At about 9 p.m. I began to hear sleet against the windows. Now we are in the midst of a pretty wild thunder storm with lots of lightning. My thermometer is reading 32 degrees. The road crews are out salting the roads, but they are having a hard time communicating because the lightning is interfering with the radio transmissions. I've heard one accident report - a car on the interstate. It's going to be a busy night for road and emergency crews.

With lots of snow on roofs, this rain could mean a lot of extra weight and there may be some casualties. I didn't measure the amount of snow we got this afternoon, but it looks as if it was a couple of inches. It's interesting to see the lightning light up the snow-covered trees - and I suppose we could lose power just as we sometimes do in the summer electrical storms. This has certainly been an interesting winter so far.

I guess you know town meeting is coming right up. Cabot's School District Meeting is on Monday, February 28, at 6 o'clock in the school gym. Town Meeting is the following day, March 1, at 10 a.m. at the gym. There are two vacancies on the School Board, and Fred Ducharme is running for selectman to replace Larry Gochey. Larry filed for re-election but withdrew, saying he'd still be road commissioner without pay if people wish to keep him in the position. There is also an article in the warning to increase the Select Board by two positions, making it a five-member board. There will be other articles discussed at the public hearing on Wednesday, February 23 - 7 p.m. at the Willey Building, including a $150,000 bond for a new fire truck; $33,145 from UDAG funds toward foundation drainage around the school's buildings and another $2,204.74 for equipment to be used by the Farm to School committee; the Cabot Coalition is asking for $7,950 "for the purpose of purchasing supplies and materials to assist the Chronicle and forty-plus Cabot organizations/town committees with community building and fund raising activities - cotton candy machine and cart, portable folding tables, weatherproof event information signs and an ice-crushing machine." It will be interesting to learn who the "forty-plus Cabot organizations/town committees" are. I had no idea there were that many organizations, all no doubt trying to raise money for their particular cause, in Cabot.

The Coalition (a monthly newspaper) will also be asking for $6,000 to continue publishing. The Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District budget of $631,300 also needs approval of each town in the district, so that will be voted.

Federal grants previously awarded the Cabot Coalition in 2007 will end on June 30, 2011. It costs between $18,000 and $20,000 per year for printing, postage and staff. Their business plan for funding is one third each: advertising, fund raising and town appropriation. The paper is distributed free to 600 households in Cabot and is also available free in Walden, E. Hardwick, Hardwick, Danville, W. Danville, E. Calais, Woodbury, Marshfield, Plainfield and E. Montpelier. Their 2010 budget was $19,328. $5,405 of that was for printing and mailing, the remaining $13,923 for personnel. They had $5,253 advertising income and they raised $1,500; the grant covered the balance, $12,575.