Young racers Justin Stone and Marty Kelly III held serve at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 20, for the annual Double Feature Night. The busy, 10-race card was also highlighted by a 50-lap Enduro Series race, and by a backpack giveaway at intermission that benefitted more than 200 students in attendance. Middlebury’s Justin Stone won…

This past Saturday, Aug.20, members of the Ludlow Rotary Club (LRC) gathered on the Depot Street Bridge, in the Black River, and under the Walker Bridge as over 800 ducks were dropped into the river in the 23rd annual Ralph D. Hogancamp Memorial Duck Race. Members of the LRC standing in the river did not…

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department responded to a bear attack in Strafford on Aug. 20. Susan Lee, 61, of Strafford, was treated at Gifford Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries from the attack. She called 911 while being transported to the hospital by her neighbor. Game Warden Sergeant Jeffrey Whipple and Game Warden Kyle Isherwood…

By Curt Peterson The American Precision Museum in Windsor a real gem one has to be looking for to find, tucked almost under the Route 5 bridge over Mill Brook, just south of the Union Street light. But it’s worth the effort for people of all ages who like to see what American industrial innovation…

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Aviation Careers Education Camp, “ACE Camp,” returned last week to Hartness State Airport in Springfield. Seventeen students from across the region explored a wide range of career opportunities in aviation and aerospace, built rockets and airplane wing ribs, and flew in aircraft ranging from a hot air…

Space can accommodate 55-60 vendors Staff report The Vermont Farmers Market is moving to the Franklin Conference Center in Rutland's Howe Center this winter. Market Board President Paul Horton said after considering options, the Franklin Center was the best place to move. The farmers' market, which originally rented space at the Vermont Farmers Food Center,…

By Katy Savage The Rutland NAACP is asking for change after what appeared to be antique slavery shackles offered by a vendor at a gun show on the Vermont State Fairgrounds Aug. 13-14. The Rutland NAACP sent a letter to the Vermont State Fairgrounds board on Aug. 16, condemning the incident and asking the board…

Staff report The Vermont State Fair in Rutland broke an attendance record for the second year in a row. Fair President Robert Congdon, Jr. said there was about a 10% jump in attendance from last year’s historic high, when an estimated 40-50,000 people attended the fair. “Attendance was up every single day but Wednesday,” Congdon…

Celebrate in downtown Rutland Saturday with a street party, Parade of Heros, concert and fireworks Staff report The whoopie pie — alternatively called a black moon, gob (term indigenous to the Pittsburgh region), black-and-white, bob, or "BFO" for Big Fat Oreo — is an American baked product that may be considered either a cookie, pie,…

By James Duff Lyall Editor’s note: James Lyall is the executive director of ACLU of Vermont. Our communities are still struggling through the pandemic and its harmful impacts on mental health, substance use, and affordable housing. It’s clear that we still need to do far more to support one another and build healthy, safe, and…

Dear Editor, The recent proposal by Vermont Huts Association and Moosalamoo Association to construct a hut next to Silver Lake in the Moosalamoo National Recreation and Education Area in Leicester reveals numerous problems with the USDA/Forest Service’s management of the Green Mountain National Forest. Pitched as connecting trails and establishing a series of huts for…

Dear Editor, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans,” to quote John Lennon. Some plan to go to college, some plan to marry, some plan careers, and many succeed in following their plans. Then, it happens, the unexpected, the interruption. The future is now depending on making choices. The feeling of being…

Dear Editor, Vermont has known for at least 60 years that it is not meeting its water quality standards in Lake Champlain and that the major contributor to the problem is conventional dairy. Conventional farming was designed in the years following Wolrd War II, when fossil fuels were cheap and abundant. The Haber-Bosch process, invented…

Dear Editor, We were recently in Millinocket, Maine, where one of the largest paper mills in the world closed in 2008, and wondered, after we got home, what was going to happen to the old mill site. According to ourkatahdin.com and other sources, the site has been bought by a company called Nautilus, which plans…

By William Mathis Editor’s note: William J. Mathis, who lives in Goshen, is a former superintendent of the Rutland Northeast School District and former member of the State Board of Education. There are few issues as controversial as school consolidation and closures. Whether as a member of the state board, a school superintendent, a local…