Oct. 5-6, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Various locations throughout Vermont. This weekend, Vermont’s vibrant art community prepares to welcome visitors for its annual Vermont Open Studio Weekend. Over 120 private studios across the state will open their doors, offering art lovers a unique opportunity to explore where creativity comes to life. Organized by the Vermont Crafts…

By Peter Sterling Editor’s note: Peter Sterling is the executive director of Renewable Energy Vermont, the nonprofit trade association representing Vermont businesses working towards a 100% renewable energy future.  Though the tragic and costly impacts of changing weather extremes on Vermont continue to (justifiably) make headlines, they shouldn’t totally overshadow recent accomplishments in the fight…

Dear Editor, Matt Roberts’ passing last week is a loss for our entire Killington community. He was a wonderful human being who dedicated his life to his family, to his work and to the Great Outdoors of Vermont. Matt was one of a kind. Our entire team [at skionskioff.com] worked with Matt for the last…

Dear Editor, If you live in Ludlow, Mount Holly, or Shrewsbury, like me, you probably received a mailing from Kevin Winter about running for State Representative. The headline says “It’s time for moderation and reason in Montpelier.” Elsewhere he describes himself as an extremist. He has said he is a First Amendment extremist. This would…

Dear Editor, I am excited to support Becca White in her bid for re-election as one of our Vermont State Senators.   She has been dedicated to serving the people of Vermont for 10 years (four years on the Hartford Select Board, four years as a State Representative, and these last two years in the…

By Jeffrey Reel  Editor’s note: Jeffrey Reel is a writer living in Hartland and author of “Uncommon Sense: The War on Hunger and Other Myths. How Our Adversarial Relationship With Life Undermines Our Best Intentions.” Critical thinking has been described as an ability to question; to acknowledge and test previously held assumptions; to examine, interpret, evaluate, reason,…

The Vermont Agency of Education released the preliminary 2023-24 Vermont Comprehensive Assessment Program (CEAP) results on Friday, Sept. 27. The assessment is administered annually in the spring to students in grades 3-9, and 11. The assessment measures students’ mastery of the Common Core State Standards in English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and the Next Generation…

By Brooke Geery, Killington Resort At the end of last season, Killington Resort donated one of its well-used snow cats to Vermont Technical College (VTC) in Randolph. The gift was the idea of Vehicle Maintenance Manager Halley Riley-Elliot, who graduated from the VTC program herself in 2021. As the equipment had fulfilled its usefulness for…

By Brett Yates Regional planners want to help a trio of Windsor County municipalities win federal funds for projects that would prevent flood damage during future storms. But, so far, the town of Bridgewater isn’t interested. A new program called the Resilience Initiative for Vermont Empowerment and Recovery (RIVER) aims to protect communities that sit…

At the recent Killington-Pico Rotary club meeting, the newest Paul Harris fellows were recognized: Robert (Bob) Montgomery and Diane “Dee” Montgomery (posthumously) for their contributions to the Killington community.  With tears in her eyes, Dale Pfeifenberger recall the many accomplishments of her best friend “Dee,” including helping young adults plan for college, founding Sunday school…

Matthew (Matt) Eric Roberts, age 44, passed away Sunday, Sept. 22, at Rutland Regional Medical Center. He was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, on July 6, 1980. He was the son of Charles and Deborah (West) Roberts. He grew up in Brockton where he received his early education.  Roberts moved to Brandon with his family in…

Mission Farm in Killington has opened The Kitchen at Mission Farm, a state-of-the-art collaborative community kitchen designed to support local artisan food makers and benefit the larger community. The Kitchen embodies Mission Farm’s core values of connection, conservation, and justice, according to a recent new release.  The Kitchen will serve as a hub for culinary…

The Cannabis Control Board voted Wednesday, Sept. 25, to temporarily close the window for new retail and tier 2 cultivation applications in Vermont. “The Board is committed to adapting to changing market conditions,” the news release stated.  At Wednesday’s meeting, all three of the board’s members spoke of their concern for oversaturation in the regulated…

Sale to local owners closed without debt Friday, Sept. 27 Killington Resort finalized its sale from Powdr to local, independent ownership on Friday, Sept. 27. The new ownership group, led by Phill Gross and Michael Ferri, is committed to reinvesting all profits into capital improvements “for the foreseeable future” and announced $30 million in on-mountain…

New store plans to open in 2027 Staff report This past Tuesday, Sept. 24, Walmart told the Town of Rutland Select Board that plans will be submitted to relocate the existing Walmart store at 90 Shopping Plaza Road in Rutland City to the site of the former Diamond Run Mall, south of the city just…