White River Junction — Local and state service agencies in Vermont have formed an umbrella consortium to figure out how best to coordinate services for flood victims in the Upper Valley.

The Upper Valley Strong Long-Term Recovery Committee was set up at the suggestion of FEMA, which encourages the creation of local long-term recovery committees after natural disasters.» Read more

Quechee — The closing of the principal access road and other storm-related damage have turned Quechee Village into what one merchant describes as a "ghost town."

Several Main Street business owners, like Barbara West of Quechee Associates, have relocated while they are rebuilding. Others, whose businesses have reopened, say commerce has dropped by as much as 50 percent since Tropical Storm Irene washed away sections of the Quechee Bridge over the Ottauquechee River.» Read more

West Lebanon — Despite a lag in starting reconstruction after flooding from Tropical Storm Irene, JCPenney intends a reopen its department store at the Upper Valley Plaza next spring, a company spokeswoman said yesterday.

"JCPenney remains committed to the West Lebanon community," Sarah Kelleher, who is based at company headquarters in Plano, Texas, said by email yesterday. "We are working on our renovation plans and expect to reopen the store in spring 2012."» Read more

West Lebanon — Several stores in the two shopping plazas hit hardest by Tropical Storm Irene are reopening before Thanksgiving, giving the Upper Valley's main retail strip a boost as the biggest shopping season of the year fast approaches.

Several stores in the two shopping plazas hit hardest by Tropical Storm Irene are reopening before Thanksgiving, giving the Upper Valley's main retail strip a boost as the biggest shopping season of the year fast approaches.

"We are so thrilled they got us up before the holiday season," said Lisa Steele, the manager of The Paper Store which reopened yesterday. "With Black Friday coming up, this is going to be a good chance for us to get into the swing of things." » Read more

Bethel — Residents, angered over what they say is a failure to fully record the deliberations of Bethel Selectboard meetings in the public minutes, plan to begin videotaping the sessions and putting them on YouTube.

The move comes a month after volunteers clashed with Bethel's town manager and Selectboard over relief efforts that resulted in the eviction of the volunteers' base of operation from Town Hall. The volunteers, led by Bethel resident Ola O'Dell, subsequently set up a recovery center independently from the town at the former Richardson's Country Store on Bethel's Main Street, but suspicion between the parties remains.

Laura Rubenis, a Bethel flood victim, said that when she began attending Selectboard meetings on Sept. 12 she noticed that statements made by participants, especially those concerning volunteer efforts, weren't fully reflected in the minutes from the session. » Read more

Royalton — In the hours and days just after the White River rose up and smashed their home, Joe and Joni Colburn experienced much to restore their faith in the world.

People brought down a tent, a grill, a generator, cases of bottled water, a tarp, blankets, hot casseroles, clothes. Joe's son shelled out for a small camper, and the Colburns parked it in the farm field across Gilman Road from their Royalton home, then moved it into their driveway.

All the while, they kept cleaning. Volunteers showed up in droves and friends came with heavy equipment to move the mud out of their house and off the land.

"We went at this house like we were going to save it," Joe Colburn said from his seat in the camper, weeks after the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Irene.

Today, the house is still empty, its wallboard and everything else torn out below the high-water line. It's ready for rebuilding, but its owners aren't. » Read more

West Hartford — After the flood, it didn't take long for the black spots to appear in Debbie Ackley's home.

Every part of her house that had been touched by the floodwaters from Tropical Storm Irene was at risk of growing mold. She spent the days and weeks afterward removing carpet, tearing out drywall and insulation, and then set up a dehumidifier to remove the moisture.

Two months later, she's still fighting the fungus. » Read more

White River Junction — For homeowners who sustained flood damage from Tropical Storm Irene, the clock is ticking.

Though summer was still full when floodwaters devastated homes, businesses and farms statewide, Upper Valley residents yesterday witnessed the first snowfall of the season -- a troubling sight for some Hartford residents who have been held up by red tape from completing the renovations they need to make their homes livable over the winter. » Read more

Sharon — Sharon officials, seeking to protect residents from another disaster like Tropical Storm Irene, plan to apply for a federal grant program that could ultimately turn a three-mile stretch of land along the White River into a conservation area.

The Selectboard is investigating tapping funds available under FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which provides municipalities money to buy out homeowners at 75 percent of their property’s pre-disaster assessed value. Once purchased, the land cannot be commercially developed, although it can be used for some recreational purposes.

The three-mile stretch extends roughly from the Central Vermont Railroad Bridge to near the Sharon/West Hartford town line and includes about a dozen properties, some with several homes, all bordering the White River. » Read more