Current News

US Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to the State of Vermont and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following Tropical Strom Irene.
Yesterday, President Obama issued a disaster declaration for Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington, Windham, and Windsor Counties. The President’s declaration allows HUD to offer foreclosure relief and other assistance to certain families living in these counties.
‘Families who may have been forced from their homes need to know that help is available to begin the rebuilding process,’ said Donovan. ‘Whether it’s foreclosure relief for FHA-insured families or helping these counties to recover, HUD stands ready to help in any way we can.’
About HUD:

Just hours after Governor Peter Shumlin requested a major disaster declaration from President Barack Obama for assistance in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, the White House late Thursday announced approval of the aid ‘ public assistance to help with infrastructure repairs in all Vermont counties except Grand Isle, and individual assistance for homeowners and businesses in counties where early assessments have been completed. Because assessments continue in some counties ‘ particularly in hard-hit southern Vermont ‘ a supplemental request will follow to add those areas, as well.

Vermont’s delegation in Congress ‘ Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) ‘ Thursday asked President Obama to act ‘with all due speed’ on Vermont’s request for a disaster declaration, which would open the doors to a variety of federal programs to help Vermonters cope with recovery efforts in the aftermath of major flooding in the wake of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene.
Thy sent their letter on the heels of Governor Peter Shumlin’s (D) formal request to the President on Thursday, in which he asked for the declaration.
In their letter, the Vermont lawmakers told the President, ‘Winter is fast approaching and we must move without delay to secure our homes and restore our infrastructure. With just weeks to accomplish so much, we need the full and immediate support of FEMA and other federal agencies.

Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE-CV) has completed the purchase of the Vermont Marble Power Division of Omya.
‘We are pleased to add Vermont Marble’s 875 customers to the CVPS family, and look forward to offering them extensive new service options,’ CVPS President Larry Reilly said. ‘Over time, we will significantly improve the output from the former Vermont Marble hydro facilities on Otter Creek, adding clean, low-cost, new renewable generation to our portfolio.’
The transaction was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates the hydro sites and transmission facilities involved in the sale, and by the Vermont Public Service Board.

The devastation from Tropical Storm Irene is evident throughout Vermont, from flood-blasted bridges to wrecked roadways to mud-crusted houses. But it’s the impact on small local businesses that got Todd Bailey motivated to create a statewide relief fund. The Vermont Irene Flood Relief Fund, administered by Central Vermont Community Action, will raise funds to help affected business owners get their doors open quickly. Donations can be made online or by check (www.vtirenefund.org) and fellow businesses in unaffected areas of the state and around country will be holding fundraising events to support the effort.
Bailey, a Montpelier communications professional at KSE Partners, has partnered with local organizations to launch the Vermont Irene Flood Relief Fund. Central Vermont Community Action Council will be acting as the fiscal agent, accepting these donations and providing the grant funds to businesses.

New Chapter, Inc of Brattleboro today announced the acquisition of its Canadian distribution rights by its newly formed subsidiary, New Chapter Canada, Inc. New Chapter Canada acquired the distribution rights of New Chapter products from the Canadian company Advantage Health Matters.
"Today marks a significant step towards spreading the healing mission," said New Chapter Founder, Formulator and Master Herbalist Paul Schulick. "We share many common bonds with Canada. Along with sharing a border, we share a commitment to educating on and delivering natural healing remedies. Purchasing our distribution rights was the logical next step. We are now able to bring our full capabilities to Canada."

Governor Peter Shumlin today requested a major disaster declaration from President Barack Obama for public assistance to help with infrastructure repairs in all Vermont counties except Grand Isle, and individual assistance for homeowners and businesses in counties where early assessments have been completed. Because assessments continue in some counties ‘ particularly in hard-hit southern Vermont ‘ a supplemental request will follow to add those areas.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture has partnered with the Vermont Community Foundation to create the Vermont Farm Disaster Relief Fund, which will assist Vermont farms that sustained damage from Tropical Storm Irene.
The relief fund will pool contributions from donors and will make grants directly to farmers affected by the storm.
‘Following Tropical Storm Irene, the Agency of Agriculture received calls from many farmers seeking guidance about lost land, lost crops, and lost livestock, as well as calls from Vermonters interested in supporting farmers,’ said Chuck Ross, Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. ‘Until now, there was no designated fund to which we could direct callers. The Farm Disaster Relief Fund creates a vehicle where we can connect the resources of concerned donors to the needs of affected farmers who have suffered damages from tropical storm Irene.’

On Sunday, August 7, 74 Vermont community teams and 13 breast cancer survivor teams from the eastern U.S. and Canada competed for a day of fun and fundraising at Burlington’s Waterfront Park. Thanks to the thousands of participants, donors, sponsors, and volunteers, this year the Citizens Bank Lake Champlain Dragon Boat Festival raised over $236,900 to benefit Survivorship NOW and Dragonheart Vermont. Now in its 6th year the festival has raised nearly ¾ of a million dollars for local cancer-related charities. The 2011 pledge partner is Survivorship NOW, Dragonheart Vermont’s new Network on Wellness initiative. Survivorship NOW will provide on-going exercise, support and wellness programs for community cancer survivors to help them live life to the fullest after their clinical cancer treatment ends.

Vermont Law School’s classes started today, two days late, because of school closure due to electricity, telephones and Internet service being interrupted by Hurricane Irene. All systems have been restored.
Scores of VLS students have been volunteering and helping South Royalton residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the storm. The students have been delivering food, cleaning up flood damage, delivering supplies and doing other tasks.
Floodwaters on campus damaged two buildings, three riverside parking lots and an outdoor classroom, while the school’s Internet server center had a mechanical failure. Flooding also damaged the homes of or stranded several faculty, students and staff in South Royalton and other communities.

September 1, 2011 ‘ 8 am update. Central Vermont Public Service crews made extraordinary progress Wednesday, and less than 5,900 customer outages are left to restore.

Thomas S Leavitt, Executive Vice President of Merchants Bank, announced that Merchants Bank, in partnership with The Vermont Foodbank, has started a fundraising drive to support those hardest hit by hurricane Irene. Donation centers have been established at Merchants Bank branches across Vermont. Please visit www.MBVT.com for a branch listing.
This effort will primarily be focused on re-stocking the food shelves, meal sites and kitchens in the areas of Vermont most impacted by the storm and its aftermath. Vermonters are encouraged to make monetary donations at their local Merchants Bank branch office.
Monetary donations will allow for the purchase of supplies needed to respond to specific needs across the state. Monetary donations can be made directly to The Vermont Foodbank at www.vtfoodbank.org or by calling 1-800-585-2265.