Editor’s note: Today’s account of VTDigger’s coverage of this summer’s historic flooding is from southeastern Vermont reporter Ethan Weinstein.
Dear Reader,
We’re headed into the last few days of our Fall Member Drive and, as you know, we are a nonprofit news organization that relies heavily on member donations to fund our journalism. What you may not know is how meaningful it is to have the honor of reporting for Vermont communities.
Reporting on this summer’s flooding brought me across southern Vermont — Ludlow, Weston, Reading, Hancock, Rutland and beyond. Along the way, I met people whose lives had changed forever.
Like Peggy Fletcher, who woke up inside her trailer in Ludlow to the banging of firefighters attempting to rescue her from the rising Black River. She reached safety, but lost her car in the process.
Or the Quintanas, a family that evacuated their Rutland home by raft when flash floods in August enveloped Clover Street.
Despite the devastation, Vermonters at every turn used whatever resources remained to help each other. GameBird, a Ludlow restaurant spared by the flooding, cooked free, hot meals for anyone who needed them. While interviewing the Quintanas, I watched them give away a pair of winter boots to a passerby in need of footwear.
That spirit of generosity moved me this summer as I traveled around to the state’s hardest hit towns. No matter what people were experiencing, they always believed they had enough to share with those who had it worse.
And now, since this is our member drive, I’ll make my request. If you’re able, please donate to our Fall Member Drive and help ensure that anyone, no matter their financial circumstances, can continue to have access to vital news and information about our home state.
Thank you for your ongoing support. We could not have responded to this summer’s events without your contributions.
With gratitude,
Ethan Weinstein
Southeastern Vermont Reporter
