KILLINGTON— Over Memorial Day weekend, hundreds of cyclists descended on the region to compete in the annual Killington Stage Race (KSR), a three-day road bike race held May 27-29. The top men’s and women’s cyclists earned $3,000 in prizes. The first stage of the race, Saturday, May 27, had competitors race 2-4 laps around an…

By DJ Dave Hoffenberg Are you ready for some softball? After a great winter it’s time for the Killington Softball League to get its game on, and it’s with snow still on the trails. There are two new teams in the league this year, and everyone kicked off the season Wednesday night, May 24, although…

By Susan Shea If you take a walk in the woods on a summer evening, you may be treated to the ethereal, flute-like song of the hermit thrush, often the only bird still singing at dusk (and the first bird to sing in the morning). In 1882, naturalist Montague Chamberlain described it as a “vesper…

By Kevin Theissen We are all, inexorably, marching toward old age. By 2030, 72 million Americans will be age 65 or older. The good news is longevity has been improving, and people are remaining healthy and vibrant at older ages. The bad news is cultural perceptions of “old” people have not kept pace. A 2016…

Ah, spring, when young men’s thoughts turn to … well, to skiing. Also to mountain biking and road cycling and rock climbing, and softball. I skied what I think was day 213 today (it starts to get confusing when I am not only operating by scans, but by counted uphill days — simple math has…

By Marguerite Jill Dye Inspiration may strike at the oddest hour betwixt and between deep sleep and dreams, then an idea floats into my head and I have to get up. It can’t be ignored. If I don’t jump up out of bed right then and I mull it over again and again, by the time…

By Brett Yates The fifth season of “MasterChef Junior,” the competitive reality series on Fox, concluded in May. One of roughly 90 shows hosted by the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, “MasterChef Junior” is a spinoff of “MasterChef,” an amateur cooking contest, replicated exactly but for the ages of the participants, who, in this iteration, range…

On Monday, May 15, the state police were notified by the Department of Children and Family Services that Richard E. Piper, Jr., age 62 from Pittsford, had exposed himself while in the Jacuzzi at the Holiday Inn located at 476 Holiday Drive in the town of Rutland. It was unknown if the children that were…

BRATTLEBORO—On May 24 at 4 p.m., the state police conducted a motor vehicle stop on a New York-registered vehicle on Putney Road in Brattleboro for a traffic infraction. The operator, Jalil Freitag, 28, of Wells, failed to produce a valid license and his DMV records showed a criminal suspension in Vermont, according to Trooper Max…

RUTLAND—Christopher C. Shaddock Jr. has been named the Director of Business Development for the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce. Shaddock comes with over 40 years of experience in service, sales and marketing in the health and fitness industry along with a decade of sales leadership in resort development including the Killington Grand Hotel project and…

Teacher negotiations prove unproductive Rutland City School Board President Dick Courcelle said the board recognized that negotiations with the teachers’ union were not being productive and declared an impasse at its May 23 meeting. A series of eight meetings with the Rutland Education Association that began Jan. 13 left most issues unresolved or unaddressed, according…

Wells working on land use for two parcels With the help of the Vermont Land Trust, the town of Wells acquired two portions of the farm once belonging to Joan and Charlotte Delaney, one of the last large, undeveloped properties that lies alongside Lake St. Catherine. Ken Makepeace heads the Delaney Committee, working to find…

CASTLETON—Castleton University recently received word from the office of Senator Patrick Leahy that its TRiO Upward Bound program has been funded for five more years, according to a May 26 news release. The grant will serve 63 high school students in Rutland County attending the target schools of Fair Haven Union High School, Mill River…

On May 27 at 7:30 p.m., troopers from the Royalton barracks were informed of an illegal dumping site, on Mt. Cushman Road in Rochester. The complainant advised that approximately 6 p.m. individuals operating a white U-Haul-type box truck with red lettering, dumped 100-200 tires at the end of the roadway. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone…

Memorial Day weekend through June 4, the Vermont State Police (VSP) will be increasing enforcement efforts to promote safe, responsible driving in support of Operation C.A.R.E. (Crash Awareness and Reduction Effort) and Click It Or Ticket. Operation C.A.R.E. is a national campaign by state police agencies across the country to decrease human suffering on our…