By Stephen Seitz CHESTER—Police in Chester and Ludlow are investigating what may be a series of sexual assaults in those towns, allegedly by a high school student at Green Mountain Union High School. Asked about this, Ludlow police chief Jeffrey Billings said, “I can’t comment on an ongoing investigation.” During the public comment period at…

Fisheries staff from Vermont Fish & Wildlife received a pleasant surprise recently while completing survey work on Lake Champlain in the form of a 48-year-old lake sturgeon that biologists first studied and tagged nearly two decades ago. “We first saw this fish in 1998 when it was roughly 29 years old,” said Chet MacKenzie, fisheries…

By Lee H. Hamilton The Trump administration, like its predecessors, has shown an apparent appetite for the use of force overseas. The “mother of all bombs” dropped on Syrian troops, saber-rattling toward North Korea, proposed deployments of U.S. forces in 10 or more countries — all of this suggests a growing comfort with the idea…

Dear Editor, The staff, clients and board of Black River Good Neighbor Services offer their sincere thanks to the donors, customers and volunteers who made our semi-annual rummage sale a great success. We held the sale on May 19-21 at Fletcher Farm on Route 103 in Ludlow. Whether customers wanted clothes, furniture, household goods, books,…

Dear Editor, Our government is elected to support and further the well being and prosperity of its citizens. A high quality education system is essential for prosperity. Vermonters believe strongly that local control/decision making results in the highest quality schools, ones that provide the best education for its students and the future prosperity of its…

Dear Editor, Thank you to all who helped make the celebration of my birthday/retirement party the most special of special occasions. The Tweety Cake, the cupcakes, the wonderful gifts, cards, emails and calls from Georgia, Hawaii, New Jersey, Florida, Newport were mind boggling. The surprise party at the Foundry of co-workers, old friends, family and…

By Sen. Bernie Sanders The good news is that Vermont has one of the highest high school graduation rates in the country; fully 88 percent of our kids leave high school with a diploma. All of us — parents, educators, community members and, most of all, our hardworking students — should feel great pride in…

QUEECHEE—The Quechee Hot Air Balloon Craft and Music Festival is the longest continuously running hot air balloon festival in New England. This year marks the 38th annual event. Each year nearly 20 hot air balloons display their colors in the sky. Flights begin Friday evening at 6 p.m. and continue Saturday and Sunday at dawn…

Route 4, Mendon Crews are scheduled to continue paving intermediate course on milled surfaces throughout the week of June 12, weather permitting. Paving operations are currently in the vicinity of the Cortina Inn & Resort in Mendon. Route 4, Killington Crews have begun work on the culvert replacement on the Sherburne Flats, west of the…

Upcoming two Act 46 revotes may dictate merger options By Tiffany Danitz Pache, VTDigger While writing legislation this year to give school districts more flexibility in complying with Act 46, lawmakers worried the changes might derail local merger conversations already taking place. That is just what seems to be happening in Rochester. The town has…

By Alan J. Keays, VTDigger RUTLAND—Rutland City Fire Chief Michael Jones and the mayor reached an agreement that will see the chief depart his post at the end of this month. Outgoing city Fire Chief Michael Jones will receive more than $35,000 as part of his severance package negotiated with the city to break his…

KILLINGTON—The lineup for the free Cooler in the Mountains summer concert series has been announced. Kicking off July 15 in conjunction with the Killington Wine Festival, the concert series runs for eight consecutive Saturdays and features a variety of national acts that spans diverse musical genres. The concerts, beginning at 3:30 p.m., will take place…

By Evan Johnson KILLINGTON—Over 250 people packed the ballroom at the Killington Grand Hotel last week to hear testimony from national experts and to exchange ideas and strategize on ways combat Vermont’s high suicide rate. “We spent a lot of time creating awareness of factors that put people at risk,” said JoEllen Tarallo, executive director…

By Alan J. Keays, VTDigger RUTLAND–The selection of the next state senator from Rutland County is now in the hands of Gov. Phil Scott. The county Republican Party held a caucus Thursday night to vet the three GOP candidates who hope to replace Sen. Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland, who resigned after he was appointed to lead…