LUDLOW – On Aug. 20, Okemo Valley Golf Club’s ladies’ league came to an exciting conclusion. It was a tight race throughout the season, but none were tighter than the race for first and second overall. Ludlow Insurance fired a smooth one-under-par 34 and won in a scorecard playoff against DJ’s Restaurant. Betsy McKeever, Sue…

QUESTION: Brad and Logan are playing in a tournament. On the 15th hole, Brad strokes his ball into a wet area. Casual water is not visible before or after he has taken his stance. He takes his stance a second time and presses down his right foot. Water then appears around the sole of his shoe. Brad…

KILLINGTON — Ian Clarke and Turner Ramsay, members of the Killington Mountain School cycling team, recently traveled to Connecticut to compete in the 2014 New England Road Championships. Clarke rode a smart race, pulling away to take the win in the hotly contested, and well-populated Cat 3 field! Coach Brad Ramsay comments that “it was an…

By Karen D. Lorentz Beth Kinne, daughter of Randy and Ruth Kinne of North Clarendon and a graduate of Mill River High School, hopes to shed some light on a national hot topic with the resource book “Beyond the Fracking Wars: A Guide for Lawyers, Public Officials, Planners and Citizens.” Kinne, an assistant professor of…

RUTLAND — This past Sunday dozens of dogs attended the fourth annual Dog Days of Summer Pool Party at White’s Pool in Rutland. Last year over 70 dogs participated and RCHS officials estimated this year’s event drew even larger crowds. The warm sunny weather certainly helped. The event raises money for the Rutland County Humane…

By Karen D. Lorent The Killington Grand Hotel will be the scene of a New England Ski Museum annual meeting and award ceremony on November 1 to honor Preston Leete Smith, 84, with the Spirit of Skiing Award. Smith, the pioneering founder of Killington who also became the CEO of S-K-I Ltd., the largest ski…

By Dom Cioffi Traveling with children can be distressing. I’m not talking about the meltdowns at grandma’s house or the sugar-infused chaos of being at the amusement park. I’m talking about those precarious moments in between leaving your home and arriving at a destination. Now obviously there’s not much involved or very distressing about a…

Secretary of Transportation Brian Searles reminds candidates for public office and their supporters of the need to comply with Vermont’s sign control law (10 VSA Chapter 21). “The Vermont sign law prohibits off-premises signs within the state highway rights-of-way,” he said. “Every campaign season we have candidates and their supporters, many of them unknowingly, placing…

By John Herrick, VTDigger.org Vermont’s environmental permit review process must be changed, according to a top state regulatory enforcement official. David Mears, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, told members of the Associated Industries of Vermont last Tuesday, Aug. 19, that the state must make it easier for developers to apply for environmental permits…

By Lee H. Hamilton Many trends in American politics and government today make me worry about the health of our representative democracy. These include the decline of Congress as a powerful, coequal branch of government, the accumulation of power in the presidency, and the impact of money on the overall political process. Recently, the Supreme…

By Michelle Monroe There was a lot of information about one of the state’s most vexing issues – education taxes – but no solutions at a gathering of roughly 100 municipal and school officials in South Burlington Thursday, Aug. 14. Rising education costs are closing out other opportunities as education consumes more of the available…

By Laura Krantz, VTDigger.org The number of alleged child abuse or neglect cases filed in courts across Vermont last year grew 21 percent from the year before, according to data from the state. The Department for Children and Families (DCF) attributes the rise to the impact of opiate addiction on child safety. One state prosecutor…

By Hilary Niles, VTDigger.org The state will take public comment on Vermont’s draft Telecommunications Plan Aug. 25-28 at four locations around the state. The Telecommunications Plan is a 10-year policy roadmap for meeting state government’s goals of providing stable and predictable rates for telecom services within a technologically advanced network that reaches all areas of…

By Carolyn Dean If you’re a observant neighbor, you may have noticed a few more backyard chicken coops in your community recently. The ability to raise chickens that produce fresh organic eggs in a relatively small space is enough for many to have taken the plunge.  With good care, minimal cost and space, local families…

By Karen D. Lorentz After many years of work and extensive renovations, W. E. Pierce Groceries in North Shrewsbury, a.k.a. Pierce’s Store, reopened as a country store serving a small rural community on Aug. 25, 2009. The country store has served as the “original convenience store” but also has provided a “heartbeat” to the community,…