Alzheimer's Walk Hopes to Happen

NORTHEAST KINDGDOM - The Alzheimer Association of the Northeast Kingdom still has their Walk to End Alzheimers on Saturday September 13th-but they do not know yet if they will be able to complete this walk in person, or virtually.

Read more: Alzheimer's Walk Hopes to Happen

Barton Burglary

BARTON - Sunday morning at around 10 am, Nick's Snack Shack a local convience store in Barton was broken into.

Read more: Barton Burglary

Barnet Green Up Day

BARNET - Although an official Green Up Day in Barnet has been cancelled in light of COVID-19, all month long in Barnet-the town dump they will be accepting green up bags. The town is still hopeful in spreading the Green Up Word.

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Barnet Road Restrictions

Barnet- Although COVID is heavy on most minds in America-its still mud sesaon in Vermont and there are some road restrictions around Barnet that drivers should keep in mind. 

 

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Farmers' Markets Adapt to COVID-19 Regulations and Cold Weather

ST. JOHNSBURY - As the COVID-19 pandemic ever so slowly shows signs of improvement across Vermont, Governor Scott has started to loosen restrictions in some aspects for business. On May 1st the governor allowed Farmers Markets to open under strict protocols such as requiring markets to designate a health and safety officer to ensure compliance with all health and safety requirements. Just some of the restrictions include producing products that will be prepared for "take away" and off site consumption of food and drinks, no congregations, and a strong discouragement of in-person shopping, but rather pick-up with a vehicle.

Read more: Farmers' Markets Adapt to COVID-19 Regulations and Cold Weather

Northern Vermont Chambers Group effort for VSCS

AROUND THE NEK- The last couple weeks have not been the easiest in the Northeast Kingdom in the state of Vermont, with Covid-19 continuing to spike in surrounding states. But Vermont faced an economic threat as three Colleges in the Vermont State College System were in jeopardy of closing. Many have stepped in to make sure these colleges stay open, including several Northern Vermont Commerce Chambers.

Read more: Northern Vermont Chambers Group effort for VSCS

More Moose Permits Available for 2020 Season

AROUND THE NEK - 55 moose permits have been allocated for 2020's hunting season. After zero permits being issued in 2019, more permits are being allowed for this season. 

Read more: More Moose Permits Available for 2020 Season

Spring Sports Season Cancelled

sportsVERMONT - In wake of the COVID-19 pandemic the spring sports season for schools throughout the state of Vermont has been officially cancelled.

The Vermont Principals Association decision to cancel the season came to be the only logical option as the "Stay at Home Order" was extended at least through May 15th and the school season is nearly over.


VPA Executive Director, Jay Nichols says, "Everybody else is pretty much closed, there's only four states left in the United States that are open for sports, we waited as long as we thought we could when the governor made his announcement that schools were gonna be closed there wasn't any consultation with anybody in the schools, none of us knew anything about it, we were surprised by it as well. So we said well, we're not just gonna blankly cancel spring sports because as its said in the executive orders, you can change the order at anytime, so we said if they come back to school we want the kids to have this opportunity, so we said we're gonna wait as long as we can"

The Committee's decision to wait on the cancellation brought on various complaints from people in Vermont.

"There's been a lot of pressure from people from waiting, there's a number of people saying to us ya know we wish you guys would make a decision right now, it would be easier for us for planning and we just said you know what we're gonna wait as long as we can on behalf of the kids, and there's no reason to rush this decision, they asked to make this decision in late March and we said, no we're gonna wait until April," said Nichols.

Although many people may not be happy about these circumstances, high school and college seniors are likely hurting the most, knowing they have played their last game as an athlete representing their school.

"As somebody who's coached high school baseball and girls basketball for a long time in Vermont, I would just say to them that this feels really bad right now and it's certainly a tough experience, but it's an experience that everyone in the country is going through at the same time and they're gonna look back on this and realize that ya know it was really hard, we had to be resilient through it, but ya know I'm thinking about college seniors as well, that the sport of baseball or softball may be the main thing in their lives and now their careers are ended too...but their safety and their security has to come before anything else," said Nichols.

Despite, the elimination of all spring sports Nichols remains optimistic for the start of sports in the fall, "Fingers crossed, praying that there will be, you know no way to know for sure... so yeah we're really hoping that we have fall sports, there may have to be more safety procedures in place and we don't know right now what those may look like... but we need a lot more information before we start making decisions related to the fall, right now we're going to proceed as though we're going to have a fall season, we're gonna do everything we can to give the kids a season".

For more information visit https://vpaonline.org/

Future of Early College Around the NEK

earlycollegeAROUND THE NEK - While the majority of people in the community were worried about several Vermont state colleges closing down, one high school senior felt the impact in a different way.

Willow Schaefer, a senior at Blue Mountain Union School in Groton, VT organized a private zoom call to speak with State Representative and VSCS Trustee, Dylan Giambatista about the future of early college programs at Lyndon, Johnson and VTC campuses.

Read more: Future of Early College Around the NEK

The NEK Meal Train

AROUND THE NEK - The Corona virus has forced many businesses to shut down. Many restaurants however are still in operation, but are serving via take out. Several restaurants in the Northeast Kingdom have teamed up with NVRH to start a local meal train to help serve healthcare workers and the community.

Read more: The NEK Meal Train

“We Are One”- Joint NVU- Lyndon & Johnson Student Government Association Meeting Tonight

AROUND THE NEK - The Northern Vermont University Lyndon and Johnson Student Government Association's will be holding a joint Town Hall Meeting tonight at 8:00 pm. The two campuses each have an association but decided to join forces after a proposal was released Friday to close both campuses of Northern Vermont University, as well as the Randolph campus of Vermont Technical College.

 

Read more: “We Are One”- Joint NVU- Lyndon & Johnson Student Government Association Meeting Tonight

VSC Board of Trustees Discuss Issues Faced by COVID-19 Pandemic

VERMONT -  On Saturday, April 11th, the Vermont State College Board of Trustees met online via Zoom Conference to work towards a recommendation that will be presented to trustees for their next meeting, Monday April 20th.

Read more: VSC Board of Trustees Discuss Issues Faced by COVID-19 Pandemic

Neighbors Helping Neighbors at McIndoe Academy

McIndoeAcademyBARNET - For the past 4 weeks, every Sunday afternoon, community members of Barnet have been using McIndoe Academy in a unique way; as a Drive Thru Food Drive for people in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Read more: Neighbors Helping Neighbors at McIndoe Academy

Fairbanks Museum Goes Virtual for Students

AROUND THE NEK-- While the Fairbanks Museum was forced to shut its’ doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic last month, they made it clear that teaching the public never stops. The museum is offering free, virtual learning programs that follow the Next-Generation Science Standards for kindergarten through eighth-grade.

Read more: Fairbanks Museum Goes Virtual for Students

Reach out to make your PPE

masksAROUND THE NEK - On a normal day Kimberly Behr is a publisher for a digital magazine about food and wine called The Art Of Eating. But now, she is operating the Northeast Kingdom Operation Face Mask group.

Read more: Reach out to make your PPE

Local Reps Discuss Vermont's Covid-19 Response

VERMONT- It's been two weeks since Governor Phil Scott enacted his "Stay Home Stay Safe" order. Since then, it is expected that social distancing will extend past the original April 19th date given.

Some of Caledonia's legislatures had relatively positive reviews, with a couple of things having caught their eye while watching the state work on "flattening the curve."

Read more: Local Reps Discuss Vermont's Covid-19 Response

Staying in a Routine and Using Your Resources During COVID-19

AROUND THE NEK- Across the nation, parents are being faced with a challenge most were unprepared for, having to homeschool their children during a pandemic. Some schools are attempting to hold remote classes for students, while others have opted to send materials home with their students.

Read more: Staying in a Routine and Using Your Resources During COVID-19

American Red Cross Donations Dropping

LYNDON- With the current outbreak of the Coronavirus, there is an extreme drop in blood donations. Along with a shortage of blood supply in our hospitals. Lyndonville Vermont is going to be having two blood donations hosted by the American Red Cross through the months of April and May.

Read more: American Red Cross Donations Dropping

Travel and Lodging Restrictions Issued by Gov. Scott

LYNDON: Monday morning Governor Scott issued an order addressing new travel and lodging restrictions for the state of Vermont. These efforts are being made to slow the spread of COVID-19 throughout the state, specifically for out-of state travelers coming into Vermont and Vermonters returning home.

Read more: Travel and Lodging Restrictions Issued by Gov. Scott

Business During a Pandemic

SHEFFIELD - As Covid-19 continues to spread, some businesses still remain open. Vermont Country Candles in Sheffield Vermont is one of those businesses.  They will continue to sell their product to stores in downtown Lyndonville.

Read more: Business During a Pandemic

Fire Departments Look Towards the Future

Fire departments around the country have been facing a shortage of their most critical resource: people. And Vermont is no exception.

News 7's Dylan Schlossberg reports on a potential solution some local fire departments are considering.

Read more: Fire Departments Look Towards the Future

Kingdom East Faces Facility Challenges

The schools of the newly-created Kingdom East district need to be repaired. But a $24-million dollar bond was rejected last June. Now administrators are trying to figure how much repair taxpayers will support.

News 7's Dylan Schlossberg reports.

Read more: Kingdom East Faces Facility Challenges

Winter Driving Safety Tips

Most Vermonters are used to driving in the snow, but it's never a bad idea to get a refresher on how to stay safe.

News 7's Dylan Schlossberg shares some top winter driving tips.

Read more: Winter Driving Safety Tips

Vermont Introduces Electric Vehicle Incentives

47% of Vermont's greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation, and the state's clean energy plan relies on electric vehicles to change that.

Dylan Schlossberg reports on a new state incentive program aiming to get more EVs on Vermont's roads.

Read more: Vermont Introduces Electric Vehicle Incentives

Topics For Upcoming Legislative Session

legislative periodVERMONT-A brief look into Vermont's first legislative session of the new year reveals a glimpse of what issues are thought to take up most of the time.

 

After speaking with Caledonia County Senators Jane Kitchel and Joe Benning, a few topics were narrowed down to be of significant importance.

Read more: Topics For Upcoming Legislative Session