Vermont

After long months of flood recovery, the Kingdom throws a party

Published

1 year ago

October 31, 2024

After long months of flood recovery, the Kingdom throws a party

Residents of the Northeast Kingdom have endured three major floods over the last two summers, and the community is throwing a party this weekend to celebrate survivors and the volunteers who are helping them recover.

In hard-hit communities such as Lyndon and St. Johnsbury, the recovery work isn’t close to finished. But Meghan Wayland, with Northeast Kingdom Organizing, said it’s time to honor the thousands of hours of volunteer labor that has gone into mucking and gutting damaged homes.

They said the gathering on Sunday is also a way to strengthen the local bonds that will be needed for future recovery work.

“It’s saying, ‘Hey, look in this room. You all did this.’ These are the people whose houses were destroyed. These are the people who were in the basements up to their elbows in muck,” Wayland told Vermont Public. “Now you know each other. You’ll continue to know each other. We’re going to be in this again and again and again.”

We want to thank them, and we also want them to know that it’s not over.

Meghan Wayland, Northeast Kingdom Organizing

Volunteers in the Kingdom have cleared muck from basements and living rooms and removed water-damaged building materials from about 250 homes from this summer’s floods alone. According to officials with the Kingdom United Resilience and Recovery Effort, more than 100 households are still awaiting critical repairs to damage from the floods of 2023 and 2024.

Peter Hirschfeld

Vermont Public

Volunteers get instructions before heading into local neighborhoods to check on stranded flood survivors on Thursday, Aug. 1, after flooding damaged homes and took out roads in parts of the Northeast Kingdom.

Wayland said the bulk of the recovery work happened in the one-month period after the floods, when volunteer labor was at its peak. They said Sunday’s event, at the Lyndon Outing Club, will also serve as a recruitment effort of sorts for the work that’s still ahead.

“We want to thank them, and we also want them to know that it’s not over,” Wayland said. “We’ve got all of these rebuild projects that need to happen both this winter and then in years to come so that we can make people whole in our neighborhoods.”

The event starts at 3 p.m. and will have home-cooked food, live music and free hard cider. There’s also a “work party” that starts at 11 a.m. that day where volunteers will meet at 762 College Road in Lyndonville to help rebuild flood-damaged homes.

Megan Matthers, also with Northeast Kingdom Organizing, said the party will provide a needed break for residents whose lives have been upended by disaster.

“Spiritually or socially, a lot of these people haven’t really had a chance to talk or decompress outside of interactions with flood volunteers,” Matthers said. “It’s just a time to let the mood lighten up and little bit … for folks who are willing and ready to just have a little bit of reflection, while still feeling the weight of this.”

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Vermont

Wrong-way driver stopped on I-89, charged with DUI

Published

10 hours ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

Wrong-way driver stopped on I-89, charged with DUI

BOLTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A wrong-way driver was safely stopped on Interstate 89 overnight Sunday.

Vermont State Police say just before 12:30 a.m., they stopped the car near marker 77, near Bolton.

The driver, Denise Lear, 60, of Revere, was charged with driving under the influence and gross negligent operation.

Lear is expected in court Monday.

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Vermont

Women’s Lacrosse Bested in Burlington by Vermont – University at Albany Great Danes

Published

22 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Women’s Lacrosse Bested in Burlington by Vermont – University at Albany Great Danes

Score: UAlbany 4, Vermont 14

Location: Virtue Field | Burlington, Vt.

Records: UAlbany (10-5, 5-1 America East) | Vermont (8-6, 4-1 America East)

Short Story: UAlbany women’s lacrosse fell to the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday afternoon.

Key Stats

Grace Cincebox recorded a total of 14 saves with 13 goals allowed for a .565 save percentage.

Ravan Marsell led the Great Danes with two points on one goal and one assist.

Four different UAlbany players scored in the contest.

Reggie Williams was the team’s leader with three ground balls.

Delilah Mile caused a team high three turnovers.

How It Happened

The Catamounts came out of the gates hard and heavy, scoring all three goals between both sides in the first quarter.

Vermont would take an 8-0 lead in the second quarter before Amanda Williamson found the back of the net on a women-down goal to put the Great Danes on the board and make it 8-1.

The Great Danes would allow one more goal in the first half to trail 9-1 after 30-minutes of play.

Grace Cincebox would enter the half with 10 saves.

Riley Forthofer started the Great Danes off in the second half to make it a 9-2 game, before Vermont put up three more goals to take a 12-2 lead entering the final quarter of play.

Mya Carroll and Ravan Marsell both scored on back-to-back free-position goals to make it a 12-4 game.

The Catamounts finished the game with two more goals to take the win 14-4.

Up Next
The Great Danes will next have a bye week and wait to see the outcome of next week’s Vermont vs UMass Lowell game to see who will host the America East Tournament.

Social Central: Stay up to date with UAlbany women’s lacrosse by following the team on Instagram (@UAlbanyWLax), Facebook (UAlbany Women’s Lacrosse), and X (@UAlbanyWLax) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.

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Vermont

Vermont lands two cities in America’s top 15 happiest list

Published

1 day ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Vermont lands two cities in America’s top 15 happiest list

Is creativity the missing key to better health?

Research suggests creative activities like art, music and crafts may benefit mental health as much as other key health habits.

Here’s another reason Vermont is the best New England state: It’s home to one of the top 5 happiest cities in the United States.

Plus, it has another within the top 15.

Massachusetts, on the other hand, doesn’t even break the top 50. Nor, does Connecticut or Rhode Island.

The personal finance website analyzed 182 of the largest cities in the country, and ranked Boston 63rd overall. Although the city is home to some of the nation’s top universities, high-ranking hospitals, and well-regarded companies, it didn’t break the top 50.

To get the rankings, WalletHub compared the cities using 29 metrics, including life-satisfaction index, depression rate, poverty rate, job security, and acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, and cities were assigned an overall happiness score.

Here’s a look at how the cities ranked.

South Burlington is No. 4 happiest city, Burlington is No. 11

South Burlington came on top for Vermont in WalletHub’s list of the happiest cities in the United States, ranking at No. 4. In scored very high for emotional and physical well-being coming in at the No. 4 spot, which made up for coming in No. 48 for community and environment. It was No. 9 for income and employment ranking. That gave it a total happiness of score of 70.15

Burlington wasn’t far behind at all, taking the No. 11 spot on the list and a happiness score of 67.54. It’s highest score was for income and employment ranking where it came second. It ranked No. 13 for community and environment and No. 21 for emotional and physical well-being.