RIPTON, Vt. (AP) – Arrests could be made within the next week or so of people believed to be responsible for vandalizing the historic farmhouse where poet Robert Frost once lived, police say.

Meanwhile, Middlebury College, which owns the farmhouse in Ripton, said the cost of repairing the damage caused by the vandals had doubled to about $10,000.

“I’m expecting that, within a week’s time – let’s just say we have some really good leads and there’s a good chance we’ll have an arrest,” said Vermont State Police Capt. Donald Patch.

Police say that between the evening of Dec. 28 and the morning of Dec. 29, a group of people broke into the restored farmhouse and held a party. Beer bottles and furniture were smashed, windows and picture frames were broken, fire extinguishers were set off and someone vomited on the carpet.

Patch said someone had offered to put up reward money, but he suggested the person wait “for the next couple days.”

“We’re getting some good information and it may not be necessary to offer a reward,” Patch said. “This is a very solvable crime and I’d like to follow those leads first.”

Middlebury College spokeswoman Sarah Ray said a clean up crew was scheduled to arrive on Monday.

“I’m sure they’ll be working hard,” Ray said.

Frost summered at the Homer Noble Farm in Ripton, from the late 1930s until his death in 1963 at age 88.

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Information from: Rutland Herald, http://www.rutlandherald.com/

AP-ES-01-06-08 1432EST