By Curt Peterson Vicky Allard and her husband, Joe Hanglin, grew up at two extremes within the United Kingdom yet ended up in Grafton, Vermont — population 600 or so. Food was paramount in both of their childhoods — Vicky as a third-generation sustainable land-to-table farm girl, and Joe immersed in Spanish, North African and…

Forum brings together citizens, scientists, planners, business owners and more Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. — VIRTUAL — In a rapidly changing global climate, rural New England has been highlighted as one of the nation’s most climate-resilient regions and should expect climate-related in-migration over the next several decades. With its many amenities in a…

Dear Editor, As Health Careers Awareness Month in Vermont ends, it's time to keep up the buzz around the importance of health careers in our state. Vermont has among the highest shortages of medical professionals in the nation per capita, and the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated an already stressed and depleted health workforce. The need…

By Mary Ellen Shaw The older you get the less likely you are to look forward to November! I swear the sole purpose of that month is to concentrate on Thanksgiving and some early Christmas shopping. When your status is “retired” you need something positive to focus on when you get up in the dark…

As local officials enter budget discussions in preparation for Town Meeting, some wonder if online municipal meetings will ever end? By Kevin O’Connor, VTDigger Local officials in every town across Vermont are set to spend a long winter drafting budget proposals for March town meeting. The Brattleboro Select Board had planned to do so in…

By Deborah J. Benoit, extension master gardener, University of Vermont Maybe you enjoy using fresh mushrooms in your meal preparations but have opened the refrigerator door and discovered to your disappointment the “mush” part of mushrooms. Or maybe you’d like something different to satisfy your inner gardener over the winter months (or any other time…

By Kevin Theissen You’ve probably heard the rumors about Social Security: “If you keep working you can’t collect benefits,” “The program is going broke,” and the old standby, “You’ll never get back what you put into it!” If any of these rumors were true, it would be terrible for millions of Americans. However, if it…

By Curt Peterson A group of lawmakers and healthcare professionals, confused by Governor Phil Scott’s failure to take more aggressive action to stem the recent surge in Covid hospitalizations and deaths, which equal last winter’s rates, publicly urged him to declare a health emergency, to mandate indoor mask-wearing, social distancing enforcement and other anti-Covid measures…

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Dept. is asking hunters for help in a statewide initiative to gather more biological data on the state’s deer population. Hunters who get a deer during the November 13-28 regular deer season are asked to provide an incisor tooth from their deer. Tooth envelopes are available at all deer reporting…

By Susan Shea Years ago, I visited two Vermont caves in winter to help biologists count hibernating bats. After descending through a hole into the first cave, I immediately noticed that it was much warmer than above-ground. The cave was also more humid, and I could hear the steady drip of water. We walked quietly…

By DJ Dave Hoffenberg “I Wanna Rock” is what you’ll be saying on Saturday, Nov. 6, while at the The Howlin’ Mouse Record Store in Rutland. And My Missing Half will make sure you do. The all-ages show starts at 8 p.m. and also on the bill are: Tactiles, Fabricator and Others. This is going…

A partnership between the Dept. of Veterans Affairs and the state will alleviate some strain in the mental health system Agency of Human Services Secretary Mike Smith announced Oct. 27 that the Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) will temporarily offer some available mental health inpatient beds at the White River Junction VA Medical Center to…

By Angelo Lynn PROCTOR — A half dozen Proctor residents spoke out against a renewable energy project slated for Grandpa’s Knob that would seek to place a single 450-foot-tall wind turbine on the ridgeline there. Sam Carlson, who works in community relations for Grandpa’s Knob Community Wind, presented the project to the Proctor Select Board…

Five detained in suspected human trafficking By Alan J. Keays/VTDigger Law enforcement personnel swarmed in armored tactical vehicles and a helicopter early Friday morning, Oct. 22, as they raided two apartment buildings in Rutland as part of an investigation into illegal drugs and human trafficking. Police said at one of the locations, 146 Maple St.,…

By Steve Costello Four orphaned opossums, raised for the past seven weeks by a licensed Starksboro wildlife rehabber, were released back into the wild Saturday — but not before helping to provide four interesting lessons. My wife and I rescued them Sept. 4 after their mom got hit by a car, and they’ve been under…