$420,625 awarded to two projects in Brandon and Castleton Governor Phil Scott and the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) on March 8 announced $13.3 million in Healthy Homes Initiative awards and $2.2 million in Three-Acre Stormwater Initiative awards to help 46 manufactured housing communities (also known as mobile home parks) repair, replace, and upgrade water infrastructure. “This initiative shows…

Editor’s note: The following article is republished from the lieutenant governor’s March 6 newsletter. Today, I have an exceptionally important topic to talk about: taxes! Taxes have become a dirty word, and in many ways for good reason. Since the 1980’s there has been a significant shift in how much everyday people pay in taxes. Wealthy and high-income individuals have seen their…

Courtesy VTF&W Hikers and climbers can help nesting peregrine falcons by avoiding several Vermont cliff areas this spring and early summer.    Hiking Vermont’s hillsides is a great way to enjoy a spring day, but the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Dept. and Audubon Vermont recommend people check to see if the area they are planning…

By G Thomson Alice Nitka speaks of Marty’s contributions.   By G Thomson Jim Rumrill speaks about Marty Nitka.   Just prior to the start of the town of Ludlow annual meeting on March 4, Tom Ray, Ludlow Rotary club president, and past president Jim Rumrill, presented to the town a new lectern in memory…

By Donald Dill   The Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce recently celebrated the grand opening of Yeah Wine Shop, a natural wine store, in Lamere Square in Ludlow. The ribbon cutting event was accompanied by a wine tasting afternoon. Yeah Wine Shop has a vast variety of natural wines made both locally as well…

Submitted Bernie Rome   Bernard Rome passed away on Saturday, March 9, in West Palm Beach, Florida, from heart failure. He was 89. Rome was survived by his much-loving family: his wife of 55 years, Timmie (née Blumstein), son Narric and daughter Mallory, daughter-in-law Megan, and four grandchildren he adored (Ziv, Will, Natan, and Hadley). …

By Corey Gambardella, Okemo Terry Fortuna smiles on a sunny day outside Jackson Gore at Okemo Resort.   Submitted Terry Fortuna (left) and her husband Bob enjoy their time with grandkids.       By Karen D. Lorentz Born in Rockingham, Vermont, Terry Fortuna grew up the second of five children in Gassetts, Vermont, and…

Courtesy USDA Map shows trails and visual vistas (lookouts) within the Telephone Gap area as well as the site of a newly proposed hut. The proposal includes new trails for hiking and biking (listed right).   Courtesy USDA   Open house to held Wednesday, March 20, at Barstow Following nearly four years of study, the…

  VTF&W: Take steps now to prevent bear conflicts  The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Dept.has begun to receive reports of bears coming out of their dens and is urging Vermonters to take steps now to prevent conflicts with bears over the spring and summer. “Vermonters need to act to prevent bear conflicts now, even if…

Courtesy VTSU Ross Conrad, former president of the Vermont Beekeepers Association, will lead a session on beekeeping during Castleton’s 1-Day University on Saturday, March 23.   Free opportunity for the community by the community Castleton University is hosting a new event: A 1-Day University. Free and designed for the greater Rutland community, the inaugural event…

Last Wednesday, March 6, Rutland area nonprofit organization Social Tinkering was featured during the prime news hour between 5-6 p.m. on National Public Radio (NPR). The Social Tinkering team is thrilled that people are hearing about their work all across the nation, but that spotlight is just the beginning. The response they’ve received from people…

On Town Meeting Day 29 of 93 school budgets were voted down including four in Rutland County and two in Windsor County By Ethan Weinstein/VTDigger Voters struck down close to a third of school budgets across Vermont on Tuesday, March 5, the highest proportion in at least a decade, according to the Vermont Superintendents Association.  Twenty-nine…

Flat tires, Dad’s right hand tomboy, roof leaks ad infinitum The year Dad bought two acres in Killington was when my older brother, Jack, left home for the University of New Hampshire to study forestry. Our brother Billie played high school football and wasn’t free to join us most weekends. So Mom, Dad, our lab…

By Ethan Weinstein/VTDigger The latest data from the Vermont Agency of Education shows a small decrease in projected education spending and affirms previously anecdotal evidence on the major factors causing a projected increase in education property taxes. Health care costs, construction, special education, disappearing federal money and increased salaries are all contributing significantly to a projected…

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