Dear Editor, The Vermont Veterans’ Home wants to thank those who participated in this year’s National Wreaths Across America Day at the Vermont Veterans’ Home. Each December on National Wreaths Across America Day, the mission to remember, honor and teach is carried out by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as over…

Dear Editor, Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging would like to thank the many individuals and organizations throughout our service area, who, in recent months, have generously coordinated and contributed to a range of charitable initiatives benefiting the clients of SVCOA. In November, Rutland Loyal Order of Moose Lodge 1122, the Salvation Army of Rutland, Elks…

By David Moats Economic stagnation in Vermont is not new. For decades, it has defied the efforts of political leaders, Republican and Democrat, to solve it. What’s new is a growing awareness that the problem is a widespread condition, animating protests from Paris to London, from Oklahoma to Arizona, West Virginia to Vermont. A new…

By Laura Wilkinson The light is slowly returning and the final days of 2018 are upon us. The festivities of December will be replaced by the quiet starkness of January. As much as I enjoy the rituals of the season, I welcome the opportunity to mirror the dormancy of the outer world with introspection. For…

By Kit Norton/VTDigger As the Boy Scouts of America faces mounting legal battles, the organization has opened multiple scout programs to females and, since June, 95 girls have joined the Cub Scout program in Vermont. The Green Mountain Council, the Vermont chapter of the national organization, has currently enrolled 95 girls in the program that…

MENDON—George and Marion Wright of Mendon celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Dec. 26. In their words, they are woodchucks who settled back in Vermont after having careers in the military and nursing in Ohio for 30 years. Congratulations, George and Marion!

By Xander Landen/VTDigger Sen. President Pro Tem Tim Ashe wants to change Vermont’s Constitution. Among the Democratic Senate leader’s top priorities in upcoming legislative session is a push to pass four constitutional amendments. Ashe and other senators say they want to add an amendment expanding gubernatorial terms from two to four years and other amendments that would protect…

By Anne Wallace Allen/VTDigger As chief of the Vermont Department of Labor’s economic and labor market information section, Mathew Barewicz is in charge of collecting and interpreting federal and state employment data for policymakers, job-seekers and the public. Among other things, Barewicz is the researcher on a project partnering with the McClure Foundation aimed at…

By Xander Landen/VTDigger Vermont’s law enforcement agencies would not be able to carry out background checks on private firearms sales, the Department of Public Safety has determined. As part of a sweeping package of gun control measures that became law this year, legislators moved to expand background checks to private gun purchases, in addition to sales at gun…

By Rep. Jim Harrison In addition to the dawn of a new year, we are also on the eve of a new legislative session. The first few days of a new biennium are filled with a number of procedural items. The newly elected legislature will be sworn in on Wednesday, Jan. 9. Gov. Phil Scott…

By Garren Poirier, courtesy Okemo Kids carry skis to the lift at Okemo’s Jackson Gore while catching snowflakes on their tongues. By Kit Norton/VTDigger After a week of public outcry and scrutiny, Vail Resorts has reinstated discounted prices for low-income school children participating in snow sports programs at Okemo Mountain Resort. Vail Resorts told snow…

The Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development today announced the Remote Worker Grant Program will officially launch on Jan. 1, 2019. The program offers reimbursement grants of up $5,000 per year ($10,000 over two years) to remote workers across the country who move to Vermont. The application process opens on Jan. 1 and will…

Sometimes Jeff Bugay blacked out entirely and woke up to find himself in the emergency room. Sometimes his pain was so bad he couldn’t talk or form words. Bugay, a former executive chef, had 15-20 partial seizures a day, lasting 30 seconds. “It’s a feeling where I have to back into a corner – you…

 Police are warning the public of a scam. The phone caller from the number (802) 242- 2022 is identifing themselves as working for the Vermont Department of Public Safety, and is requesting individuals nto pay a bond or be detained by Law Enforcement. Troopers attempted to call this phone number, and were greeted by an answering…

Investments in snowmaking upgrades pay off with best-ever efficiency and capability Turning the corner into the holiday week, Vermont ski areas aren’t allowing the rain on Friday, Dec. 21 to dampen their Christmas spirits. “We saw this storm coming, and we were ready for it,” said Jamie Storrs, director of communications for Mount Snow Resort. “The…