Current News

Construction upgrades to 16.9 miles of Vermont Electric Cooperative’s (VEC) transmission system located in the towns of Jay, Westfield and Lowell began this week. The project will replace part of the electric grid that is more than 40 years old and in need of improvement to ensure reliability and safety throughout the northern tier of VEC’s service territory.
Further driving the need associated with this upgrade is an increased demand for electricity in this area. Electric load growth in area communities has increased by 10 percent during the past decade. Jay Peak’s demand has grown and with a high level of future economic growth projected, the increased demand for electricity will be dramatic.

The Associated General Contractors of Vermont (AGC/VT) is partnering with the Regional Planning Commissions to connect the state’s cities and towns with contractors, materials and equipment for critical reconstruction projects in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene.
AGC/VT is a statewide contractor association with more than 150 members representing road and highway contractors, bridge contractors, commercial builders and quarries, as well as engineers and architects.
‘All of these skills will be needed as we rebuild,’ said Cathy Voyer, Executive Vice President of AGC/VT. ‘While the State of Vermont has already mounted an impressive response, many of the towns that can usually call on state construction resources are now on their own to solicit bids and materials. We at AGC/VT decided to help by acting as a clearing house to connect towns and contractors quickly.’

The US Small Business Administration announced today that certain Private Non-Profit Organizations (PNPs) in Vermont that do not provide critical services of a governmental nature may be eligible to apply for low interest rate disaster loans. These loans are available as a result of a Presidential disaster declaration for Public Assistance resulting from damages caused by Tropical Storm Irene beginning August 27th.
PNPs located in the following counties that provide non-critical services are eligible to apply: Addison,Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington,Windham, and Windsor. Examples of eligible non-critical PNP organizations include, but are not limited to, food kitchens, homeless shelters, museums, libraries, community centers, schools and colleges.

In response to the damages inflicted on the state of Vermont in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, The Paramount Theatre, in a partnership with I Am Vermont Strong, (a campaign developed to raise funds, awareness and spirits as a result of Hurricane Irene) is announcing that a portion of the proceeds of the 3 scheduled September concerts at The Paramount Theatre are now going to directly benefit victims of the recent devastation ($5/ticket purchased after 9/8/11). The 3 concerts, featuring Blues Traveler (9/23), George Thorogood and The Destroyers (9/24) and Keb Mo (9/27), are now all a part of the I Am Vermont Strong Benefit Concert Series.

Comcast is lending a helping hand in support of its customers and employees in Vermont affected by the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene. Comcast delivered 100 generators, gasoline and bottled water valued at more than $100,000 to the local Red Cross in Clarendon, Vermont.
Comcast is a national telecommunications firm and the largest cable television company serving Vermont.
Pictured (l to r): Representative Patti Komline, Tuck Rainwater, Comcast Director of Government and Community Relations for Vermont, Senator Peg Flory and Senator Bill Carris.

Governor Peter Shumlin today appointed Neale Lunderville to oversee state recovery efforts following Tropical Storm Irene. Lunderville, who served as Secretary of Administration and Secretary of Transportation under Governor Jim Douglas, will take a leave from his current position at Green Mountain Power.
In the post, Lunderville will spearhead efforts to assist families and businesses, restore communities, and rebuild infrastructure damaged by Tropical Storm Irene’s record flooding and high winds. He will facilitate major recovery efforts currently underway across Vermont between state agencies and departments, federal disaster response, and local authorities and organizations.

By Senator Bernie Sanders
The state of Vermont has been hit with one of the worst natural disasters in our history. Lives have been lost. Vermonters throughout the state have seen their homes, businesses and farms suffer terrible damage. Hundreds of roads, bridges and schools have been damaged or destroyed. Our state office complex in Waterbury, which housed 1,600 workers, is unusable. We’re looking at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild.

In response to the statewide devastation caused by Tropical Storm Irene, Vermont Public Radio will hold a special one-day fundraiser on Tuesday, September 13, to help affected communities rebuild and recover from this natural disaster. Donations received from listeners will benefit the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund.
VPR has been providing in-depth news coverage of the aftermath of and recovery from Tropical Storm Irene since it hit Vermont on August 28th, as well as online resources and information about road closures, volunteer opportunities, and more.

QuorumSoft, a world leading provider of deduplicating archival solutions for virtualized environments, today announced the general availability of Alikeâ ¢ Version 2.1, a new generation solution for Citrix XenServer backup and disaster recovery. Alike v2.1 delivers significant enhancements, including dramatically faster backup performance, more flexible deployment options, and innovative new ways to minimize bandwidth and storage costs.
With Alike v2.1, multiple virtual machines (VMs) can be backed up concurrently, giving XenServer users the ability to scale the solution to meet their unique requirements. Alike v2.1 also includes the ability to backup and replicate a virtual machine in a single pass, choose push or pull replication flow, and other advanced capabilities. To provide companies with the flexibility to balance their resource utilization, QuorumSoft offers the choice of either source-side or target-side deduplication.

The Verizon Foundation, Verizon's philanthropic arm, will give the American Red Cross a $100,000 grant to assist in relief efforts in communities affected by Hurricane Irene. Additionally, the foundation's disaster relief incentive program will match dollar-for-dollar all donations by U.S.-based Verizon employees, up to $1,000 per employee, to the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army for Hurricane Irene relief.
"Verizon has a long tradition of running to a crisis to quickly assist communities in need," said Verizon Foundation President Rose Kirk. "It is our friends and neighbors who are affected by the devastation of Hurricane Irene, and providing this assistance is the least we can do."
Verizon Wireless customers can support relief efforts by making a $10 donation to one of nine organizations by sending a text message. Donating is easy; customers simply text a specific word to the organization's designated short code:

After a meeting this morning of House Members whose districts were devastated by Hurricane Irene, Chief Deputy Whip Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced the formation of the bipartisan Hurricane Irene Coalition.
The Coalition will serve two purposes. First, it will work to ensure FEMA has the resources it needs to support the recovery effort. Second, working with FEMA and other federal agencies, it will serve as a resource for Members to support recovery efforts their districts.
Coalition Co-chairs are Reps. Welch (D-Vt.), Gibson (R-N.Y) DeLauro (D-Conn.), Hayworth (R-N.Y.), Butterfield (D-N.C.), Marino (R-Penn.) Pascrell (D-N.J.), and Jones (R-N.C.).

Local transfer stations are working in coordination with EPA to collect household hazardous waste (HHW). See table below to find the location nearest to you. Residents that have been impacted by flooding caused by hurricane Irene need to separate their household hazardous waste (HHW). Improper disposal of HHW can pose a threat to human health and/or the environment. Leftover household products that contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable, or reactive ingredients are considered to be HHW.
Some HHW that cannot be disposed of in normal waste containers: