[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image="194740" img_size="full" alignment="center"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=".vc_custom_1582852508329{margin-top: 40px !important;}"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_raw_html]JTNDc3BhbiUyMGNsYXNzJTNEJTIyaWNvbmlmeSUyMiUyMGRhdGEtaWNvbiUzRCUyMm1kaS16b2RpYWMtYXJpZXMlMjIlMjBkYXRhLWlubGluZSUzRCUyMmZhbHNlJTIyJTNFJTNDJTJGc3BhbiUzRQ==[/vc_raw_html][vc_custom_heading text="Aries" font_container="tag:h2|text_align:center" use_theme_fonts="yes"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1568082984251{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}"] March 21 - April 20 [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Groups, communities and friends may come into focus this week. The energy is heavy, but it’s also strangely clarifying. You might like to call this week your “annual friendship review.” Time alone in contemplation might be…

The Castleton Community Seniors held a 25th anniversary celebration on Wednesday, Feb. 1.  Over 50 members and guests attended the dinner and watched a PowerPoint presentation with photos from the past 25 years showing the men and women whose vision helped make Castleton Community Seniors into the success that it is  today.  This year, 2023,…

Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty in Killington has a new real estate agent. Kerry Dismuke recently joined the company. Dismuke’s love for Killington began almost 15 years ago when she started making snowboarding  trips from Cape Cod, Massachusetts where she lived, worked in hospitality, and was taking post grad  classes. Originally from western Massachusetts, Kerry…

By Mary Ellen Shaw There is talk of building a hotel in downtown Rutland in the same location where the Berwick Hotel once stood. That hotel was destroyed by fire 50 years ago and since then the spot has been a vacant lot, known locally as “The Pit.” Recently there have been both TV and…

By Declan McCabe If you get a chance this winter, take a peek through the icy window of a pond surface. You may see water boatmen (order Hemiptera: Family Corixidae) clinging to the pond floor. Long oar-like hind legs propel these insects, inspiring their common name. Shorter, scoop-like front legs are used for feeding and…

By Merisa Sherman It was quiet. A little too quiet. An eerie quiet. No fresh animal tracks on the ground, no wind moving the trees around. It’s so cold, you feel like even the surrounding air must be frozen even though it truly freezes at temps colder than 300 degrees. You couldn’t hear anything from…

By Dom Cioffi My wife and I were having dinner with some friends recently when the couple started talking about a wedding they had just attended. It was a destination wedding near the ocean with about 25 close family and friends. Apparently, the bride and groom wanted something simple since it was a second marriage…

By Richard Hopkins Editor’s note: Richard Hopkins is a retired public health official who has devoted himself to volunteer activities to try to reduce climate change. He is a member of the board of the Climate Economy Action Center of Addison County, and of the town of Middlebury Energy Committee. Do you remember when Al…

Dear Editor, In the Jan 25 edition of The Mountain Times, environmental activist Bill McKibben opined about health and environmental risks of household gas stoves. He tries to make the case that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emitted by stoves is a leading cause of asthma and he cites statistical studies to back that up. It strikes…

Dear Editor, There are few times in our lives when we have the opportunity to have the impact that we, Killington voters, have this March on Town Meeting Day. The last time someone or something had an impact this great on Killington, Pres Smith was hiking to the base of Killington mountain to start planning…

By Angelo Lynn Editor’s note: Angelo Lynn is the editor and publisher of the Addison County Independent, a sister publication to the Mountain Times.  It’s hard to ignore Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Republican firebrand and likely presidential candidate leading the nation’s third most populous state. His keen sense of timing when championing cultural issues…

In response to comments and questions heard around town, on the slopes and at the public hearing, Jan. 30, the Killington Select Board answers questions on what voters need to know to be informed about Killington Forward before voting March 7 on Article 5. What is Killington Forward? Killington Forward is a comprehensive, multi-phased plan…

 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is delaying the effective date of the final rule to reclassify the northern long-eared bat from threatened to endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The agency is extending the effective date by 60 days, from Jan. 30, 2023, to March 31, 2023.  The extension will allow the Service to…

The Cannabis Control Board (CCB) is issuing a consumer protection warning for flower produced by Holland Cannabis, due to pesticide contamination.  The CCB received a report of an adverse health impact allegedly related to the smoking of an unregistered strain of Holland Cannabis flower. The CCB obtained a sample of this product from the complainant…

Vermonters who need to remove firearms from their homes now have access to a renewed program that provides safe storage at sites statewide, the Vermont State Police and the Vermont Attorney General’s Office announced Jan. 24. Two of the safe storage sites are in Addison County and one is in Brandon. Under the Firearms Storage…