Archive - Sep 19, 2011
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Careening down a Vermont mountain on the back of an all-terrain vehicle driven by a 16-year-old boy, without having taken the time to find a helmet, John Curran was looking to reach the town of Rochester, isolated by flooding left by the remnants of Hurricane Irene. Mainly he was looking for a story.
MIDDLEBURY — The United Way of Addison County’s goal for its annual fund-raising campaign remains unchanged from the past several years. But the organization’s officials are viewing the campaign, which kicks off this week with the Days of Caring volunteer event, in a landscape after Tropical Storm Irene that is both financially and literally different.
GRANVILLE/HANCOCK — Three weeks after flooding from Tropical Storm Irene cut off road access, phone lines and electricity service to the White River Valley, the two easternmost towns in Addison County are marking small improvements in the valley each day.
As residents of Granville and Hancock begin to tabulate damage, officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are fanning out across the county and working with homeowners, town officials and business owners to help them apply for disaster assistance.
GRANVILLE/HANCOCK — Though some might argue that it’s not an ideal time to open a store on Route 100 in Granville, with access still restricted by flood damage, Daniel Sargeant disagrees.
In fact, he said, the crowd that turned out to the grand opening of the Granville General Store on Thursday just goes to show how much the town-wide bonds have strengthened in the wake of the damage wrought by Tropical Storm Irene.
LINCOLN — Speaker Shap Smith on Thursday announced the appointment of Rep. Michael Fisher, D-Lincoln, as the chair of the House Committee on Health Care. Rep. Fisher, the current vice chair of the committee, replaces former Rep. Mark Larson who resigned from the Legislature in August to become the Commissioner of the Department of Vermont Health Access. Rep. Sarah Copeland-Hanzas, D-Bradford, will become the committee’s vice chair.
ADDISON COUNTY — Step by step Addison County native Rory Jackson made his way from the east coast of Ghana to the west.
As he rambled along the shore in 2002, it never dawned on Jackson that his path would lead him to build a free school for young Ghanaians.
Along his pilgrimage, he reflected on the course that delivered him to that far away African land by the Gulf of Guinea.
ADDISON COUNTY — From the start, Addison County has played an integral role in supporting the Trinity Yard School, a school in Ghana founded by Addison County native Rory Jackson.
BRISTOL — The idea to sculpt an eagle from copper, steel, brass and other materials hatched at Mount Abraham Union middle and high school in 2009.
Last week, some of the more than 30 students who helped create the image of Mount Abe’s school mascot capped the two-year effort by unveiling the proud bird, now perched atop the school’s main entrance.
“What these students have done is awe inspiring,” said Jim Brown, a technology arts teacher and project organizer.
