Vermont Pulls Together to Recover from Irene Flooding

If your not from Vermont you might be amazed how the communities have pulled togther to recover from the devastation of the flooding from Irene. There are a million stories about everyone volunteering to help their neighbors and local business'.  As a result the state is recovering remarkably fast!

Norwich University cadets worked an entire weekend to help local residences and business in Norwich, VT clean up the mess, move furniture from destroyed homes, rip our sheet rock and insulation. 

The local high school cross country team spent time helping The Garden Restaurant basically remove the entire interior the the building taking out equipment, spoiled food, walls, floors. 

Les and Dale Velte spent the weekend with at least 50 other volunteers to remove the contents and the interior of the Carlton's home in the center of town.  The owner of the Swiss Inn spent the day under the house ripping our insulation in the mud along with 2 volunteers that just walked in!

A roving group of local ski patrolers were moving around town randomly stopping in at peoples houses to help out.
One town was totally isolated, so the town folks used a bull dozer and put their own on/off ramp onto I91 to gain access to the outside world and called it the Hillbilly Highway.

Amy Olsen, CRS Account Manager,  is organizing a fund raiser with Jill Proudy in Jackson Hole, Wyoming to help Vermont.

Dora Putnam, CRS Consultant,  spends her free time manning a Free Store with things donated by local people for those who lost everything,.

Talking to one local business yesterday, the owners are in their late 60's and were planning to retire.  They lost their entire store with insurance that will not cover the entire loss.  Bev said I never thought I would be starting over at 69, but we are
The stories go on and on.  No one complained that "so and so" was not taking care of the situation!  Everyone just jumped in and started doing things to get it done!