Brandon cleanup crews to meet at 10:30 a.m. Thurs. @Brandon Library

From Tina Wiles, Town of Brandon Zoning Administrator:

I am hosting a community meeting tomorrow 10:30 am at the Brandon Library to meet with folks who want to help with clean up, logging damaging to private structures, and distributing supplies.  Can you spread the word please?  If someone wants to help but cannot make it please have them contact me.

Randolph and Braintree "lucked out," but still must dig out

Mark Collier / Staff Photo
With Route 12 South of Roxbury still impassible, John Lumbra of Braintree decided to spend his day Wednesday digging out his yard and truck. Flooding driven by Hurricane Irene left Lumbras property on the banks of a tributary of the White River covered with stones, gravel and mud.

By Keith Vance
Staff Writer
RANDOLPH — On Wednesday, Randolph and Braintree residents still were digging out from the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, and many were without power.
While there’s still a lot of work to do, said Ken Goss, the Randolph emergency management director, “We did all right” compared with other Vermont communities. “We lucked out.”
Randolph fared well: The Lincoln Avenue bridge was washed out. Nobody has been reported injured, he said.
However, the Randolph Fire Department had more to worry about than just Randolph.
The first big washout, Fire Chief Jay Collette said, was Route 12A between Brown View Cemetery and Mountain View Cemetery heading toward West Braintree just after Grantsworth Road.
“I considered it a missile,” Collette said of the water that blasted through the concrete bridge, leaving about a 15-foot gap in the road.
At that point, he said, “We were cut off.”
Leland Flood has lived on Route 12A next to that bridge for 15 years, and he said he has never seen flooding like it.
The fairly small stream covered his yard, washed out his driveway, ripped the metal skirt from around his mobile home and sent his shed off into the woods. Fortunately, the water didn’t get high enough to flood his home.
Taking no chances, he and his wife evacuated Sunday to a neighbor’s house on higher ground.
Wednesday afternoon, Flood still had no electricity, so he said he expects he’ll lose his entire freezer of food.
As for that shed, he said it looked as though it still was in pretty good shape. He said he was hoping he could just drag it back to where it was before.
The other big washout was on Thayer Brook Road, also in Braintree just beyond Howards Mill.
In fact, it was the Howard family and neighbors who were building a temporary road Wednesday to get Thayer Brook Road open again.
Carol Howard has lived her entire life on Thayer Brook Road. She said this was the worst flooding she’s seen here.
“It was like a waterfall,” she said of the water as it ran down the hill, overwhelming the plugged culvert and washing out the road.
A home next to the stream has at least had basement flooding. The river surrounded the entire home with at least 3 feet of water.
Howard said the owners of the home weren’t around, because they were in New Jersey dealing with their other home hit by Irene.
Howard’s brothers and neighbors were pulling limbs and entire trees out of the tributary and dumping fill dirt in to make the road at least passable.
By Wednesday afternoon, four-wheel-drive vehicles and ATVs could get through.
Fire Chief Collette estimated the town lost between 12 and 15 roads in the area.
Collette said that flooding in 1998 was bad, but it was localized and not statewide, like Irene.
In the first 12 hours of the storm, from 1 p.m. Sunday to 1 a.m. Monday, he said he had 15 emergency responses. Since Monday, Collette said, he’s had 13 additional calls.
The next issue for his department will be electricity, he said. When it gets restored to the community, there will be more calls.
The New World Festival scheduled for Sunday in Randolph at the Chandler Music Hall is still on, according to the box office manager, Kathy Corrao.
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Richmond looking for volunteers Thursday 8:30 a.m.

The town of Richmond, VT is seeking volunteers to help clean up after flooding. Folks are meeting at the Richmond town center at 8:30 am.
Call Geoffrey Urbanic if you have questions- 802-434-5170.

Killington feeling less trapped, thanks to contractor

 
A convoy of supplies made it into Killington this morning. Albert J. Marro / Rutland Herald

By Cristina Kumka
STAFF WRITER
KILLINGTON — Craig Mosher looked up the road and saw his next job. It wasn’t one he asked for.
The owner of Mosher Excavating, Inc. on Route 4 in Killington has been lauded by Killington townspeople for his rapid response to historic flooding that washed out a huge section of road just north of his home and business.
Since Monday, Mosher and four of his employees, who rode into work on ATVs, have used the company’s own excavating equipment to completely rebuild the road and redirect a brook into its normal path at the key intersection of Route 4 and River Road.
They’ve worked sunup to sundown.
Because of Mosher, more than 300 out-of-towners got out of Killington Wednesday morning and headed toward Woodstock and the interstate, and food and supplies can be delivered into town from the east.
Because of him, water isn’t flowing into the Kokopelli Inn, Goodro Lumber or into the rooms of houses anymore.
Because of him, the town feels less trapped.
“I’m not a hero, I just own an excavating company,” Mosher said, eating a salad for lunch as he leaned on his bulldozer Wednesday.
Mosher was given the go-ahead by the state to rebuild the road for access and redirect the brook as best as he could.
On Mosher’s own property, near Blackie’s store and the Irving gas station at the Killington four corners, his pasture is gone but his free-range animals are just fine.
“Big and Rib are OK,” Mosher said of his two Scottish Highland cows, spreading a smile.
Mosher gave credit to the other local contractors on the other side of Route 4 doing even more work to rebuild access into and out of town — Belden and Markowski.
On Wednesday, the town of Killington announced that because of diligent road reconstruction, residents would be able to take a one-lane dirt road from Woodstock to Killington between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. and from Killington to Woodstock between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. beginning today and every day moving forward.
Also beginning today, The Bus in Rutland will take Killington residents back and forth to Rutland twice daily from Killington at 8:15 a.m. and 6:15 p.m.
Stops in Killington will be the Killington Grand Hotel, Pico Mountain, and Mendon Mountainview/Cortina Inn.
Beginning Sunday, there was no way into town and no way out, the result of raging water that grew in otherwise calm brooks after the area received in upwards of 6 inches of rain in a 24-hour period.
The water rushed downhill to the lowest rivers and streams, taking chunks of pavement and boulders with it.
In Killington’s case, it took feet of roads and a entire house.
At Pico Wednesday, horses seemed calm grazing on the wet hill behind a chair lift, now covered by 3 feet or more of mud.  
Employees of the resort in charge of the horses were the opposite. They were busy figuring out a safe route to get the horses out of Killington because food and water was dwindling.
Across town on the access road, Seth Webb, the town’s economic development director, was leading the charge of town officials planning where to land helicopters with food and water, how to get people medicine and how to help people in other communities like Pittsfield, which remained landlocked.
Suzie Dundas, the town’s marketing manager turned co-emergency coordinator, said she’s never seen a town pull together so much.
“I am shocked by the outpouring of support,” Dundas said. “People have stayed for days helping people they’ve never met.”
Steve Selbo, the developer of the town’s future ski village, said he’ll still invest.
For the latest updates on Killington’s disaster relief, go to killingtontown.com.
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Rescuers find widespread destruction in Plymouth

A local road in Plymouth - Provided photo.

By Brent Curtis
STAFF WRITER
Rescuers using four-wheel drive vehicles followed a hand-cut trail over steep terrain to reach the cutoff town of Plymouth, fire officials in the town said.
The mountain town of little more than 500 residents was isolated Sunday when floods washed out Route 100 and the other roads and bridges leading into town.
Vermont National Guard helicopters were able to fly supplies in Monday, but the town was off-limits to ground vehicles until Tuesday when a looping road made by residents with chainsaws and heavy equipment connected two sections of Route 100 separated by a large cave-in on Sunday.
State Emergency Management officials had little knowledge of operations in Plymouth on Wednesday. But in an email sent by the Plymouth Emergency Response Team Incident Command, officials in the town said damage was widespread and severe.
In the email, town officials said, “It is hard to describe the magnitude of destruction. ... Virtually every road in town was damaged and dozens of bridges were destroyed.”
“It will take months, if not years, to repair the damage. Immediate assistance is urgently needed. The town infrastructure has been destroyed,” the officials wrote.
While much of that help remains on the other side of broken roads, residents in town have begun helping themselves by running heavy equipment to move mud and boulders off roads and to build temporary bridges, town officials said.
The town has been deemed closed to all “non-essential visitors” until further notice, town officials said.
Most of the town also remained without telephone or electricity and the Farm and Wilderness summer camp in town is serving meals to residents in need. Salvation Army personnel, who arrived in town Tuesday, brought food and bottled water.
Town officials said there were no deaths as a result of the storm. There was no mention of injuries.
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A town on a mountain, surviving

 

By Cristina Kumka
STAFF WRITER
KILLINGTON — The chirping birds were drowned by noise of hurried workers rebuilding the key road.
The sounds on the new trail, at the top of Journey’s End Road in Mendon above a gaping hole on Route 4 this morning, were new.
The trail was created by people who couldn’t escape Killington, on Tuesday one of the state’s 11 towns blocked off from the rest of the world.
The trail was one of the only ways out.
Wednesday morning, the state opened Route 4 for people who needed out. Cars were not allowed into Killington. Later that day, because of Killington resident Craig Mosher and other local contractors, routes were cleared for daily egress and access in both directions on Route 4 headed east and west. 
Kip Dalury, who I sat with at Pico Mountain Resort Wednesday during my first trip up the mountain since the flood, said there were 200 cars lined up starting at the white church on the east end of Route 4 to get out of the mountain resort town.
Mostly tourists with out-of-state license plates, those cars are now all gone.
Suzie Dundas, Killington’s marketing and public relations manager, said when you visit Killington, you don’t expect to stay for a hurricane.
As I walked along the Journey’s End trail Wednesday morning, I thought about how this disaster situation was our war. We knew it and understood it and cared about it because it was in our face. We took ownership of it and have to recover from it. 
Sweating and fatigued already, carrying a bag of dog food and a can of gas for Dalury who would drive me around the town, I ran into a family sitting outside their home.
One of the men gave me a ride to Pico in his new Toyota.
Yesterday, Kip told me he was scared people would riot and steal.
The man, who I didn’t know because it wasn’t the time for names, said it was the exact opposite.
People in Killington are coming together, helping each other and the town is making progress because of Route 4.
Pittsfield on the other hand remains isolated I was told.
They are partying there, together, the man said.
Tuesday night, Killington economic director Seth Webb told residents there is a way and there is hope, Dalury said.
At a meeting at the Killington Elementary School, Webb started with a laugh, telling the crowd he drove in from Woodstock.
FEMA delivered MREs to the town via helicopter Wednesday, meals ready to eat, like the military eats when at war.
Earlier that day, the town’s fire station at the top of the access road acted as a command center, with town officials directing each other and directing supplies.
It was again, like a scene out of a movie.
One woman came out of the fire station, said it was a disaster with Facebook, the one way people were communicating.
Dalury said the town was lucky in a way - it was near a major Vermont city for food and supplies and a state transportation garage with excavators and had Mosher as its neighbor.
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Special delivery - print papers 'like gold' in isolated towns

Vyto Starinskas / Rutland Herald

Stranded residents in Rochester were glad to receive news information from Rutland Heralds brought to them by Central Vermont Public Service Corp. spokesman Steve Costello. He brought Heralds and CVPS handouts with information. There is not power and residents are without news.

Costello stopped by again Wednesday afternoon to pick up more papers before another run into Rochester, saying "I felt like I was handing out bars of gold."

 

 

 

The Bus will provide emergency service to Killington from Rutland starting Wednesday

This update from the Town of Killington. Bus Schedule is at the bottom.

Access and travel to/from Killington:

In speaking with Killing EOC they are working to establish a schedule with The Bus for a morning and afternoon shuttle service.  They are working to reduce the traffic up and down the only access road to killington.  Every time traffic must go up/down they must stop construction and remove equipment from the roadway.  The plan is for the bus to run 2-3 bus shuttles up and down 2-3 time daily and folks can park at either end and shuttle from those parking areas.

killingtontown.com is the offcial site for killington and has a link (hurricane irene updates) on that site where the schedule and other road information is and will be updated.

Killington has a Chinook Helo landing any minute with a large FEMA aid package to include food, water, and medical supplies.  They have my contact number for any additional items they think we may be able to assist with. - Scott Supernaw

Access from Killington to Rutland

 

Marble Valley Transit Authority will restore the Diamond Express Line for emergencies and working personnel (with only selected stops listed below). This service will begin Wednesday, August 31 with this schedule:

 

-          Depart Rutland at 5:15pm and arrive at Killington at 6:15pm. Depart Killington at 6:30pm and arrive at Rutland at 7:30pm

 

Beginning Thursday, September 1, the daily busing schedule will be:

 

-          Depart Rutland at 7:15am and arrive in Killington at 8:15am. Depart Killington at 8:30am and arrive in Rutland at 9:30am

 

-          Depart Rutland at 5:15pm and arrive at Killington at 6:15pm. Depart Killington at 6:30pm and arrive at Rutland at 7:30pm

 

The Bus will make select stops at:

 

Killington Grand - Pico Mountain - Mendon Mountainview/Cortina Inn - Transit Center (Rutland)

 

-          Times are approximate and will depend on travel speeds.

-          This schedule is subject to change. Check www.killingtontown.com for updates

Guilford Labor Day events still on

From Don McLean in Guilford:

ROADS ARE OPEN TO GUILFORD, VT’s LABOR DAY WEEKEND EVENTS

You CAN get here from there -- well, most of there.  That’s the message from organizers of 3 days of events this weekend in Guilford, Vermont.

“We recognize that there’s a lot of destruction in many Vermont towns, and there are roads in Guilford which were washed out and are now under repair,” said Guilford 250th Anniversary co-chair Don McLean.  “But we also want to reassure folks that the roads on which those events are being held are all in excellent shape.  Access from Brattleboro, and nearby New Hampshire and Massachusetts is all clear.”

The first event of the weekend is a prelude to The Guilford Fair, now in its 67th year.  Although the full Fair days are Sunday and Monday, this year there will be a music jam from 1 - 3 pm on Saturday at the Fairgrounds on Weatherhead Hollow Road, which was undamaged by the storm.  This event is intended to provide entertainment for those bringing items for judging.  

Weatherhead Hollow Rd is, in turn, completely accessible from Brattleboro (Route 5 to Guilford Center Rd) and from the Massachusetts towns of Bernardston (via Keets Brook Rd) and Leyden (via Brattleboro Rd.)  For full info and schedule for the Fair, which also runs Sunday and Monday from 9 am to 5 pm, visit www.guilfordfairvt.com.

On Saturday evening, Friends of Music at Guilford opens its two-day 46th annual festival with an all-Bach program on the organization’s 114 year old tracker action pipe organ, at 7:30 pm indoors at the Organ Barn.  From Weatherhead Hollow Rd, follow Packer Corners Rd, to Kopkind Rd, both of which survived Irene with no damage.  

The festival concludes Sunday with a 2 pm concert of orchestral music and a 250th tribute to Guilford composers, on the lawn at the Organ Barn, with grounds open for picnics at noon.  In one potential weather-related note, in the event of rain, the outdoor concert will be moved to Guilford Central School, which opened for the year on Wednesday.  School Road, off Guilford Center Rd, is fully accessible.  Info on these concerts is at www.fomag.org.

The weekend closes on Monday, Labor Day, with a Guilford 250th square dance, after the Fair, reviving an old Guilford tradition.  The dance, which begins at 6:30 pm,  is at Broad Brook Grange on Guilford Center Rd, and, again, the road is in good condition.  For info on this event: www.guilford250.org

Roxbury, and the State Fish Hatchery, devastated and cut off

By Daniel Staples
Staff Writer
ROXBURY — The Vermont State Fish Hatchery along Route 12A, which housed more than 90,000 trout, was decimated by the flooding Sunday, while residents of this small town of about 700 still are hunkered down waiting for the power to come back on.
“It hurts to come and see it all gone,” said Jeremy Whalen, supervisor of the hatchery station, standing on gravel where there had once been a three-foot deep holding pond. “You just try to stay positive.”
When Whalen left the station Sunday afternoon, three inches of rain already had fallen. Some time during the night, an old stone wall that diverted the Flint Brook gave way, causing a deluge of water to rush through the complex.
As Whalen walked through the debris-filled, seven-acre area, he pointed to where there had been five ponds and drainage brooks used to raise brook and rainbow trout, which would have been used to stock many of Vermont’s rivers and streams in 2012.
“The buildings are old and tough and didn’t really sustain much damage,” Whalen said.
“I’m sure some of (the fish) made their way to the Third Branch,” Whalen said, referring to the branch of the White River.
Whalen said he and the two other full-time staff were able to capture as many as 10,000 fish and contain them in one of the ponds that had a section of open water, but many of the fish were left to die as the water receded and small pools the fish were in dried up.
Also among the losses were 20 percent of the brook trout eggs slated for 2013 stocking.
“It takes a year and half to raise the fish for stocking,”  Whalen said, “so we’re just doing what we can with them, but it is a glimmer of hope for us.”
Whalen said officials at the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife would have the ultimate say as to the fate of the hatchery, but that he was holding out hope it would be rebuilt.
“It’s going to take quite a bit of money to repair all this,” Whalen said.

In town
On Wednesday morning residents of Roxbury were waiting in line for gasoline at the town’s single pump at the Roxbury Country Store, which had a small generator running near the steps.
Inside the dimly lit space, Annette Sargent, manager of the store, joked with her regular customers, many who were there purchasing gasoline for their generators.
“I’ve been busy helping people with their generators,” said Rick Daniels, a master electrician. “A lot of people just weren’t ready for anything like this. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“They need to get help here soon,” said Germaine Morse, a resident. “You can spend $20 to $30 a day to run a generator.”
“I’m one of the lucky ones that have a generator,” Morse said. “There’s a lot of people out there who are just making due without power. We’re just trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for all this.”
It appeared it may not be too long for residents to have power restored, as the town finally has been able to open some of the roads needed for access to utility company trucks, which were parked in the school parking lot.
“Looks like they’re just figuring out where to go first,” Sargent said to a young boy who was asking what was going on.
Sargent said unless a major route to the town is open, there could be a gas shortage, as delivery trucks cannot get into the town from the north or the south, and that the only routes in are either over a mountain from Warren or by back roads from Northfield — many of which are one lane.
Roxbury Elementary School, which was slated to begin today, has been postponed until at least Tuesday.
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