Wednesday, Aug. 16, 5:30 p.m.—CAVENDISH— The Town of Cavendish presents the last in its continuing series of Wednesday evening concerts on Aug. 16 at 5:30 p.m. when Yankee Chank will appear on the Green in Proctorsville. Please note that this concert will start half an hour earlier than other concerts in the series. Yankee Chank is a…

Friday Aug. 18, 5:30 p.m.—WOODSTOCK— Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park will holds its last Summer Soiree of the season on Friday, Aug. 18, 5:30-7 p.m. Celebrate summer’s bounty by creating a take-home floral arrangement with flowers from Mary Rockefeller’s cutting garden. Hand-crank ice cream with the folks from Billings Farm & Museum. Bring a picnic and…

Saturday, Aug. 19, 3 pm.—BELMONT— Summerpalooza is here! The Reinbow Riding Center’s big fundraiser party at the Odd Fellows Hall on Star Lake in Belmont is taking place Saturday, Aug. 19, and it’s loaded with fun for the whole family. The party kicks off at 3 p.m. with a cardboard regatta with prizes awarded, followed…

Sunday, Aug. 20, 12:30 p.m.—HUBBARDTON— On Sunday, Aug. 20 at 12:30 p.m., join the caravan for the sixth annual guided driving tour of sections of the Mount Independence-Hubbardton Military Road of 1776-77. Tour leader Jim Rowe will introduce participants to the Hydeville Branch of the road. Participants will use their own vehicles to travel from the Hubbardton…

By Jack Hoffman Economist Art Woolf wrote recently that Vermont spends too much on education because taxes are too low for many residents. Woolf was referring specifically to resident homeowners who qualify to pay school taxes as a percentage of their income rather than on the value of their property. According to Woolf, because their income-based taxes are…

RUTLAND—The Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the winners of the awards for Best Taste, Best Display and People’s Choice at the 36th annual Chamber Winter in August event, Aug. 8. The event, which moved back outside to Merchants Row in downtown Rutland, was sponsored by Davis & Hodgdon Associates with support…

Early bear hunting season starts Sept. 1 The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is reminding successful bear hunters that a regulation now requires them to submit a bear tooth so wildlife managers can collect important information on Vermont’s bear population. Teeth submitted by hunters are used to determine the ages of bears. Wildlife biologists use…

By Alan J. Keays RUTLAND — Edward Thairu had been a doctor in Kenya. He now calls Vermont home and is studying to be a cardiologist in the United States. On Tuesday, Aug. 8, he joined 70 other people from 26 countries on the stage of the Paramount Theatre in downtown Rutland to take the…

By Julia Purdy RUTLAND—Local park-goers succeeded in rerouting a popular walking loop at Northwood Park. A work party took place this past weekend to improve the trail. But public access to the loop was nearly lost. On July 1, the city of Rutland officially closed the walking trail on its reservoir property on Post Road…

By Julia Gosselin If you have diabetes, you most likely have insulin needles in your home. Leaving these syringes around your home could not only look bad, but it could pass on possible diseases. Diseases like Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV can all be passed through a used syringe. Let’s not forgot the possible…

By Cyrus Ready-Campbell, VTDigger Vermonters with incomes near the federal poverty line stand to lose more in benefits than they would gain from an increased minimum wage if they have young children, experts told the Minimum Wage Study Committee on Thursday, Aug. 10. The Legislature created the committee in June to explore how a minimum…

By Alan J. Keays RUTLAND — The closing of a store that occupies a large space at the Diamond Run Mall in Rutland Town will likely delay when Rutland City receives impact fees from the shopping center it believes it is owed. LaFlamme’s Furniture Mall has advertised it is closing its location in what used to…

By Alan J. Keays RUTLAND – A 60-year-old Rutland man is denying charges he threatened in a phone call to “shoot up” Rutland Regional Medical Center late last week. Paul Rice Sr. entered the innocent pleas Monday, Aug. 14, in Rutland Superior Court to misdemeanor offenses of causing false alarm and disturbing the peace by…

By Evan Johnson After multiple failed votes and revotes, school officials in four central Vermont towns are exploring or putting forward new consolidation plans for their area schools.  Royalton and Bethel are now moving forward on a possible partnership, as are Rochester and Stockbridge. In a plan that resembles parts of a three-town plan that…

RUTLAND—U.S. News & World Report has named Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC) a “Best Regional Hospital” for 2017-2018. Out of 4,500 hospitals evaluated nationwide, only 545 achieved that status, and Rutland Regional was the only “Best Regional” in the state of Vermont. Additionally, Rutland Regional was the only hospital in the state to achieve “high…