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Serving Addison and Chittenden Counties
January 5, 2013
Dec. 21 wind storm knocks out power to 28,000 customers
Storm dumps more than a foot of snow
RUTLAND — GMP crews restored power to 28,000 customers by late afternoon Saturday, and will once again work through the night and into Sunday and Monday to restore service to the 3,700 customers still without power following Friday’s hurricane-force winds. “We’re making steady progress in most areas, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us in western Rutland County and Addison County,” GMP spokesperson Jeremy Baker said. “As we complete restoration in other areas, we will be moving dozens more workers into the western sections overnight and Sunday morning to speed the recovery effort.” Hardest-hit areas include the Lincoln, Starksboro, Ripton and Goshen areas in Addison County, and in Rutland County, the Poultney, Wells, Castleton, Brandon and Pawlet areas. The most remote customers in those areas may not have power until Christmas Eve, though crews will be working around the clock. In these instances, lineworkers often have several hours of work to bring back on one or two homes, which makes the final restoration work take longer than repairs at the beginning of a storm event. In the Poultney-Castleton area alone, 18 broken poles must be replaced before restoration is complete. “As the weather changes and temperatures drop, customers without heat are a big concern,” said Baker, “GMP employees have called community leaders and are going door to door in towns hardest hit to provide safety information and progress updates so
MIDDLEBURY — ”Double trouble” was the term Zubrin Tree Service lineman Mike Zubrin used to describe the second of two winter storms to hammer Vermont. O’Hara, who was removing a snow-laden pine that took down a power line to a house on private Valmont Drive in Leicester, said the Dec. 27 snow storm was the flip side of a vicious wind storm that hit the area Dec. 21. “The world may not have ended as the ancient Mayans predicted Dec. 21,” he said, “but storms Dec. 21 and Dec. 27 have me thinking they must have been thinking about us.” In less than a week after restoring power to more than 34,000 customers, Green Mountain Power storm managers, line workers and support staff were back it again—this time scrambling to greet Winter Storm Euclid, the U.S. Weather Service’s official name of 2012’s big swan song. According to a GMP news statement Dec. 28, winds approaching 50 mph were recorded along the western slopes of the Green Mountains and along the Route 7 corridor from the Massachusetts border to southern Rutland County. "Preparation began with a conference call Christmas Day once the forecast started taking shape," GMP spokesman Jeremy Baker said.
See WIND STORM, page 5
By Lou Varricchio
newmarketpress@denpubs.com
See VERMONT SNOW, page 8
The Killington Ski Resort in Rutland County was quick to capitalize on 19 inches of new snow added to Vermont’s Green Mountains Dec. 26-28 (and more on the way). Photo courtesy of Killington Ski Resort
Vermont farmers share gift of experience beyond U.S. By Lou Varricchio
newmarketpress@denpubs.com
Three groups of local farmers, members of NOFA-Vermont, will spend several weeks in El Salvador as Winrock International volunteers providing training and technical assistance to help local farmers. Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer Alejandro Segarra-Carmona (on the right) shows local farmers how to apply sustainable pest control techniques to their crops. Photo courtesy of Winrock
MIDDLEBURY — When you consider the hardships endured by Vermont’s small-family farms—from weather events and product price swings to personal and financial challenges—it’s tough to imagine these local farmers having much time to reach out and help foreign farmers with their localized struggles. But since this is the season of giving, it may not be too surprising to see that our farmers are happy to lend a helping hand beyond our borders. Several Vermont farmers are preparing for a rugged, volunteer
trip to El Salvador, where they will give and receive the most sustaining Christmas season gift of all—knowledge. Later this month, according to Caitlin Gildrien of the Northeast Farming Association-Vermont—or NOFA-Vermont, for short—will spend several weeks working in El Salvador. The volunteer farmers and members of NOFA-Vermont will serve as Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers through Winrock International. Once on the ground in El Salvador, the farmers will instruct Salvadoran farmers about organic farming as well as how to market their produce. See FARMERS, page 6