Windham County VT Status Information

Welcome – if you’re not familiar with this site, click here for an introduction!

Windham County VT Status Site is Moving

Thanks for your patience as we figure out how best to host, post and update this site to keep Windham County up-to-date with the most current information about Irene and future events.

Our permanent home will be http://www.windhamstatus.org

We know it’s a pain to try and remember where to go, especially when that location changes.  We think we finally have the infrastructure in place for a permanent home for this site, soon to be hosted by the United Way of Windham County.

For most of you, you won’t notice a change, but for those of you who are subscribed to our news feed by email, we’ll be re-subscribing you to our new site which means you’ll receive another confirmation email.  Simply click the link and you should continue to receive timely updates.

Thanks again for your patience.

Daily News Highlights – Wednesday September 7

We’ll update this post with news highlights all day – for a quick overview you should be able to just check this entry (under the category Status Updates).  Last update: 8:00am.

Repair Updates:

• More rain last night (Flood Watch is in effect) but no reports of washouts as of this post

• VTrans Site is best for state routes (now with an easy-to-understand chart)
• WRC site is best for roads in Windham County
• Route 9 from Brattleboro to Wilmington is closed except for local and essential traffic; bridge preventing passage to Bennington may be open by Friday, September 9
• Route 103 in its entirety is open to two-way traffic (but work continues)
• Route 100 is open but at reduced levels (local and essential traffic only) and has several single-lane areas from the MA border through Wardsboro; closed south of Jamaica
• Route 30 is navigable (with detours) from Brattleboro through Townshend but has several bridges out in Jamaica and Winhall
• Wilmington requires passes for downtown access
• Please avoid construction areas unless absolutely necessary – crews can’t work on roads while people are driving on them
• Power: CVPS is tracking 3 outages and GMP has 0 in Windham County (both numbers have hit 0 since Irene but fluctuate with the storms and efforts to make permanent repairs)

Disaster Assistance:

• Residents and businesses should now register with FEMA at http://www.disasterassistance.gov/
• Handouts on FEMA assistance process:
• … BB Handout FEMA Process (79KB PDF)
• … FEMA FS Individual Assistance (251KB PDF)
• FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC)
• … Withington Skating Facility in Brattleboro (in Living Memorial park)
• … To be operational in Dover today, location TBA
• … The primary DRC role is to answer questions and help with appeals, so while people are welcome to register there they do not need to visit the DRC if they register online or by phone
• If they have not done so already, people should compile documentation and contact their insurance, town clerks, and 2-1-1 to report damage
• VTResponse.wordpress.com is a good site to use to ask for help or find volunteer opportunities across the state

Other News:

• School begins today for Leland and Gray Union Middle High School
• MOST businesses and organizations across Vermont and Windham County are open normally – check this page for places across the county or this page for the Deerfield Valley

Weather:

• Occasional rain and showers throughout the day, high in the high 50s; more showers tonight, low in the mid 50s
• Numerous showers in the morning, high in the upper 60s
• Flood watch (potential for flooding) in effect through late tonight
• The remnants of tropical storm Lee are now entering the area; hurricane Katia is still expected to stay out to sea and should not affect Vermont

As always, if you have an update, send it in!

VTSBDC Handout

VTSBDC Handout Resources and Checklists (124KB PDF) – this great four page handout has checklists, contact information, and reference info for farms and businesses.

Brattleboro Provides Information Update

Federal and local officials conducted a public information session Tuesday afternoon to provide county residents with additional resources after Tropical Storm Irene shook the region last week.  Highlights included tax abatement, FEMA and SBA assistance, and road status information.

Full Brattleboro Reformer story here

Load the Latchis Rescheduled for September 14

The Load the Latchis event, to put food on the shelves of the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center, has been moved from the Latchis Theater to Brattleboro Savings & Loan.  It has been re-scheduled for Sept. 14 from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Full Brattleboro Reformer Story here

Flood Watch Through Tonight

As of 4:54am, a flood watch continues for the area through late tonight; 1/2″ to 2″ of rain is expected with the heaviest concentration northwest of Albany, NY.

A flood WATCH means there is potential for flooding based on current forecasts; people should be alert and prepared to act in case of a flood WARNING – National Weather Service Flood Watch

Daily News Highlights – Tuesday September 6

We’ll update this post with news highlights all day – for a quick overview you should be able to just check this entry (under the category Status Updates).  Final update: 11:00pm.

Repair Updates:

• Most area roads have survived the rains with only some degradation, but there were washouts in Wardsboro

• VTrans Site is best for state routes (now with an easy-to-understand chart)
• WRC site is best for roads in Windham County
• Route 9 from Brattleboro to Wilmington is closed except for local and essential traffic; bridge preventing passage to Bennington may be open by Friday, September 9
• Route 103 in its entirety is open to two-way traffic (but work continues)
• Route 100 is open but at reduced levels (local and essential traffic only) and has several single-lane areas from the MA border through Wardsboro; closed south of Jamaica
• Route 30 is navigable (with detours) from Brattleboro through Townshend but has several bridges out in Jamaica and Winhall
• Wilmington requires passes for downtown access
• Please avoid construction areas unless absolutely necessary – crews can’t work on roads while people are driving on them
• Power: CVPS is tracking 3 outages and GMP has 0 in Windham County (both numbers have hit 0 since Irene but fluctuate with the storms and efforts to make permanent repairs)

Disaster Assistance:

• Residents and businesses should now register with FEMA at http://www.disasterassistance.gov/
• Handouts on FEMA assistance process:
• … BB Handout FEMA Process (79KB PDF)
• … FEMA FS Individual Assistance (251KB PDF)
• FEMA has a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) at Withington Skating Facility in Brattleboro (in Living Memorial park) – the initial role is simply to help with registration, so unless people have questions they do not need to visit the DRC once they are registered and have their number
• FEMA is establishing another DRC in Dover, location and hours to be announced
• If they have not done so already, people should compile documentation and contact their insurance, town clerks, and 2-1-1 to report damage
• VTResponse.wordpress.com is a good site to use to ask for help or find volunteer opportunities across the state

Other News:

• School begins today for most of WCSU
• Vermont is getting support from the other state National Guard units include Maine and Virginia
• The remnants of tropical storm Lee will generate rain for the area on Wednesday; Hurricane Katia is expected to stay out to sea and should not affect Vermont
• MOST businesses and organizations across Vermont and Windham County are open normally – check this page for places across the county or this page for the Deerfield Valley

Weather:

• Cloudy, rain in the morning with showers in the afternoon, high in the mid 60s; showers continue tonight with a low in the low 50s
• Showers continuing throughout the day, high in the low 60s

As always, if you have an update, send it in!

AOT Update, September 6

Vermont Agency of Transportation Secretary Brian Searles today reminded the public that “tremors” from Tropical Storm Irene in the form of sink holes and slope failures continue to occur across the state, especially in the southern tier.

Recent rains continue to soften the state’s soil, intensifying the probability of such tremors. These dangers can occur on roads that previously experienced no damage. Travelers need to be on the lookout and drive with care.

Full Press Release

Road Washouts in Wardsboro

While the rains of the past few days degraded many roads, the most significant damage was in Wardsboro.  Updates are on the WRC map and the Wardsboro Facebook page (Facebook account not required to view).

WindhamStatus Changes

This site has gone through a lot of changes, in content and structure, in its six days.  Our goal is to keep every page as up to date as possible so that you can come here and find the latest reference or best guide available.

Quick Description of What’s Where as of Tuesday, September 6:

• Blog Column – key updates and notifications

• Towns, Businesses, and Organizations – information about towns and the places in them – meetings, closings, key announcements, etc.
• How to Get Help – information about how to get state, local, and federal assistance
• How to Help Out – information about how you can give or volunteer to help people in Windham County
• Quick References – as comprehensive a list as we can get of handouts, guides, and websites related to: Cleaining Up, Individual Assistance, Farm Assistance, Business Assistance, Public Assistance, and Repair Replace Rebuild
• Contact Info – websites, phone numbers, and other information about every federal, state, and local group that is involved in this disaster (may modify this soon since much info is replicated in Quick Reference section)
• News – a list of good sources for original news and pictures from Irene
• Maps – links to the most authoritative information we can find about road status and power outages

There is an enormous amount of information out there, and we’re trying to help organize it so that you can find what you need and move on.  If you have any suggestions on how to make this site more useful, please send it in.