Towns Prepare as Holidays Approach

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Created on Friday, 16 November 2012 14:33

Written by Brian Stone

AROUND THE NEK - With the holiday season fast approaching, the Northeast Kingdom is starting to prepare. Local small business, as well as state police and the towns themselves, have plenty of last-minute preparation to do before the holidays arrive.

Businesses in St. Johnsbury have paired with the NEK Chamber of Commerce to get ready for Black Friday and the flurry of holiday shopping that follows. While Railroad Street and the rest of the small businesses in the area may not be able to compete with the big box stores just over the river in Littleton, the recent grassroots movement known as "Small Business Saturday" encourages shoppers to visit local businesses the day after Black Friday for reasons that go beyond pricing and fancy product.

"It used to be every Christmas you were inundated with mail order catalogs," said Robin Little, the owner of Moose River Lake and Lodge in St. Johnsbury. "A lot of them were fine products. The missing thing with online shopping, mail order shopping, and Walmart is a personal connection. People shop as recreation."

The relationship between customers and store owners goes beyond the interaction at the register. Customer demand can actually affect the items that small businesses choose to keep in stock.

"It's hard for us as a small business to [order] big quantities and varieties of products to have available for the locals if the locals aren't coming in and buying it," said Cindy Poigney, owner of Paddy Cakes in St. Johnsbury.

The NEK Chamber of Commerce is working on a program that will entice customers to stay local more often than just around the holiday shopping season. "In the next couple months we hope to institute a discount card program," said Darcie McCann, executive director of the NEK Chamber of Commerce. Participating businesses "can put discounts onto this card. Instead of just having chamber members use it, like we used to, everybody will be able to use it. People will able to purchase this card and, potentially, get thousands of dollars of savings."

Lyndon also is preparing for shoppers. The Lyndon Holiday Shoppe will be opening for its second year on Saturday. This year, the Shoppe has moved to a new location between Lyndon House of Pizza and The Tanning Studio on Main Street, and they'll once again be open seven days a week through Christmas Eve. In addition to carring sweaters, scarves, and homemade jewelry, the Shoppe will offer jewelry making classes beginning November 24.

Parking for shoppers in Lyndonville will not be affected, even though the winter parking ban has been put into affect. The parking ban started on November 15 and runs through April 15.

"I think that's the standard date that most towns honor in the state of Vermont," said Lyndon town manager Dan Hill, "so we're consistent with most other towns. I realize it seems kind of silly now with the weather we are having, but it would be hard to alter [the date of the ban] every year because no one would know when it took place. This way, it's a standard day and everyone knows it."

The parking ban starts at midnight and goes until 7 a.m. every day. A first offense will cost you $15. Each offense that follows carries a $40 fine. And that doesn't include towing expenses, which can run anywhere from $75 to $90.

With so many people traveling during the holiday season, the Vermont State Police are going to be cracking down on drunk driving. Barracks around the state will be setting up DUI checkpoints starting November 19 and ending on November 30. The death toll on Vermont roads is rising, with 63 deaths resulting from motor vehicle accidents on Vermont highways this year. That number is greater than the number of deaths in all of 2011. State police are looking fro drivers to be responsible on the roads.

"[We hope that] they won't consume as much or they'll have a designated driver," said Sergeant Fred Cornell of the Bradford barracks, "that they'll put their seat belts on, knowing we are going to be out there and we are going to be looking for these things, willing to take enforcement action if necessary."

It's the little bits of preparation, at all levels of everyday life, that come together to create one of the most magical times of the year.