Dear Editor, The physician and physician assistant members of the Vermont Medical Society applaud Governor Phil Scott’s announcement Friday putting in place a mandatory face mask policy. On Wednesday night, the Medical Society governing council led by president Catherine Schneider, MD, met for an hour to discuss the evidence and policy options regarding the universal…

Dear Editor, In response to some of the lieutenant governor candidates who responded to a moderator question in last Tuesday’s vpt/vpr debate by expressing support for Donald Trump’s economic policies, I offer these pertinent facts. After three years in office his administration has dismantled most of the major environmental protective policies as the basis for…

Dear Editor, Now more than ever, Vermonters must ask themselves who they want to audit their tax dollars and critical state programs and in 2020 the answer is Linda Joy Sullivan. She is a two-term state legislator from Dorset but more important to this letter she is a trained and nationally renowned professional certified public…

Dear Editor, The field of lost dreams. That is now what the Killington softball field is being called. They built it, but nobody is coming. Every player loves playing here and always say how beautiful the field is. The town now has two fields that are not in use by anyone. I have been the…

By John R. Kasich This op-ed was first published in the Boston Globe July 22, 2020. It is republished here with permissions. America, we’ve lost our way. As a nation, and as individuals, we’ve been thrown off course by an endless barrage of shocking words and divisive deeds from the president who is supposed to lead…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger Following a petition presented by 39 employees to hospital leadership last month, Rutland Regional Medical Center has begun scrutinizing its policies to ensure staff and patients are treated equally regardless of race. The petition, submitted shortly after protests erupted following the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis, asked…

Thomas W. “Tj” Patch Jr., 56, of Rutland died Wednesday, July 22, in Killington, after an work-related accident at the Killington Resort golf course. A fellow employee found Patch under a tractor, where it is estimated he had been for 15 minutes. Emergency resuscitation efforts proved unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the scene.…

PLYMOUTH—On Monday, July 27, at 4:25 p.m. police responded to a drowning at Plymouth State Park on Echo lake. Troopers from the Vermont State Police Rutland Barracks were notified of a missing swimmer at the Plymouth State Park, located at 1960 Camp Road in Plymouth. It was reported that 77-year-old, Thomas Marrone had last been…

Terrance Chipp, 42, of Rutland was sentenced Thursday, July 23, by US District Court Chief Judge Geoffrey Crawford to 72 months imprisonment and three years of supervised release, which follows the term of imprisonment, according to the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont. Chipp previously pled guilty to possession with intent…

On Wednesday, July 22, at approximately 10:27 a.m., state police troopers from the Vermont state police were dispatched to a reported industrial accident in the area of 390 Blake Roy Road in Middlebury. There, troopers learned that two GMP linemen were injured when the utility pole that they were working on suddenly broke. Preliminary investigation indicated…

By Julia Purdy Among the first-time moves to make the national 10-year population count more user-friendly, faster, and also as complete as possible, the Census Bureau has come up with “Push Week” (July 27-Aug. 2), a friendly competition to see how many new household responses the Census can land before Census workers hit the streets…

The Rutland County Solid Waste District, Solid Waste Alliance Communities and 350 Rutland County announced the rollout of the Community Food Scrap Share Program on Wednesday, July 22. This spring, over 285 people participated in Composting 101 Workshops. As an offshoot of this educational project, the organizations have created a community share platform after identifying…

Mountain Times: How is the summer going? How does it compare to the past? Your expectations? Mike Solimano: Overall, summer is going better than we expected considering the “new normal.”  But the reality is that a large portion of our revenue in summer is generated from businesses we can’t operate. Weddings, conferences, and events have all…

By John Flowers The Slate Valley Unified Union School District (SVUUSD) on Tuesday, July 21, announced students would return to Orwell Village School this fall. It is part of a school re-entry plan in which students in kindergarten through 8th grade will attend classes on their respective campuses, and students in grades 9-12 will see…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger Before Covid-19 arrived in Vermont, middle school students in Bethel would start their days sitting in a circle in their advisory groups, with agenda projected on a screen. Owen Bradley, the principal at the White River Valley School, believes students could start the day together again next school year. But this time, he…