WVTK Local & State News January 2, 2015

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for the entire listening area, which is in effect from Saturday Evening through Sunday Morning. We could see 3 to 5 inches of snow with some significant ice build up as well. This storm will start as light snow before changing to a mix of snow and ice and then change to all rain Sunday Morning.

The Vermont Health Department announced this morning that the flu, in Vermont, is considered “widespread”. Health officials say it is not too late to get your flu shot. However, the CDC says this year's flu strain has mutated in ways that make the vaccine less effective than experts initially hoped.

It took nearly two hours of 2015 for Vermont's first baby of the year to be born. The first baby is identified as Emma Grace Densmore, born before 2 a.m. yesterday at the University of Vermont Medical Center. She is an unlikely first baby, as her mother spent 50 hours in labor before finally giving birth nine days late. The baby is a healthy seven pounds and 14 ounces.

The lottery for personal roadside firewood lots on state forest lands opens today. A press release says the two-week registration for "cut-your-own" lots ends on January 16. Each lot costs $30 and yields about three cords of wood. This year's roadside lots are available in the towns of Duxbury, Orange, Johnson, Groton, and Sutton. Participants will need to indicate where they prefer to cut. You can register online at VTFPR.org. The department will accept one signup per household. Winners of the roadside lots will be notified in early March.

Residents of Middlebury and East Middlebury can dispose their Christmas trees for free tomorrow. Place the tree next to the curb before 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning without any ornaments, garland, or other decorations. The tree will be collected as part of the "Middlebury Merry Mulch" event that happens every year. Residents can also bring their trees to the District Transfer Station in Middlebury through the end of January so it can be turned into "Merry Mulch" in the spring.