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Northern Border Regional Commission Announces 2021 State Economic & Infrastructure Development Grant Round 

March 8, 2021
The Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) is pleased to announce the 2021 State Economic & Infrastructure Development grant application opportunity. Eligible organizations, which include nonprofit and governmental entities (state, local & Indian tribes), will be able to access grant application details (available via NBRC’s website, nbrc.gov) beginning today, March 8. Potential applicants are able to…

New Report Reflects Phosphorus Reduction Progress as a Result of Conservation Implementation by Vermont Farmers

March 8, 2021
The Vermont Agricultural Water Quality Partnership (VAWQP) released its 2020 annual report highlighting the impacts of state and federal investments toward protecting and improving water quality on March 5. The VAWQP report shares conservation practice implementation data which indicates a high level of commitment from Vermont farmers in land stewardship. For example, in 2020, conservation…

Non-profit Security Grant Program Application Deadline Extended

March 8, 2021
Non-profit organizations can now apply for federal security grants through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Applications must be submitted to Vermont Emergency Management by 3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 19, 2021. FEMA has allocated $1,050,000 to Vermont under the Fiscal Year 2021 program. The program provides funding for physical security enhancements and other security-related…

Slate Ridge ordered to permanently close, pay $46,603 to Pawlet

March 6, 2021
Staff Report An environmental court judge has ordered Slate Ridge, a firearms training facility in Pawlet that has caused local strife and garnered national attention, to permanently close. The court ruled Friday that the facility’s owner, Daniel Banyai, must dismantle all of the buildings on his property that do not have a zoning permit. He…

Tied Rutland alderman race resolved between the candidates

March 6, 2021
By Emma Cotton/VTDigger RUTLAND — An unprecedented tie for a seat on the Rutland Board of Alderman has been resolved between the two candidates. Thomas Franco got seat on the board after John Atwood, who was making his fourth run for the board, announced that he’d remove himself from the race. Each received 1,122 votes in the…

Annual Castleton women’s ice hockey Pink the Rink game set for March 6

March 3, 2021
On Saturday, March 6 the Castleton Women’s Ice Hockey Team will once again trade their traditional Spartan green apparel for pink to raise awareness and funds for the Breast Care Program at Rutland Regional Medical Center. The Spartans will face the Norwich Cadets in an exciting match-up scheduled to begin at 1:00pm at the Spartan…

Brandon, Danby, Pawlet and other municipalities approve pot shops

March 3, 2021
By Xander Landen/VTDigger Voters in Burlington, Brattleboro, Montpelier, Winooski and at least 15 other Vermont municipalities voted Tuesday to approve retail marijuana sales on Town Meeting Day. Bennington, Middlebury, Vergennes, Randolph, Waterbury, Berlin, Danby, Danville, Salisbury, Brownington, Waitsfield, Brandon, Pawlet, Barton, Sutton, Burke Duxbury, Strafford and Windsor also voted to allow local cannabis businesses, clearing the way…

Guard Members aid vaccination efforts

March 3, 2021
The Vermont National Guard will expand the state's vaccination capacity by providing vaccines starting today through March 7. Task Force Coyote, a unit that has served Vermont from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly one year ago will administer the vaccines at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Burlington. Eligible Vermonters can register through…

Mountain Times – Volume, Number 9 – March 3-9, 2021

March 3, 2021
[dflip id="194287"][/dflip] For best viewing on iPad, click the three dots on the bottom right to download as a PDF.

Talk with white children about racism

March 3, 2021
Dear Editor, Young children are open to learning everything they can all of the time. That is why they pick up on parents’ beliefs including prejudices. If parents make positive comments about people from other races, or from different parts of the country or the world, then children take on those positive attitudes as well.…

Be prepared for Vermont’s thermal energy transformation

March 3, 2021
Dear Editor, The old adage, don’t put all your eggs in one basket, is as true for energy as it is for eggs. Witness what has happened over the past few weeks. An energy spike in Texas causing rolling blackouts, leaving 2 million people without power, cold and in the dark. Here in Vermont, many…

What I see, from the other side of the fence

March 3, 2021
Dear Editor, I hope this falls on the right ears. It has been a rough year for everyone, and it is not going to get any better whether Covid is controlled or not. Our economic situation in this country does not leave much for the average person any more ... as the days and years…

Vaccinate the teachers

March 3, 2021
Dear Editor, I am reaching out to urge Vermont state representatives to reconsider the prioritization of teachers in the Vermont vaccination rollout plan. In an editorial from the NYTimes’ David Leonhardt, he outlines how and why educators must be made a priority if we actually want to reopen schools while protecting our educators, who are putting their…

Protecting our school employees and taxpayers

March 3, 2021
By Pattie McCoy How often does an education reform bill pass on a voice vote in the Vermont Legislature? From experience, I can tell you it is about as rare as the same type of legislation passing unanimously. That is, very rare indeed. Yet, when the Vermont Legislature contemplated a statewide commission to determine the…

Why ‘opt in’ for pot?

March 3, 2021
By Angelo Lynn This year on Town Meeting Day, 23 towns voted on whether to allow the retail sale of cannabis. They were: Barton, Bennington, Berlin, Brandon, Brattleboro, Brownington, Burlington, Danby, Danville, Duxbury, Lyndon, Middlebury, Montpelier, Newport City, Pawlet, Pownal, Randolph, Richmond, Salisbury, Strafford, Waitsfield, Waterbury and Winooski. (Voting finished after publication deadline, visit mountaintimes.info…