Locals and visitors donned costumes, rode horses and sung carols to celebrate Wassail Weekend, Dec. 13-15 in Woodstock. Despite rainy weather, the holiday spirit was not dampened. Judges gave awards for costumes. Best individual horse and rider went to Sue Miller of Bradford. Best group award went to Cathy Mercurio of Pepperell, Massachusetts with her…

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Claremont McDonald’s restaurant manager Roy Thomas won the distinguished Ray Kroc Award for the third time. The awards are an annual performance-based honor that recognize the top performing McDonald’s restaurant managers globally.  The announcement was made at the Coughlin Inc. office in Rutland Tuesday, Dec. 3. Roy Thomas was one of 365 McDonald’s Restaurant Managers…

PAWLET—The Pawlet Public Library has recently hired Sara Young, Middletown Springs, as community connector to lead community initiatives outlined in the library’s four-year strategic plan. The new position has been funded for one year by grants from the Windham Foundation, and the Vermont Community Foundation, including the Lyman Orton Fund and the Spark! Connecting Community…

PAWLET—Staff from the Pawlet Public Library and the Mettawee Community School recently met to solidify their partnership to promote reading through a grant from the Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLIF). The grant program encourages libraries in Vermont and New Hampshire towns of 5,000 residents or fewer to partner with schools and childcare centers to encourage a…

‘Tis the season for gingerbread creations! Chaffee Art Center in Rutland held a gingerbread contest on Dec. 12. Creators of Chaffee Art Center’s winning house, titled “Good Tidings Farm,” Jill Talbot, Brandy Ellison, Alexandria Perone and Phoebe Forman said, “[Our] display embodies the spirit of giving exemplified by the seasonal bounties of the farm.  Our…

Editor’s note: This was submitted by the Windsor Central Supervisory Union and may not represent the opinion of all school board members. After two years of studying the best and highest value means of addressing the facility deficiencies of the 60 plus year-old middle and high school facility, the WCSU (Windsor Central Supervisory Union) board…

Dear Editor, On behalf of the Homeless Prevention Center, we would like to thank the many community members who made our dinner, dance, silent auction and 20th Anniversary Celebration on Nov. 2 at the Franklin Conference Center in Rutland, such a great success. With the help of 15 sponsors, 70 individuals and businesses that donated…

Dear Editor, On March 9, 1954, Republican Vermont Sen. Ralph Flanders stood on the floor of the U.S. Senate to condemn fellow Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy on his claims that there were communists in the state department. The Flanders speech was an immediate sensation, as Flanders’ courage to speak up against a member of his…

By Angelo Lynn In recent impeachment hearings, during which House Democrats called on three judicial scholars for their constitutional interpretation of what acts would be grounds for impeachment, the evidence was overwhelming that President Trump’s attempted bribery of Ukraine’s president met the standard of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” According to numerous reporters present, the testimony…

By Steve Costello As a  former journalist who has seen a lot over the years, I’m not one to be easily impressed or inspired.  But as Gordon Dritschilo wrote (Gift of Life kicks off, Dec. 11) Stefanie Schaffer has recently done both. Read on, and I hope you’ll be inspired by Stefanie as well –…

The Vermont Treasurer’s Office has a record $94.5 million in unclaimed property and Vermont Treasurer Beth Pearce wants to return it to Vermonters. In the one-month span Nov. 10-Dec. 10, 2019, the Treasurer’s Office returned $413,455.60 to 1,966 claimants, according to a Dec. 11 news release. With the holiday season underway, Vermonters can easily search…

By Grace Elletson/VTDigger Vermont is returning hundreds of thousands of dollars in unused housing vouchers to the federal government each year. A new report shows that the federal housing voucher programs have been underutilized because of a lack of case management support, inadequate affordable housing stock and an unwillingness by some landlords to rent to tenants…

Vermont is once again the healthiest state in the nation, according to the United Health Foundation’s newly released America’s Heath Rankings annual report. The state moved up three steps to reclaim the top spot in the Foundation’s 30th year documenting the nation’s health trends, challenges and opportunities. For nearly two decades, Vermont has ranked among the top five…

Decision will increase costs for school boards, taxpayers By Lola Duffort/VTDigger Last week, an independent arbitrator has sided with the union in negotiations for Vermont’s first-ever statewide health care contract for all school employees. The binding decision brings an end to a contentious bargaining process that first started in April. The deal will cover about 40,000 people —…