by Guy Page

The violent attack against Israel this weekend was likened to the Holocaust at the opening of today’s Restoring Our Faith Summit in South Burlington. 

Rabbi Yitschok Raskin likened the Hamas attack to the Nazi Holocaust.

“We are shocked and surprised at what is happening before our eyes,” Rabbi Raskin, Director of Chabad in Burlington, said before reciting an opening prayer. “It’s happening again.”

FCC Chairwoman visits Vermont today – Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel will visit an Orange County school this morning (Tuesday) to discuss rural broadband buildout, today’s Journal-Opinion reports. 

She and Sen. Peter Welch will tour a WiFi-equipped school bus at Williamstown Middle/High School before holding a roundtable at the school’s library.

They plan to discuss the Central Vermont Supervisory Union’s efforts during the pandemic to install WiFi on school buses and how communities across the country can replicate and build on the efforts.

Disaster Declaration for August flooding – President Joseph Biden has signed a Major Public Assistance disaster declaration for Addison County. This designation will help towns in Addison County recover costs for repair of public infrastructure damage caused by rainfall and severe flooding on August 3-5.

The declaration unlocks Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance Program funding to reimburse municipalities for 75% of funds already spent on things like debris removal, road and public building repairs, and staff overtime responding to and cleaning up after the storm.

Federal assessors identified more than $1.2 million in program eligible costs incurred by public entities.

Because the incident period for the July declaration closed before the August incidents, a separate declaration was necessary, after the threshold was met.

Don’t hunt with deer urine – Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is reminding hunters of a regulation designed to help keep Vermont deer healthy by banning the use of any deer lure containing deer urine or other deer bodily fluids.

The infectious agent of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a fatal disease of deer, is a mutant protein or “prion” that can be passed in urine.  Prions can bind to soils and remain infectious for many years.