Staff report Mason Zeglen had 30 minutes to purchase his ingredients and cook the meal. Zeglen, of Killington, competing on the Food Network Show, Guy’s Grocery Games,  ran through the grocery store, in competition with three other chefs. The challenge was to use ingredients of a gingerbread house, such as candy canes and M&M’s, in…

By Alan Sculley Stratton Mountain will host the first East Coast WinterWonderGrass Festival, Dec. 14-16. The Infamous Stringdusters are headlining the festival, performing at the kick-off party on Dec. 13 at 9 p.m. and on Friday during the festival. The Infamous Stringdusters have been on tour pretty much non-stop since the start of 2017 and…

By Dom Cioffi A couple weeks ago I sat down at my computer, cup of coffee in hand, and pulled up the morning’s email. I rifled through the prerequisite offers for discount drugs, quickly deleting them as fast as I could read their suggestive subject lines. There were also a few pertinent emails about work,…

By Alan Sculley The band 98 Degrees will come to the Paramount Theatre on Monday, Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $65-$85 at paramountvt.org. Nick Lachey has been television host, a reality television star, a dance contest competitor, an actor, a teen pop star (with 98 Degrees) and a music solo artist. Wearing many…

By Erin Forbes The holiday season has arrived and brings not only celebrations, presents, and decorations but also concerns for pet safety. There are many dangers to be aware of as you begin to celebrate this year. These includes specific types of plants, certain foods, and even decorations. Chocolate is in great abundance during many…

By The Valley News It is profoundly discouraging to witness adults failing in their obligations to the young people in their charge. Examples abound, from the thoughtless to the tawdry to the traumatic, and in each case they represent a betrayal. But what a glorious thing it is when young people, with right on their…

By Angelo Lynn In Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Missouri, legislators led by Republicans are using this lame-duck session (that time between the Nov. 6 General Election and the start of the new administration in January) to pass a slew of state laws that would either reduce power of the incoming Democratic governors or attorney generals,…

Climate change calamity confronts a world struggling to cut emissions By Angelo Lynn This  Wednesday, Dec. 12, at the 24th annual U.N. climate conference held in Poland, scientists around the world agreed on one sobering finding: global emissions of carbon dioxide have reached the highest levels on record – despite world-wide efforts, pacts and promises…

By Stephen Seitz The tree. The gifts. The parties. The relatives. The travel. That begins to add up. However, there may be money out there waiting for you. Most people are familiar with Vermont’s unclaimed property division, but now a new tool has been added to the lost money finder system: the life insurance policy…

Staff report Vail Resorts plans to invest about $180 million in the next two years to improve the guest experience across its 18 resorts. Vail is making a two-year $35 million commitment to investments across its recent acquisitions, including Okemo Mountain Resort, Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire, Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Colorado and Stevens…

Board moves to appeal decision By Curt Peterson KILLINGTON—Town Manager Chet Hagenbarth had bad news for the Select Board at its Dec. 3  meeting. Not only did he report a negative response from FEMA to the April request for more money for a Tropical Storm Irene repair – the federal disaster relief agency wants the…

By Cal Garrison a.k.a. Mother of the Skye This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Moon that will be sitting in the late degrees of Capricorn until it moves into Aquarius. The next 10 days will bring us to the Winter Solstice. This period of time is climactic, in the sense…

By Marguerite Jill Dye This time of year, we often reach out to loved ones and sometimes to people we haven’t met yet. It’s a time to give gifts and bestow blessings through kind actions because some of the best gifts cannot be bought: they are given from deep in our hearts. The gift of…

By Carolyn Lorié I once lived in a cottage perched atop a sloping field in Western Massachusetts. It was the lone structure at the edge of undeveloped forest and sat far from the road. The cottage had a large front deck with an expansive view and a smaller one in back that faced the forest.…

RUTLAND—On Nov. 18, the first annual Colenne Whalen Memorial Scholarship Tournament was held at the Rutland Bowlerama. The Youth Bowling Program was very important to Whalen. One could find her at any event that put youth and bowling together. Whatever needed to be done to make the event successful, Whalen did it. She encouraged bowlers…