Two local towns preparing shelter

CHITTENDEN — The American Red Cross is training volunteers to convert Barstow Elementary School into a temporary shelter in case of an emergency like the devastation visited last year by Tropical Storm Irene.
In the wake of that storm, Red Cross officials said they decided to reach out to communities throughout Vermont to offer cots, emergency supplies and trainings to volunteers who wanted to establish local shelters.
In Rutland County, where flooding from Irene turned some communities into islands cut off from the rest of the world, the hard-hit community of Mendon has teamed up with Chittenden to use the elementary school in case of future disasters.
A Red Cross shelter coordinator will lead training for volunteers at the school today starting at 5 p.m. Anyone interested in attending can call Larry Kupferman at 660-9130 ext. 113.