Current News

The largest fleet of utility trucks, workers and resources in Central Vermont Public Service history is making steady, solid progress on storm restoration today, thanks to improving access and the sheer numbers of workers. But CVPS cautioned that complete restoration remains dependent on road access, and could take weeks.

The US Small Business Administration announces today that federal economic injury disaster loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes located in Chittenden, and Grand Isle counties in Vermont as a result of excessive rain, flash flooding, high winds, lightning and cooler than normal temperatures that occurred from March 1 through June 1, 2011.
‘These counties are eligible because they are contiguous to one or more primary counties in New York. The Small Business Administration recognizes that disasters do not usually stop at county or state lines. For that reason, counties adjacent to primary counties named in the declaration are included’

As many resorts, inns and hotels throughout Vermont have either closed or become inaccessible in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, Basin Harbor Club in Vergennes, Vermont is offering guests of those properties complimentary stays at their resort.

Up to $10 Million is available through VEDA’s Hurricane Irene Assistance Loan Program to assist Vermont businesses and farms in their efforts to recover from direct physical damage caused by flooding related to Hurricane Irene.
Eligibility & Loan Purposes
Borrowers eligible to participate include all types of businesses and farms that sustained DIRECT physical flood related damage, including but not limited to damage to or loss of inventory, equipment, business premises, crops, animals, feed or other supplies. Not-for-profit organizations are also eligible.
Residences, apartment houses and mobile home parks are not eligible.
Interest Rates/Terms

On its 20th anniversary, employee-owned Chroma Technology in Bellows
Falls has a lot to celebrate.
The company, which manufactures optical microscope filters and
coatings for laboratories all over the world, recently opened a sales
office in Xiamen, China. And for the third consecutive year, it has
been honored by Inc. Magazine, which released its prestigious Inc.
500/5000 - a list of the nation's fastest-growing private businesses
- on August. 23.
This year marks a rise of 834 positions on the list for Chroma, which
was honored for an impressive 27 percent three-year growth and 2010
revenues of $24.2 million. The company employs 95 people.
"This means we had a great year last year," said CEO Paul Millman.
"And more importantly, it means we are once again recognized by the
greater business community outside of Vermont. As much as I love the

Here is the most recent updates from various sources regarding the aftermath of Hurrican Irene, including emergency management action and news from some of the state's electric utilities.
Governor's Office. August 31, 2011, 2 pm:

Governor Shumlin will be visiting the communities of Pittsfield (approximately 2:45 p.m.), Stockbridge (approximately 3:45 p.m.) and Rochester (approximately 4:25 p.m.) this afternoon.
In addition, Administration Secretary Jeb Spaulding and emergency officials will hold a press briefing to update on events at 4:30 p.m. at the Vermont Emergency Management operations center, now located in the FEMA offices in Burlington.

CVPS Aug. 30, 2011, noon
‘Entire lines have disappeared’
CVPS says completely new systems to be built in some locations

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, Monday reported financial results for its first quarter fiscal year 2012, and reaffirmed guidance for its 2012 fiscal year.
Highlights for the quarter included:

Revenue growth of 4.3 percent in quarter was driven mainly by higher solid waste pricing and higher recycling commodity prices.
Overall solid waste pricing growth of 1.5 percent was primarily driven by strong collection pricing of 2.4 percent as a percentage of collection revenues.
Adjusted EBITDA* was $28.7 million for the quarter, up $0.9 million from same quarter last year.
Company remains on target to achieve Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and Free Cash Flow* guidance ranges for fiscal year 2012.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee and coffeemakers, today announced a definitive Stock Purchase Agreement pursuant to which ARAMARK Refreshment Services, LLC (ARAMARK), a leading provider of office coffee and refreshment services, will acquire all outstanding shares of Van Houtte USA Holdings, Inc., also known as the Van Houtte U.S. Coffee Service business or "Filterfresh" business from GMCR, for an aggregate cash purchase price of approximately $145 million. The purchase price is subject to adjustment based on Filterfresh's working capital and indebtedness as of immediately prior to the transaction's closing.

Areas of Vermont are still under water but rivers are now receding. Much of the state is starting to dry out but there are still many hazards and the public is encouraged to exercise caution. Everyone is asked to stay off roads unless absolutely necessary. Many roads are still damaged, and many may be washed out under the road surface and could give away at any time.
A number of towns are asking that all traffic stay away, please respect detours and all road closures. See map and list below.
Local road closures are too many to list. It is estimated more than 250 roads around the state are damaged, many of them are impassable. Every state road with the exception of Interstates 89 and 91 were closed at least for a time and many are still closed.
Transportation and emergency officials are out today ensuring citizens are accounted for, assessing damage, and determining what areas are safe.

The state of Vermont issued the following announcement this morning, Monday August 29, 2011.
"Due to weather conditions, all state offices have been authorized to
be completely closed on Monday, August 29, 2011. State office
buildings will not be open for business, and only specifically
authorized critical staff members should report for work at their
designated alternate work sites. We anticipate that the state will
open as normally scheduled on August 30, 2011. Employees should pay
close attention to news and website updates before leaving for work on Tuesday, August 30th."
Source: Governor's office. 8.29.2011

Early Monday morning about 200 utility workers fanned out across Vermont Electric Cooperative’s (VEC) service territory to repair damage that left thousands of VEC members without power. During the course of this outage event caused by Tropical Storm Irene, over 8,000 VEC accounts lost power.
At 11:00 a.m. about 3,300 VEC members waited for power restoration. Most customers will have electricity by the end of Monday. The remaining outages are likely to be restored on Tuesday with some lingering into the middle of the week. This is because heavy rains and flooding are making it difficult for crews to reach some outages. As flooding recedes and roads are reopened, it will become easier to reach damaged electric lines and equipment.

The remnants of Hurricane Irene have moved out of Vermont, but not before washing dozens of utility poles and roads away and leaving Central Vermont Public Service with an army of workers unable to access thousands of customers in need.
CVPS says recovery will entail a monumental effort due to closed bridges and washouts not seen in generations. More than 55,000 customer outages resulted from the storm, with 37,500 still without service as of 7 am.