‘There will be a next time’: Ludlow emergency management director gears up for future calamities By Tiffany Tan/VTDigger Sometime in the afternoon of July 9, Angela Kissell and her husband began knocking on doors in this southern Vermont town, telling residents to prepare for a possible evacuation. She’d been following forecasts of a storm that…

“You can’t push the river…” By Julia Purdy This flood season brings back memories of past epic events. The Great Flood of 1927 blindsided the state and prompted rescue and remedial action by the state and communities — and, Tropical Storm Irene, which continued to rearrange the landscape a generation later. Now, whatever we are…

  On Thursday, Aug. 3, Scott Whittier, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the Vermont office for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), presented a StormReady Certification to Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC). “I’m pleased to present this certificate to Rutland Regional Medical Center,” said Whittier. “This demonstrates that the hospital has met all of the criteria…

  Recent flooding has altered Vermont’s landscape and property owners understandably have questions. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has prepared answers to frequently asked questions:  Recent flooding moved the stream/river extremely close to my home/business. Will the state come and fix it?  If you feel your home or business is unsafe, take necessary measures…

  Staff report The Killington Fire Department needed to be called in Wednesday, Aug. 2 after 42 animals got stuck on the roof at the Sherburne Memorial Library. The animals climbed up the roof in the middle of the night, with the pigeon, a notorious troublemaker, leading the way. The annual event, which takes place…

  By Katy Savage Vermont’s animal shelters have achieved a “no-kill” status for the first time. The status comes from Best Friends Animal Society, a Utah-based  national nonprofit animal welfare organization. To achieve that status, all shelters in the state have to have at least a 90% save rate for animals.  “That’s a tremendous achievement,”…

  Rutland family, evacuated Friday, reflects By Ethan Weinstein/VTDigger The water on Clover Street rose to the roof of Billy and Danielle Quintana’s car and rushed into their basement, last Friday, Aug. 7.  “It was life-changing,” Billy said, sitting on his porch next to his wife Monday morning. Inside their rental home, where they live…

  Stone craftsman Dan Snow completed a dry laid stone odeon (amphitheater) at Mission Farm in Killington, Aug. 3 after three months of diligent work. Rev. Lisa Ransom, vicar and executive director, said: “This project is a part of a ‘Radical Invitation’ that we are creating here, we hope the community will come see it,…

  New shed is part of school district allocation for outdoor classrooms By Polly Mikula The recent floods not only washed out roads and flooded buildings but the urgency of the resulting remediation work meant has meant redirecting workers. Priorities at the Mountain Views School District (formerly Windsor Central) included. One such project that was…

  Our grandchildren have come to our Killington lodge to spend a week with “Gammy and Papa.” Cora Irene (2 1/2 years old) joined brother Silas who just turned 8 in mid-July. Silas has his dad’s disposition—calm, centered and often serene — but his toddler sister is strong and defiant, very determined and cute as…

  There’s a cradling, a sense of calm that takes over you as the water moves gently beneath your boat. A soft bounce that you can feel almost immediately as you step foot into your craft and shove off from the shore. You almost don’t need to go anywhere, you can simply float in place…

  I grew up in a family with two older brothers; one was 8 years older and the other was 13 years older. Given the age gap, we did not play together much. So, by default, I was left to fend for myself, and while there were plenty of neighbor kids around, when I was…

  At first, I suspected it was the deer that had almost completely defoliated the northern spicebush sapling I had planted just weeks earlier. Only days prior, it had been brimming with new growth, and now all that remained were two leaves wrapped into cigarlike cylinders. Curious, I inspected this pair of surviving leaves. At…

Flowing over rocks and stones, Crystal clear, Beautiful, too, Singing its song of love to you. Gurgling and swishing, Then the birds join in, Little tweets and chirps of happiness, All start blending in. To a beautiful song of nature, The wind starts to blow, Rustling the tree’s leaves, Creating a beautiful scene. Nature’s beautiful…

  The month of August is set to be a month of illumination and clarity, with this week being no exception. Beginning with a Full Moon in Aquarius, the chance to realign priorities in terms of how much you’ve sacrificed your needs and desires for the sake of something or someone else is highlighted. Distancing…