By Liora Engel-Smith, Erin Petenko and Ethan Weinstein/VTDigger RUTLAND — Asked what it’s like to do her job right now amid a staffing crisis and surging Covid-19 hospitalizations, a nurse heading home from Rutland Regional Medical Center on Monday, Jan. 17, was moved to tears. “It’s a lot. It’s just a lot. It’s really difficult…

By Fred Thys/VTDigger During his annual budget address on Tuesday, Jan. 18, Gov. Phil Scott proposed taking advantage of federal money pouring into Vermont to encourage more people to move into the state and to train Vermonters to fill thousands of vacant jobs. “We all see the ‘now hiring’ signs, reduced hours at local businesses…

By Sen. Alison Clarkson When the Pension Benefits, Design, and Funding Task Force was created last year, I was relieved. Our public pension system was in crisis. If we did nothing to fix the problems, Vermont taxpayers were looking at an unfunded pension liability of $4.5 billion dollars, with that liability growing for the teachers…

Gone just days after new protocols for students and staff took effect By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger On Wednesday, Jan. 19, school districts across the state kicked off new Covid-19 testing protocols. Following the recommendation of the state Agency of Education, school officials rolled out a new system called “test at home.” The new method was aimed to…

By Curt Peterson Windsor Central Unified Union School District (WCSD) Superintendent Sherry Sousa told the Mountain Times she understands the rationale behind the Agency of Education’s abandonment of the in-school “Test to Stay” program this week. “Surveillance testing didn’t address the Omicron proliferation,” she said. “A few weeks ago 500 tests netted only four positive…

By Brett Yates The Pittsfield Select Board voted last Thursday, Jan. 20, to delay its annual Town Meeting until May 3, 2022. On Jan. 14, Gov. Scott signed Act 77, which temporarily suspends the state law requiring town meetings to take place on the first Tuesday in March, citing Covid-19’s “potential to jeopardize the health,…

By Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) As you read this, the number of Covid cases in Vermont are reaching levels far greater than at any point in the crisis. Today, I am writing to you with some news that should be of help as we fight this terrible pandemic. The scientific community has been very clear…

By Elaine Haney Tim Newcomb’s cartoon on Jan. 19 compares the three candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives. It appears to imply that experience is the most important factor for voters to consider. But whatever the primary message of this cartoon is supposed to be, the implicit, negative messages it sends about these…

By Angelo Lynn It’s not surprising that any governor of Vermont faced with creating a budget with more than $1 billion in one-time ARPA money (with $500 million still left to spend), plus another $2.2 billion coming from the congressional infrastructure package, would choose to spread it around to as many constituencies as possible for…

Newcomer adapts to Vermont life By Victoria Gaither Rutland, Vermont, is one of those cities that can make you or break you! Just ask newcomer Stella Shalem, who traded in the beaches of Miami, Florida, for the cold of Rutland. “I had to learn everything about how to dress for the cold,” Shalem said. “Not…

Positive Covid case numbers are now impossible to know with shift to at-home antigen testing, self-reporting By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger and Polly Mikula State officials in Vermont are no longer gathering or publishing the number of Covid-19 cases detected in schools. In response to questions, Department of Health spokesperson Ben Truman confirmed Tuesday, Jan. 18, that…

The Rutland Regional Planning Commission (RRPC) has been informed that Executive Director Ed Bove will be stepping down from his position in the coming year. Bove has been with the commission for 14 years and has served as executive director for the last eight. Under his steady leadership the RRPC has received membership contributions from…

By Mary Ellen Shaw Just in case you aren’t an enthusiast of snow covered ground, let’s look ahead this week to spending time in the garden. When the second half of January arrives my thoughts turn to playing in the dirt. Granted it will be about four months before I can even consider spending time…

By Lee Emmons On winter mornings, I often venture outside to photograph the assembly of birds that visit the feeders in my front yard. One of the regular visitors is the diminutive downy woodpecker, which clings to my peanut feeder, takes a nibble of suet, or forages in the nearby maple trees. Fairly comfortable with…

By Dom Cioffi When I was in middle school in the early 1980s, I played in a flag football league sponsored by our city’s recreation department. The league brought together kids from all the local schools and organized them onto eight teams. I was a skinny, unassuming kid, but I was fast and coordinated, which…