traded New York company.  Privately-held Dealer-dot-com was sold for 620 million dollars and 8.7 million shares of Dealer-track stock.  The sale will close next year, with the five founders of the Vermont company continuing with Dealer-track, and no immediate impact on the Burlington office and its staff.

Toys "R" Us is back open today for holiday shopping after a scare yesterday morning.  High levels of carbon monoxide caused the evacuation of the building for about two hours.  It re-opened around 12:30 p.m.  The Williston Fire Chief says a machine used to clean the floors is likely to blame.  Two store employees were sent to the hospital for evaluation.

Gov. Peter Shumlin and education officials announced 5 colleges will offer programs to high school students in 2014.  A press release says students who participate in these early college programs will attend college during their senior year of high school on a full-time basis.  Vermont Technical College is already offering programs for high school students.  Burlington College, Castleton State College, Community College of Vermont, Johnson State College and Lyndon State College will now offer programs.  

The Vermont Foodbank says it has a $1 million budget gap to fill before the end of the year.  During the months of October, November and December the food bank raises more than two-thirds of its annual operating budget.  But despite the usual generosity of Vermonters and local companies, the food bank says it is still $1 million short of meeting its goal.  This year, the food bank has provided more than 6.8 million meals to food shelves and meal programs.  The goal is to increase to 7.1 million next year.