Storm Update: STAY HOME
March 7, 2011, 9:30 a.m.
by Nancy Wood (snowbound)

Road Commissioner Jr Lewis says everyone should stay home and off the road. Leslie Lewis relayed messages from him: "East/West Roads are not fairing well. Best if people just stay home. When a vehicle is stuck.. it slows down the progress which Jr says is going VERY slowly. He said 75% of the roads are NOT passable. Those that are open now won't be in a little while as they drift in very quickly. It's actually hard to know where the road is. The wind gusts and white outs down here on Ferry Road are HORRIFIC!!! Jr says.. 'Just stay off the roads.' Thank You!"

According to Scott at Steve's Citgo earlier this morning, the town plows have been having a hard time all morning keeping up with the snow and drifting, and getting stuck. He says Ferry Road west of the Village is impassable, which applies to most east-west roads in town.

Steve Mack called from his truck on Thompson's Point Road, and said he was watching snow blow sideways. He was following a town plow and payloader that were trying to break through five to seven foot drifts. He said it will probably close back in within an hour after they get through.

Steve said that the Charlotte-Hinesburg Road has been open, but none of the dirt roads in town have been plowed yet. Carrie Spear tried to get through on the Charlotte-Hinesburg Road from Mt. Philo Road to her store at Baptist Corners with the help of Peter Denton, but they had to turn back because the drifting is so bad. She said all of a sudden there was an "incredible squall." She also said there has been at least one accident on that road this morning, effectively closing it.

Route 7 is "fairly open" according to Scott, but there is very little traffic on it.

Both UVM and the State in northern Vermont are closed today. CCS and CVU are also closed

No answers at Town Hall and the Old Brick Store,so probably not open yet.

Interstate 89 was closed in the area of Exit 12 earlier today, and then reopened. Gov. Peter Shumlin issued the following statement regarding today's winter storm:

"I applaud the great work that our emergency management officials and Agency of Transportation road crews are doing to clear the snow and mitigate the impact of potential flooding throughout the state. I have spoken with Lt. Gov Phil Scott, Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn and our emergency response team and we are following the flooding situation closely. This storm is yet another reminder for drivers to use extreme caution and only travel when necessary. Vermonters who want more information on the storm should visit http://vem.vermont.gov."