For the first time in recent memory, the Vermont high school boys and girls basketball basketball semifinals held annually at Barre Auditorium will undergo significant changes.

The Vermont Principals’ Association and the Barre Tournament Committee have announced scheduling alterations to enhance the fan experience for the Division II, III and IV Final Four contests at Barre Aud.

Each division’s semifinal games will be played on the same night. Previously, D-II and D-IV were split up during the week before a Saturday championship tripleheader.

More: Fair Haven girls basketball unseats North Country with second-half comeback in D-II final

The changes take effect for the 2025 tournament.

“These changes are aimed at optimizing the tournament for players, coaches, and most importantly, the fans who make this event so special,” said Lauren Thomas, the VPA’s assistant executive director, in a statement.

The new semifinal schedule at Barre Auditorium

The new schedule for semifinals:

• Division IV: To be played Monday night at 5:30 p.m. and 7:45.
• Division II: To be played Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. and 7:45.
• Division III: To be played Thursday night at 5:30 p.m. and 7:45.
• Additional note: Championships will remain in the same order on Saturday: D-IV, D-II and D-III.

New protocol for spectators at Barre Auditorium

The VPA also announced a new protocol for fans who plan on attending semifinal games at Barre Aud. Upon conclusion of the first game, officials will ask spectators to vacate the gym before the start of the second semifinal.

“This strategic adjustment ensures that both games and their respective spectators have ample access to seating within the Barre Auditorium without disruption,” a VPA news release stated.

Last year, the VPA sold 10,178 online tickets for the 12 games played at Barre Aud (six semifinals, six title games), according to data the VPA provided to the Burlington Free Press.

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.

In the wake of last month’s catastrophic flooding, lawmakers signed off on a request from Gov. Phil Scott this week to move $14 million into new housing and business relief programs.

That cash will be split evenly between an effort to purchase and site new mobile homes for low-income Vermonters and a grant program for businesses, farms and non-profits who pledge to reopen their doors and bring back employees.

Scott requested and received approvals for the transfers Thursday from Vermont’s Emergency Board, a special panel on which he sits which also includes the Legislature’s four money committee chairs. The committee can meet when lawmakers are not otherwise in session to approve spending. For now, the $14 million will be diverted from a special fund held at the Treasurer’s office for the purposes of bond redemption, but Scott’s office said the fund would be replenished when lawmakers come back this winter and pass their regular appropriation bills.

At least 21 homes were completely destroyed by the floods this July, and another 100 were severely damaged and could become uninhabitable, according to preliminary state estimates.

“The loss of those homes is devastating for homeowners and renters, and the loss of those units only contributes to Vermont’s housing crisis, which has been building for decades,” Vermont Commerce and Community Development Secretary Lindsay Kurrle told the Emergency Board.

With legislative approval in hand, the state now plans to spend $7 million to site and purchase new, energy-efficient mobile homes.

Officials estimate sitework, acquisition and placement should cost about $130,000 per unit. Program participants will be required to purchase the homes, but officials say that available finance assistance could bring the cost of a mortgage as low as $55,000. Money from each home’s purchase will be reinvested into a fund, managed by the Vermont State Housing Authority, to continue acquiring and siting new homes.

The “Rapid Response Mobile Home Infill Program” could have 15 units ready within 12 weeks, according to state officials, and 100 new homes in place by next June. In total, Kurrle said the state hopes to create roughly 250 new units over the next few years.

Last year, the state created the Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program to help businesses, landlords and nonprofits recover from 2023’s historic mid-summer flood. The Emergency Board also signed off Thursday on Scott’s request to top off an updated version of that program with another $7 million. Grants will be capped at $100,000, and businesses will be able to request reimbursement for up to 30% of their uncovered losses.

Officials will set aside 10% of the funds for BIPOC-owned businesses, and 40% for farms.

Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts said in an interview Thursday that 79 farms so far have reported a total of $4.3 million in damage from last month’s storms. Two-thirds of the affected farmers don’t have crop or livestock insurance, the secretary said.

These grants will be “helpful,” Tebbetts said, although he acknowledged they would not make farmers whole.

“It gives them a chance to live another day,” he said.

Also last year, the state moved $10 million initially earmarked for weatherization into a new program aimed at helping flood-impacted Vermonters replace damaged appliances with energy-efficient alternatives. Only a little over $2 million of that has been spent, Public Services Commissioner June Tierney told the Emergency Board, who gave her the authority to make this year’s flood survivors eligible for the program as well.

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ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. — You can’t help but overhear the news as it spreads in worried tones among neighbors, town officials, and volunteers clearing flood debris from last month: Debby is coming.

Just over a week after torrential rain devastated pockets of this small, rural town in Vermont, residents are bracing, again, for more rain. Tropical Storm Debby is expected to arrive in Vermont Friday and clearing out early Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, who was volunteering for flood recovery efforts in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom on Wednesday, said she spent some time checking in with town managers and first responders about Debby preparations. Vermonters feel nervous, she said.

“Three times in a month’s span [would be] pretty outrageous,” Copeland Hanzas said.

Now, recovery and preparation are happening in tandem: Town officials in St. Johnsbury on Wednesday handled the logistics of road repairs on the same day they got a weather briefing on Debby’s approach. Chad Whitehead, the town manager, instructed crews to prioritize impassable roads and shore up areas that seemed vulnerable to more rain.

Community volunteers, too, are in a balancing act. Ilene Dickinson, 41, a high school math teacher, said that while she was helping to muck out a house with other volunteers, a firefighter had to leave to go fill sandbags for Debby. “People are definitely pulling resources into preparing for this weekend,” she said.

Between 1 and 3 inches of rain could fall across the state, with some isolated areas getting up to 5 inches. Precipitation could fall extremely quickly, which could overwhelm drainage systems and result in flash floods across Vermont and Upstate New York.

The good news: The storm ought to be a fast mover and leave the region by Saturday, said Ken Mahan, meteorologist for The Boston Globe. The bad: Some areas could be hit more than once.

“It’s sort of a double-edged sword,” Mahan said. “Debby is a cyclone, so it’s going to be bringing multiple rounds of rain into the region … [but] with a quick-moving storm, you get the rain in and out of here in a hurry.”

The remainder of northern New England, which includes much of New Hampshire and Maine, could see 1 to 3 inches of rain with localized amounts up to 4 inches on Saturday.

Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom has already been hit twice in less than a month by flash floods that damaged homes and businesses. The force of water gushing down the area’s signature hills left huge gaping holes in the road as asphalt buckled. Some properties had to be dug out from the mud after landslides. Residents this week were still hard at work clearing debris, mud, and standing water from their property.

Amanda Wheeler, spokesperson for Vermont Governor Phil Scott, said that residents should chart out a safe route to higher ground, know how to shut off power to their homes in the event they need to evacuate, and ensure that they have extra food, water, flashlights, batteries, and medications on hand.

Climate change has worsened the frequency of extreme precipitation in New England. The number of days with 4 inches or more of precipitation has increased by 80 percent since 1958, according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment.

On average in Vermont, annual precipitation totals have increased by 21 percent since 1900, according to the state’s climate assessment.

Across much of the Northeast Kingdom, affected infrastructure remains under repair. Contractors are racing to replace culverts and fill in the ravines with new earth. Several roads remain restricted to one lane, and a handful of residential streets have streams where a bridge ought to be.

While Debby’s expected rainfall totals may not sound destructive, usually, the earth can act like a sponge for rainfall. Northeastern Vermont just had its wettest July on record. The soil is already quite saturated with water, meaning the ground can’t absorb much more rainfall.

“That’s not a great sign when it comes to what’s ahead,” Mahan said.

James Chamberlain, 64, owns his childhood home in St. Johnsbury where his daughter and four grandchildren now live. About 4 feet of water overtook the neighborhood just over a week ago; the cellar, pool, and garage were flooded. After the water retreated, he mucked out the garage.

“If I knew it was coming in, I wouldn’t have done that,” he said with a laugh. “I worked two days cleaning that up.”

Chamberlain said he would board up the entrance ahead of the weekend.

This story has been updated to reflect the latest forecast and estimated rain totals.

Erin Douglas can be reached at erin.douglas@globe.com. Follow her @erinmdouglas23.