By Angelo Lynn/Addison Independent The Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union Board is well on its way to adopting a fiscal year 2024 budget with preliminary numbers projecting a 10.71% increase in spending, with certain line items like fuel seeing a 48% increase over the prior year. The Consumer Price Index (inflation) is around 9% over the…

By Katy Savage Killington is removing beaver dams to stop stormwater runoff and protect infrastructure. The town was granted a stream alteration permit from the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) on Nov. 23  to remove and downsize five beaver dams in a 6.1-mile stretch along the Ottauquechee River corridor. “The town of Killington has a…

Adds to $400K grant it received in May Staff report PITTSFORD —Pittsford Village Farm was awarded $335,834 from the Northern Border Regional Commission and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture rural development funding programs on Nov. 16. This is on top of a $400,000 award in congressional funding announced by Sen. Bernie Sanders in May. But…

By Rep. Jim Harrison The popular holiday poem, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Clement Moore, was first published nearby in a Troy, New York newspaper on Dec. 23, 1823. With this past weekend’s fresh snow cover, the visions of St. Nick depicted in the poem should be alive and well this week. My best…

Now that winter has finally arrived with lots of snow for snowmobiling fun, the U.S. Forest Service reminds snowmobile enthusiasts to put safety first out on the trails, not only in the national forest but on all lands. Carelessness and hazards beneath the snow can ruin your whole day. For this and other reasons, snowmobilers…

Gov. Phil Scott and Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts visited White’s Tree Farm in Essex Dec. 9. to celebrate the arrival of the 2022 Christmas season with the help of Vermont’s farmers. The trees cut during this visit will decorate the Pavilion Building in Montpelier, which houses the Governor’s Office. “As we enter the holiday season,…

The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) is calling on all Vermonters to check their addresses on the FCC National Broadband Map and file a challenge if the information is incorrect. Correcting addresses that are incorrectly listed as served at speeds of 25/3 Mbps or greater by a wired or licensed wireless provider could mean millions…

By John Flowers/Addison County Independent Add childcare centers to the list of industries struggling to find and retain employees amid what has become a shallow pool of workers since the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. Childcare facilities statewide, many of which operate on a thin margin, simply don’t have the resources to…

Students pursuing a certificate or degree in early childhood education can get paid to increase the number of college courses they take and graduate sooner. A partnership between the Community College of Vermont (CCV) and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) is leveraging funds secured by Vermont’s federal congressional delegation to pay students while they take…

Drafty, inefficient homes in need of weatherization will soon have a new affordable program available to them with the launch of the Weatherization Repayment Assistance Program (WRAP). The program, funded by $9 million from the state and overseen by the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA), will use an innovative on-bill payment model to help moderate-income…

California ranks No. 1; Maine is most improved; Northeast leads nation As Americans struggle to pay rising energy bills, leading states have instituted energy efficiency policies that cut utility bills—especially for those who need it most—while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to the 2022 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. These policies can serve as models for…

By John Flowers/Addison County Independent You won’t find a lot of framed press clippings in the office of Patrick Leahy, the longest-serving member of the U.S. Senate. But there are two that stand out. One features a Vermont newspaper report that came out five days before the Nov. 5, 1974, General Election. The banner headline…

Dear Editor, If you do anything before putting up your Christmas tree you are making a huge mistake. For example, if you buy your presents first, what do you do with them? Do you keep them in the trunk of your car? Smuggle them into the house and wait for a tree? Get your tree…

Dear Editor, I am concerned that a lovely Christmas gifting idea, organized by Project HOPE and promoted by the National Bank of Middlebury, has a damaging though easily correctable serious flaw. I am referring to the drive for community members to donate Christmas gifts to be distributed to children and teenagers from low-income homes. When…

Dear Editor, As 2022 itself draws to a close, the winter is only just getting started. With new progress underway, the Ludlow Recreation Committee is excited to share the most recent updates. To start the season the Ludlow Parks and Recreation Department hosted a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, a familiar race that this year…