Cavendish Update 9/25/20: SB Mtg/131 Construction/News/Events
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PLEASE NOTE: A BURN BAN IS IN PLACE FOR CAVENDISH. Due to dry conditions, winds and falling leaves there is a high risk for brush and other types of fire.
9/25/20
1. Cavendish SB Meeting 9/14/20
2. Cavendish Info
3. Construction Update 131
4. Covid-19 Update
5. Events
1.CAVENDISH SELECT BOARD MEETING 9/14/20: The Cavendish Select Board (SB) continues to meet via Zoom, with meetings recorded and available from the Okemo Valley TV website, minutes are available at the Town’s website.
Actions/Items Discussed
• Several community members requested a discussion on ATV use on town roads
• Former Town Garage site: Pole barns and fuel tanks may be moved off the site by next year. Money is available for Streetscapes to work on the project, who plan to have the grading, seeding and mulch in place before winter.
• Two companies have submitted quotes for two options to repave Cavendish Gulf Road and Stone Way. Quotes (from Atlantic Paving and Bazin Brothers) for a shim/overlay option were approximately $25,000 for Cavendish Gulf Road and $67,000for Stone Way. Quotes for reclaiming (removing, grinding and relaying the existing surface) were approximately $28,000 for Cavendish Gulf Road and $75,000 for Stone Way. Quotes were very close to each other. Will know in the next several weeks if paving will be possible this year.
• Property tax revenue is starting to come in as expected with no noticeable drop due to Covid-19.
• Update on 131 project, which is now winding down. (See Item 3)
• Continued discussion of loose dog on Cavendish Gulf Rd, which is a long standing problem.
• Approved accepting the Solar Bond anticipated note with Berkshire Bank in the amount of $275,000 at 2.75% interest for a term of one year
• Outer Limits Brewery made a request to use the Proctorsville Village Green for a fall festival on Oct. 10th. Due to the town ordinance prohibiting alcohol consumption on town property, the town manager will relay to Outer Limits that it was not possible to hold this event.
2. CAVENDISH INFO
• New Program from the Cavendish Historical Society: CHS has started a new program to support our in school and home learners. The Carmine Guica Young Historians Update is posted on or about the 25th of each month to support parents, teachers and students with information about upcoming events and dates of historic interest with related activities and resources. If you would like to receive this by e-mail, send an e-mail to margocaulfield@icloud.com with "subscribe CGYH" in the subject heading. The current issue is available at the CHS blog.
• Green Mountain Power encourages eligible customers to apply for Covid-19 assistance: GMP is encouraging customers with unpaid bills to apply for financial assistance through an $8 million Covid-19 arrearage assistance fund. Green Mountain Power said that 23,000 of its customers have outstanding balances older than 60 days, which may make them eligible for the financial support, while only 2,000 people have applied for arrearage assistance, the company added. The deadline to apply is November 30. More information is available on the Department of Public Service website.
• Springfield Shopping Plaza welcomes Ollie’s Bargain Hunt: Ollie’s Bargain Outlet will be replacing Peebles and will expand into additional square footage in the shopping plaza. Ollie’s is a leading American retailer offering Vermonters deep discounts on major brands of consumer goods.
• How VTel’s Phone/Internet Outage Happened: While this primarily impacted Chester, Andover, Springfield, some Cavendish residents and businesses were impacted by the outage last week. Chester Telegraph
• Springfield Hospital Files Plan to split from clinics in exit from bankruptcy
• Ludlow-Scarecrows on Main St: Ludlow Parks and Recreation is holding a scarecrow-making contest to be displayed on Main Street. Families and businesses can register their scarecrow at the Recreation Department or online at www.ludlowvtparksandrec.com. You will receive an entry number to place near your scarecrow in a visible spot. Scarecrows will be put in place beginning Saturday, Oct. 3 and must be removed no later than Monday, Nov. 2. All scarecrows must be self-supporting, weather proof, and non-political. Judging will take place Columbus Day weekend and winners will be announced on the Ludlow Parks and Recreation website Oct. 13. Categories include scariest, most creative, best use of recycled materials, and Best on Main for businesses.
• Timberframe in Springfield rebuilds after last year’s fire.
3. CONSTRUCTION UPDATE 131- Drainage work and installation of headwalls has resumed and will continue for the remainder of the construction season until all new structures are installed. There are new gravel crossings that have opened since the paving was completed. The traveling public should expect new areas of gravel crossings until the next round of paving is scheduled. Previously existing gravel pipe crossings as well as any areas that were heavily damaged as a result of work in the ledge removal areas have been paved. River bank restoration has begun at the Cavendish/Weathersfield town line. The traveling public should expect one-way alternating traffic in this area.
4. COVID UPDATE: On Tuesday, the United States passed 200,000 deaths from Covid. On Thursday, the FDA approved the first point-of-care (POC) antibody test for COVID-19, under an emergency use authorization (EUA). The antibody test uses finger stick blood samples. With the new POC authorization, the test can be performed in physicians' offices, hospitals, urgent care centers, and emergency departments. The test eliminates the need to send samples to a central laboratory for testing. The FDA said it's unclear how long antibodies persist following SARS-CoV-2 infection and whether antibodies confer protective immunity. Patients and providers "should not interpret results from a serology test as telling them they are immune, or have any level of immunity, from the virus," the agency cautioned. On Wednesday, the head of the CDC, Robert Redfield, told a U.S. Senate committee that he expects COVID-19 vaccinations to take place over many months and that most Americans could be vaccinated by July of 2021 at the latest.
From the Governor’s Press Conferences
• New hospitality guidelines now allow counter service at bars and restaurants; parties must remain 6 feet apart and businesses must have a barrier separating customers and staff; Lodging establishments may now rent all of their rooms.
• The state is moving to step 3 of opening the public schools. As a result, starting Saturday, public schools will be allowed to start holding sports competitions, and using common areas such as cafeterias and gyms. Only a few cases of Covid have been identified at schools, with no transmission of the virus in schools.
• VT’s Health Commissioner, Mark Levine, expressed concern over the CDC’s eliminating language from its Covid guidance that warned of airborne transmission of the virus. On Tuesday, Levine called the CDC’s decision “yet another public relations fiasco, with overtones of politicization.” He was very clear that VT would be guided by science and data, not politics. As Levine noted numerous studies have indicated that the coronavirus can be transmitted via “aerosols” that can travel much farther than large respiratory droplets from coughs or sneezes. And he said he and other health officials across the country “have been calling for the risk of airborne transmission to be recognized by health authorities.”
• The less invasive anterior nares testing swabs are now in stock making the Covid test easier than the “brain tickling” nasopharyngeal swabs.
Canceled: Okemo Mountain Ski Swap. A virtual sale will be held instead. Donations can be dropped off from now until Oct.19 by appointment only. There will not be any consignment this year. Due to the nature of the virtual sale, we are only accepting skis, snowboards, and competition specific gear that is less than 5 years old e.g. GS suits, shin guards, back protectors. The online sale begins Nov. 2 and continues through Nov. 27 with pickup by appointment only. FMI: www.okemomountainschool.org/skiswap.
Outbreaks/Numbers: This past week there have been 19 new cases, down from 44 from the previous week, bringing the state total to 1,724 cases. There have been no deaths since the July 28 and two people are hospitalized with Covid.
Mask Give Away: Pick up free cloth or surgical masks from the CHS Cares Cabinet, located by the steps of the CHS Museum. They are on the top left shelf and are available 24/7. Cloth masks are also available from the Cavendish Fire Dept, Mon-Friday, 8-4. Phone # 226-7790 For other masks, please e-mail cavendishconnects@gmail.com or call 802-226-8044 or 226-7807.
5. UPCOMING EVENTS:
SEPTEMBER 27-28 (SUNDAY-MONDAY)-: Yom Kippur
OCTOBER 5 (MONDAY): Black River Good Neighbors is extending their shopping days to 6 days a week.
OCTOBER 6 (TUESDAY): Vermont Mask Day Founded and organized by Masks4Missions.org Vermont Mask Day is a one-day, state-wide celebration of Vermonters coming together virtually and in mask-protected socially-distant gatherings to celebrate our shared commitment to healthy communities.
OCTOBER 11 (SUNDAY): From Smallpox to Covid-19: The Impact of Pandemics/Epidemics on the American Indigenous Peoples. Will be held at the Cavendish “Stone” Universalist Church on Main St. in Cavendish Village. Parking is available across the street at the Cavendish Baptist Church (2258 Main St.). Masks and social distancing required.
OCTOBER 12 (MONDAY): Indigenous Peoples Day (formerly Columbus Day). Legal Holiday. Town Office Closed.
NOVEMBER 30 (MONDAY): Deadline for the GMP Covid 19 assistance. FMI: Department of Public Service website.
CA❤︎ENDSH-A SAFER SIX COMMUNITY
Covers mouth & nose
Always masks in public
Vermonters keep each other safe
Elbow coughs
Never forgets to wash hands
Disinfects common surfaces
Is alert for symptoms
Stays 6 feet apart
Has respect for personal space