I have said a lot of mean things about my Guinea pig Pip (“The Impaler”).  To be fair, he has deserved most of it over the past year and a half since I rescued him. But also to be fair, the first year of his life was horrible, and he was basically feral when I…

By Declan McCabe Gutter pipes full of soggy peat show up on the bench by my office each March. This means one thing: my colleague Peter Hope’s Saint Michael’s College students are about to experience time travel. You might reasonably ask how pipes filled with peat could possibly relate to time travel. What? No DeLorean,…

By Brett Yates During the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Neil Gorsuch, the federal appellate judge from Colorado, Republicans strove to give Donald Trump’s nominee opportunity to present himself as a friendly, well-rounded human being—as opposed to the Constitutional pedant and heartless enforcer of unjust power structures that leftists might suppose him to be. During…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a late Pisces, soon-to-be new, Aries Moon. Along with the Sun and the Moon, Mercury and Venus are also in Aries. From what I can see, the Martian fireworks that fuel this sign look like they’re getting…

Dear Editor, In regards to the proposed consolidation Model 1: Given the fact that since the formation of the Rochester Bethel Royalton study committee began to meet on June 13, 2016, they held approximately 13 official committee meetings. Of those meetings, seven were in Royalton, five were in Bethel and one  was in Rochester, held…

Dear Editor, It’s going to be sad to not have a high school in Rochester. To review, closing of the Rochester High School seems inevitable. The proposed Model 1, soon coming up for a vote on Tuesday, April 11, in the communities of Rochester, South Royalton and Bethel, would leave the area with one middle…

Dear Editor, To the volunteer firemen and women of Proctorsville, Cavendish, Ludlow, Springfield, Chester, Reading, Weston, Mount Holly, Ascutney, Walpole, and Weathersfield who rallied to our house in the early hours of Feb. 15 to fight our house fire we are eternally grateful. Through your efforts you were able to control an inferno and save…

Dear Editor, I am writing to thank Killington voters for supporting Article 6 of our town budget. Article 6 allocates $500 to Habitat for Humanity of Rutland County. Rutland Habitat is a non-profit organization with no paid staff. Every dollar donated goes directly to the cost of building affordable housing in Rutland County. Habitat is…

By Will Patten On Feb. 1 I attended a meeting of Vermont business leaders to discuss the importance of early childhood education. Governor Phil Scott came to address the group and received a spontaneous and enthusiastic standing ovation—not because he had cut business taxes or gutted regulations but because a few days earlier he had…

By Angelo S. Lynn Congressional Republicans called Trump’s bluff Friday, March 24, and guess who backed down? Trump did, with his tail between his legs. Trump had tried to make it a game of “chicken,” carelessly threatening Republican opponents last Thursday that if they didn’t pass TrumpCare he would “come and get them,” but it…

Getting together with friends for coffee usually brings up a topic that shows our senior status. We reached the conclusion that “old” has a very different meaning depending on our own age at the time. To a young child, babysitters are in the “adult category” even if the person is just a teenager. You have…

By Dom Cioffi I’ve had several people ask me if my outlook on life has changed since my recent cancer scare. I suppose it’s a valid question. We all face the quandary of mortality, but under the auspice of a life-threatening diagnosis, forming (or reforming) a viable life thesis can take on a much greater…

If you’re a fan of the Talking Heads like I am, you’ll want to head to the Pickle Barrel Thursday night to see the awesome tribute band, Start Making Sense. Even if you’re not a fan, they’ll turn you into one because of their musicianship. I had the pleasure of speaking with lead guitarist/vocalist Jon…

Vermont’s 232 fire departments responded to an average of 3,000 emergency calls per month in 2016, according to an annual report released by the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The report contains information from over 45,000 recorded emergency incidents. Those calls were not only for working fires (3,200 reported for the year), but emergency…

On March 17 Senate Health and Welfare committee members unanimously voted “yes” on legislation aimed at saving lives and money by reducing tobacco use in the state. Leaders from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the March of Dimes and the…