WVTK Local & State News September 6, 2011

The bridge on Route 7 in Brandon passed inspection Friday, Brandon House of Pizza has been removed and Route 7 is now paved and open to traffic. Brandon House Of Pizza plans to reopen soon in an empty space next to Aubuchon Hardware. The cleanup continues in Brandon and you can still help out. Get more information by visiting Brandon Dot org.

Motorists venturing south now have another route around a closed section of Route 7 in Clarendon. The upper portion of Middle Road reopened over the holiday weekend after state and town workers completed bridge and road repairs. Detour signs will direct the southbound traffic from Middle Road to Squiers Road and back onto Route 7.

Vermont State Police say a woman was not injured when her car collided with a 100-pound black bear that ran out into the road. Police say Dawn Marie Nicholson of Brandon was heading north on Route 7 in Salisbury Monday morning. The bear ran out in front of her, no tickets or warnings were issued.

Fifteen generators owned by the American Red Cross were stolen Sunday from a storage facility in Clarendon in what appears to be the first large-scale crime related to relief efforts in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene. While a handful of burglaries were reported from evacuated homes in Rutland and other communities affected by floods last week, Vermont Emergency Management officials say reports of looting were unfounded. Anyone with information should contact the Vermont State Police.

Vermont State Police were dispatched to the Kampersville campgrounds in Salisbury for a reported theft from items inside a motor vehicle recently. A reported $100 cash was taken from inside the vehicle along with a Rockford Fosgate stereo system with an amplifier valued at approximately $450. The stereo system and amp were both black and silver in color. Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Haven State Police Barracks at 802-388-4919.

The Bristol select-board chairman indicated that progress was being made after Tropical Storm Irene passed through town, but he noted that it came with a big price tag. The biggest loss was Lincoln Road which lost about 200 feet and that’s probably going to cost in excess of $75,000 to repair. Town-wide Bristol had about $75,000 to $100,000 worth of damage.

In the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, Middlebury College athletes spent their first days this semester helping communities in need. Last Thursday the Middlebury football team assembled on a closed Bakery Lane along the banks of the Otter Creek armed with shovels, sand, and hundreds of bags waiting to be filled. On Saturday the cross country teams were expected to travel to Hinesburg to assist in the cleanup and repair of a home and surrounding farm belonging to the parents of Noah Hurlburt, a teacher at Middlebury Union High School and new assistant coach for the Panthers’ men’s and women’s cross country teams.

When heavy floodwaters came through the village of Lincoln last week a group of 20 community members rescued the Lincoln Community School’s garden. A team of parents, firefighters, neighbors, teachers and students braved the rains from Tropical Storm Irene and pitched in to save the garden. The local team harvested bundles of carrots, onions, turnips, tomatoes and beets. Raised beds were disassembled and the garden shed was saved as well. Last Thursday, a second-grade class paired up with fifth and sixth graders to put the garden back together.

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 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. The DMV will operate within the Middlebury courthouse five days a week, from 8:30AM to 3:30PM and will probably last at least a month.

A Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Recovery Center opened over the weekend at the Jay Community Center. Residents in need of supplies or services should go to the center at 11 School Lane in Ausable Forks, according to the Essex County Emergency Operations Center. Operating hours will be 8Am to 8PM, seven days a week until further notice.
The Town of Essex has placed a dumpster at the local landfill transfer station for use by local flood victims at no charge. The town is also accepting brush from storm victims at the Whallonsburg Fire Department on Route 22 just south of the hamlet.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is now accepting applications for low-interest disaster loans for those affected by storms and flooding from April 26 through May 30. SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills made the loans available Friday in response to a letter from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, requesting disaster declaration by the SBA. The declaration covers Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties. The declaration also covers Chittenden and Grand Isle counties in Vermont.

The Town of Moriah was awarded nearly $1.4 million in hardship-grant funds to establish a water district just outside of Port Henry. The money is added to a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant the community received a year ago. Residences in Water District 4 will have a new water line, hydrants and a pumping system for the first time, serving Forge Hollow, Stone Street and Elk Inn Road.

Weybridge residents will be asked today 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.

The White House is estimating that Hurricane Irene will cost the federal government $1.5 billion in disaster relief. White House budget chief Jacob Lew released that preliminary estimate Monday. He said the $1.5 billion was on top of $5.2 billion needed for other recent disasters. The spending may touch off yet another partisan fight between President Barack Obama and Congress.

The Maine Department of Transportation is sending workers and equipment to Vermont to help repair roads and bridges damaged by Tropical Storm Irene. The department is planning to send 149 employees to Vermont today, along with excavators, loaders, graders, dump trucks and other equipment. As of Sunday, Vermont had 18 bridges closed and over 200 miles of roads that were damaged or closed. Vermont requested Maine's assistance on Friday.

The clock is ticking for some Northeastern states trying to rebuild roads and bridges devastated by Hurricane Irene. That's because the construction season for New England ends in October or early November. After that, it becomes harder to place concrete and lay asphalt because of the colder weather. Vermont says it will have to rent quickly built, military-style temporary bridges as a stopgap measure. Irene's floodwaters washed out and closed more than 300 roads in Vermont and damaged another 150 in New York. It also damaged at least 22 bridges. Officials say it could take months just to make basic repairs. Many permanent fixes will have to wait until the spring.

Vermont communities recovering from Tropical Storm Irene are seeking donations to help urgent family housing needs. Until state and federal money is available, officials in Waterbury say donations would help solve some housing problems. Several donation funds are available, such as the Waterbury Good Neighbor Fund to help individuals. A Revitalizing Waterbury Business Flood Relief Fund has been set up to temporarily cover payroll, insurance deductibles, new equipment and other needs.

There was a happy homecoming Sunday just in time for the holiday weekend. Sixty-six members of the Vermont Army Guard's air ambulance unit returned from a yearlong mission supporting medical evacuations in Iraq. The group was reunited with friends and family at the Vermont Army National Guard's Aviation Support Facility in South Burlington. The Guard says the air ambulance company is one of the most deployed units in the Vermont National Guard, serving three times in Iraq, twice in Bosnia and once in the Dominican Republic.

Today is the fifth day of the 166th edition of the Vermont State Fair and it’s 97 Cent Tuesday. Admission is 97 cents per person, free for children under age 6, and rides are 97 cents per ride ticket all day. The midway and exhibits open at noon.