According to the Burlington Free Press, the Agency of Human Service admitted to, in my opinion, a major failure. As temperatures were approximately 30º around the state, the Agency announced that they didn't have checks ready for people who applied for heating assistance. They say they've had seven staffers working overtime, say their other staffers are too busy to be shifted, say it would take three weeks to train new staffers. Meanwhile, people all over the state are going cold.

What makes this especially stunning in my eyes is the fact that this is Vermont. I've been shocked at the unseasonable warmth we've experienced this late into November. It's almost Thanksgiving and this morning was the first I woke up with visible snow on the ground here in South Burlington. A year ago today I was attempting to snowboard for the first time. And this is the first we're hearing that they don't have the checks ready. It's disturbing that they didn't see the lack of man power and seek help. Three weeks ago they could have started training people.

Here's a hint to business owners and governments: if your employees are working overtime, something is probably wrong. You should probably check in with them and see if they really think they can meet their deadline, and if so why they're so rushed. Something could have been done weeks ago, but now, as we usher in the cold, we're first starting to think about it.

[article]