14 positive cases identified thus far The Vermont Department of Health is investigating a community outbreak of Covid-19 cases in Rutland County. The outbreak is associated with people who attended a private party at the Summit Lodge in Killington on Wednesday, Aug. 19. To date, the Health Department has identified 14 cases among people who…

Killington Resort partners with Vermont Farmers Food Center (VFFC) to expand food access with local products helping farms in the region and those facing food insecurity KILLINGTON—Killington Resort announced on Aug. 26, a farm-to-trunk community grocery giveaway happening on Thursday, Sept. 3 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., or until all 700 bags have been…

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By Katy Savage A new residential care facility is coming to Mendon next month. Bhakta Care, LLC is opening Vista Senior Living at the former Cortina Inn with a total of 67 units. Manish Saxena, who is overseeing construction, said the owner, Ravi Bhakta, had thought of repurposing the inn for the past 4-5 years.…

Whiskey entrepreneur plans agriculture project POULTNEY— The Green Mountain College campus, which closed last year because of declining enrollment and financial challenges, has sold at auction for $4.55 million, much lower than the $20 million appraised value. Raj Peter Bhakta, the founder of WhistlePig whiskey in Shoreham, had the winning bid on Tuesday, Aug. 18. Bhakta’s…

Odell A. D. Johnston, Sr., 76, of Pittsford, passed away unexpectedly on Aug. 11, 2020, at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. He was born September 17, 1943 in Rhinebeck, New York, the son of Odell A. D. and Doris (Risch) Johnston. He spent his childhood in Saratoga Springs, New York., where he graduated from Saratoga Springs…

John Warren Austin died on Aug. 15, 2020.  He was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the son of Merton and Elizabeth Austin on July 17, 1927.  John joined the U.S. Navy just before World War II ended and he always credited his enlistment for bringing that war to its end.  He later served in the…

Mary Ellen “Penny” Maznio, of Killington, died July 13, 2020 in Key Colony Beach, Florida. She was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the daughter of Paul T. and Ellen Marie (Kittredge) Sullivan. She graduated from Hudson Catholic High School in Hudson, Massachusetts. Penny first came up to Killington with her oldest brother Paul, in the early…

Dear Editor, Readers who care about animal welfare should ask U.S. Senators Pat Leahy and Bernie Sanders to support federal funding for cultured-meat research. Cultured meat is grown from cells, without slaughtering nonhumans. It has the potential to eliminate unimaginable levels of suffering. After all, we kill tens of billions of land animals and over…

Dear Editor, My name is Brittany Cavacas. I am writing this letter to formally announce my candidacy for the Vermont State Senate in Rutland County. I am running as an Independent. I feel that before you select a candidate, it is best to get to know that candidate first. When it comes to myself, I…

Dear Editor, Congratulations to the Rutland Region Chamber and REDC for making the decision to finally merge the two organizations to better serve the business community and the greater-Rutland region. I’ve long thought they could provide improved services and become more efficient together, provided there was solid leadership at the top. Lyle Jepson is an…

By Lauren Hierl Like so many aspects of our lives, the 2020 legislative session in Vermont has been unprecedented. For the first time, lawmakers figured out how to do committee work and hold votes virtually. Instead of adjourning before the election season got underway, as typically happens, lawmakers were merely on a break until Aug.…

By Rep. Jim Harrison The Vermont Legislature officially returns for a continuation of its remote sessions on Aug. 25. The No. 1 task will be to adopt a nine-month state budget for the balance of the fiscal year which began on July 1. With so many unknowns this year in terms of needs and expected…

Governor Phil Scott has signed onto a bipartisan letter calling on the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and the U.S. Census Bureau to restore the deadline for the 2020 U.S. Census, which has been moved from Oct. 31 to Sept. 30. In addition to Gov. Scott, the letter was signed by the governors of Oregon, Colorado,…

By Ellie French/VTDigger A $150 gift card could soon be sent to every household in Vermont, Gov. Phil Scott announced Friday, Aug. 21, as part of an economic recovery package to spend the remainder of the $1.25 billion allotted to Vermont under the federal CARES Act. At his twice-weekly press conference this past Friday, Scott said…