Vermont’s Shelburne Museum to stay closed due to COVID-19

SHELBURNE, Vt. (AP) — For the first time in its 73-year history, Vermont’s Shelburne Museum is not going to open for the summer season.

Museum Director Thomas Denenberg tells WCAX-TV it’s too hard to invite the public into the museum spaces and maintain social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

“So, unfortunately, we will be closed for the foreseeable future,” Denenberg said.

Officials will monitor the progress of the pandemic to see whether the museum could reopen later this year.

The Shelburne Museum was founded by Electra Havemeyer Webb, the daughter of art collectors, in 1947. She not only acquired 19th-century folk art, quilts and decoys, but she also moved historic buildings from Vermont and New York — a one-room schoolhouse, homes, a round barn, a covered bridge and a steamship — to the site to house her collections.

The museum’s online resources will remain available for schools and the community.

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REMOTE EDUCATION

The cable giant Comcast is donating 250 Chromebook computers to a rural Vermont school district where some students didn’t have the technology for the remote learning during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced the donation Tuesday.

“This is a challenging time for students, teachers, and parents. I know these Chromebooks will make all the difference to those who receive them,” Donovan said in a statement issued by his office.

Superintendent Emilie Knisley of the Orange-East Supervisory Union said the district did not have the money to buy the needed computers.

“This is a big step forward in breaking down the digital divide between students and technology,” she said.

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MILK DONATION

A number of dairy organizations that operate in Vermont are planning to donate milk to help families in need during the outbreak.

The St. Albans Messenger reports the Vermont Dairy Producers Alliance along with Dairy Farmers of America, Bourdeau Brothers, and Pleasant Valley Farms of Berkshire are working to provide dairy products to Vermont families in need.

On Friday, more than 4,000 gallons of milk will be available for pick up at Bourdeau Brothers Middlebury, on Seymour Street, or the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery Store on Federal Street until supplies last.

Volunteers will place milk in the trunks of peoples’ vehicles to abide by social distancing requirements.

Schools, restaurants, institutions and universities closed to help slow the spread of the virus, wiping out much of the food service market that makes up for a big chunk of dairy farmers’ business.

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NUMBERS

On Tuesday, the Vermont Department of Health reported five new positive cases of the virus that causes COVID-19, bringing the total to just under 910. The number of deaths remained steady at 52.