Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Valley Vista, the 99-bed inpatient alcohol and chemical dependency treatment center in Bradford, will once again host what has now become a regular performance of "Telling My Story." The event will take place on Thursday, November 2ndand Friday, November 3rdbeginning at 7pm both nights.Telling MyStory is a means by which patients at the residential drug and alcohol treatment facility use theater as a medium for self reflection and relationship building.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) issued a bulletin authorizing the use of emergency adjusters and appraisers to review and approve insurance claims resulting from the recent windstorms. This measure will allow insurance companies to use additional resources from other states to more efficiently settle claims and get Vermonters money for repairs.

Commissioner Michael S Pieciak, in addition to issuing the bulletin, encouraged Vermonters who have questions about their insurance policies and coverage to contact DFR.

“This bulletin will help our insurance companies to more quickly review claims and get money into the pockets of Vermonters that experienced property damage,” said Commissioner Pieciak. “I also encourage Vermonters to call DFR’s knowledgeable and experienced staff if they have insurance questions as DFR has tools that may facilitate a speedier resolution.”

Vermont Business Magazine Northfield Savings Bank President and CEO Thomas Leavitt along with other bank officials presented Norwich University President Richard W. Schneider with a $150,000 gift to the “Forging the Future” bicentennial campaign in celebration of a longtime relationship between the two institutions during the hockey game held in Kreitzberg Arena on Friday, Oct. 27.

Northfield Savings Bank and Norwich University have enjoyed a 150-year relationship, beginning with the bank’s founding by Norwich president Reverend Edward Bourns in 1867. This gift brings the total investment by the Northfield Savings Bank in the Forging the Future campaign to $300,000.

Vermont Business MagazineOver 270 members of the Vermont Farm to Plate Network convened October 26-27, 2017 at the 7th annual Farm to Plate Network Gathering in Killington to address workforce development and business succession challenges in Vermont’s farm and food economy. Comprised of food producers, farmers, food system businesses, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, capital providers, and government officials, the Farm to Plate Network is responsible for implementing Vermont’s statewide food system plan to increase jobs and economic development in the farm and food economy and improve access to healthy local food for all Vermonters.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) has announced that Vermont organizations will receive 10 grants totaling more than $7.4 million from the US Department of Justice to support crime victims and to strengthen services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. As a former prosecutor and as the Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Leahy has long led efforts to protect funding for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), the two federal programs that provide direct support to victims. Leahy also led the Senate in strengthening and reauthorizing VAWA in 2013 as the chief author and sponsor of that legislation, and in 2015 he helped raise the cap on the Crime Victims Fund so that states would be eligible for more funding.

Montpelier Mayor John Hollar It is with mixed emotions that I am announcing my intention not to seek re-election as mayor of Montpelier in March. Montpelier is a healthy, thriving community with engaged residents, a vibrant downtown, great schools and a flourishing arts and music scene. It has been an honor to serve as mayor of America’s greatest small-town capital city.

Green Mountain Power On the morning of the third day of this unprecedented windstorm, progress continues at a steady clip and an additional 100 lineworkers are joining the response. Crews have restored power to 111,750 customers, while working hard to bring service to the remaining 8,620. GMP is now able to provide updated district/county area level restoration updates and once again extends its sincere appreciation to customers for their patience.

Vermont Electric CooperativeWednesdaystarted with 6,383 VEC members without power. Crews are out in full force this morning working hard to get the power back on. At the height of the event we had a total of 22,015 member outages so we have made significant restoration progress. We now have help from crews who arrived last night from Illinois; 18 men have joined our team in the field today. We also getting help from Burlington, Orleans and Swanton Electric. We are very appreciative of the mutual aid assistance. In addition to line workers, we have a tremendous amount of tree work getting done by 63 tree trimmers. So far, we have experienced 35 broken poles and we will likely discover more throughout our investigation. We look forward to seeing more good progress today.

Vermont Business Magazine Dorset Partners LLC is pleased to announce that it has received the National Turnaround of the Year Award, for businesses with revenue under $50 million, from The Turnaround Management Association (“TMA”) for its role in the restructuring of Vermont Aerospace Manufacturing Inc. The award was presented to Dorset Partners and other members of the restructuring team during the 2017 TMA Annual Conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

Vermont Aerospace makes precision machined metal components for commercial and military aircraft, including weapons systems that were critical in turning the tide against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. For decades the company provided great jobs in their small post-industrial town and maintained a critical base of skilled craftsmanship in the region. The employees are well known for their ability to turn out the most complex precision parts, perfectly and repeatedly.

Vermont Business MagazineLedyard Financial Group, Inc(ticker symbol LFGP), the holding company for Ledyard National Bank with an office in Vermont, on Tuesday reported record quarterly earnings for the third quarter of 2017. Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2017, was $1,124,246 or $0.36 per share compared to $1,073,721 or $0.35 per share for the same period in 2016, an increase of $50,525 or 4.7%. Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, was $3,252,706 or $1.06 per share compared to $3,141,198 or $1.02 per share for the same period in 2016, an increase of $111,508 or 3.6%.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets urges farmers seeking financial recovery assistance to apply for emergency loans as soon as possible. By Tuesday afternoon, more than 20 Vermont farms reported damage or problems caused by wind storms Sunday night and Monday morning. This storm is a multi-day event and it’s likely more farms will be impacted as energy crews work to restore power. In many cases, agricultural structures like greenhouses, high tunnels, hoop barns and other mobile field shelters were significantly damaged. Several dairy farms continue to use generators to power milking operations, presenting additional logistical challenges. As Vermont sugarmakers begin to survey the woods, damages to trees, pipelines and facilities are being reported. In some areas, full restoration could take until the weekend.

Vermont Business Magazine As of mid-day Tuesday,Vermont Electric Coop crews continue to make progress restoring power across the service territory but a significant number of members are still without electricity. For some members, it may be 2-3 days before power is restored and VEC is urging members to plan accordingly. At the height of the outage early yesterday morning, approximately 40 percent of VEC’s 38,000 members did not have power. As of11:30today, VEC crews had restored power to about 4,600 members and about 9,000 remain without power. Across New England this morning approximately 880,000 people are without power.