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…

73 new facilities coupled with deregulation of in-home providers will add 10,000 openings By Erin Petenko and Lola Duffort/VTDigger Gov. Phil Scott plans to spend about $12 million in federal relief funds to dramatically expand child care capacity for school-aged children, including establishing regional child care hubs for students on remote learning days. The state estimates 10,300 students…

A recent incident involving bears in Wilmington should bring to the attention of those who rent out or manage property rentals in bear country that it is important to provide information about bears to renters so they can take the necessary measures to avoid encounters with bears, according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Dept. …

Racial disparities remain The Vermont State Police  has released traffic-stop data from 2019, marking the fifth consecutive year the agency has published its raw numbers to continue the public discussion on how to address racial disparities in discretionary car stops. Among the key takeaways: The number of searches decreased for motorists in discretionary traffic stops…

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Friday, Aug. 21, announced $42.4 million in direct assistance grants to 221 fire departments nationwide through the agency’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program. Included among them are Middletown Springs in Rutland County that will get $114,857 and South Strafford in Orange County that will get $79,524, both to purchase…

On Wednesday, Aug.19 at around noon, troopers from the Vermont State Police Rutland Barracks were notified of a single motor vehicle roll-over crash on Vermont Route 140 in Poultney. On arrival the vehicle was resting on the driver’s side and obstructing both travel lanes. All occupants got out of the vehicle on their own. Through…

On Aug. 20, at 6 a.m., Vermont state police responded to a one-vehicle car crash that occurred at the end of Blueberry Ln. in Rutland Town.  A Pontiac Vibe driven by Norma Montaigne, 74, of Pittsford,  had driven off the road and into a cattle barn.  The vehicle sustained substantial front end damage, and the…