RUTLAND—History was made for Vermont on Feb. 25 in Ocean City, Md., when the Rutland High School’s Varsity Cheerleaders won Vermont’s very first National Cheer Championship title against teams from across the country at the Reach the Beach National Competition. The day started with one of RHS’s stunting groups’ first-place win at the stunting competition.…

Governor Scott officially opens Vermont’s “sweetest season” The unseasonably warm days and crisp nights through February have had the sap gushing, and the 2017 maple season is not only underway but off to a promising start. Last year, Vermont produced almost 2 million gallons of maple syrup, from 4.85 million taps, which was an all-time…

Ron and the late Ellen Jeanne Willis announce the engagement of their daughter, Charmaine Noelle Willis, to Scott David Ward, son of Lynda and the late Baxter “Toby” Ward, of Searsport, Maine. Scott and Charmaine met while she was attending the University of Southern Maine and he was attending the Maine School of Law in…

A new report by The Solar Foundation cites Vermont as a national leader in the solar industry, ranking third for the number of solar jobs per capita. Between 2015 to 2016, solar jobs in Vermont grew by 29 percent, with an additional 400 solar jobs created in the state last year. “Each solar job means that a skilled craftsman, a…

By Polly Lynn Mikula A ranking of the 2017 Best Public Schools and Districts was recently released by Niche, a website that analyzes date about schools and neighborhoods across the country. Over 80,000 public schools and 10,000 school districts were analyzed to create the nationwide rankings, according to the news release. “For millions of families,…

By Evan Johnson Growing the Rutland region’s economy was the a subject of discussion at a legislative breakfast in downtown Rutland on Monday morning. The March 6 meeting organized by the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce and the Rutland Economic Development Corp. featured a panel of three representatives and one senator from their respective committees…

CASTLETON—Castleton University announced Thursday that it will be joining nearly 2,000 colleges and universities across the country in becoming a tobacco free campus beginning Aug. 1. In November the Vermont State Colleges board of trustees unanimously approved a measure to ensure all VSC institutions will be tobacco free by July 1, 2019. Castleton will become…

By Stephen Seitz LUDLOW—The town of Ludlow has a busy year ahead for its bridges, dams and culverts, and the first one is already underway. First on the list are upgrades to the Red Bridge Dam, which began in late February. Lake Rescue is north of Red Bridge and Pauline Lake is to the south…

By Alan J. Keays, VTDigger WHITE RIVER JUNCTION– U.S. Rep. Peter Welch attributed the largest crowd he’s ever had at a town hall meeting to someone who wasn’t even there: President Donald Trump. “This is bigger because of the times,” Welch said Friday evening, March 3. “There’s been an explosion of interest because of the…

By Evan Johnson RUTLAND CITY—The third third time was the charm for David Allaire. The 19-year veteran of the Rutland City Board of Aldermen successfully unseated sitting Mayor Chris Louras by a wide margin. Initial results on Tuesday evening showed Allaire taking 2,196 votes to Loura’s 1,420. Allaire, who could not be reached for comment…

Act 46 Modified Union District to be created By Polly Lynn Mikula KILLINGTON—Killington may be the first town in the state to rescind a local option tax. The 1 percent option taxes on sales as well as room, meals and alcohol were adopted in Killington in 2008. Rescinding the local option sales tax passed by…

Make sure you head to Outback Pizza on Saturday night at 9 p.m. to see Low Country Funk (LCF). I first saw them in December at the memorial tribute concert for Steve Audsley. I had already seen most of the acts on the bill, but I only knew LCF by name, having listed them in…

By Dom Cioffi Does the name Andy Whitfield ring a bell? Unless you’re 35 or younger and a frequent attendee at Comic-Con, probably not. Born in Wales in 1971, Whitfield initially studied to become an engineer, and at the age of 28, moved to Sydney, Australia, to pursue this career. One day after work, while…

KILLINGTON—Bear Mountain’s Stash Park will be home to a two-day benefit banked slalom event to bring the East Coast snowboarding community together. Being held Saturday and Sunday, March 11 and 12, snowboarders will gather at Killington Resort’s “The Stash” terrain park to take advantage of the natural terrain and all the creative elements the mountain…

Saturday, March 11, 10:30 a.m.—KILLINGTON—Swing by Killington Resort’s Snowshed Lodge to taste some delectable treats at the Ski Vermont Specialty Food Day, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Saturday, March 11. From Vermont’s highly recognizable brands like Cabot Cheese, Ben & Jerry’s and Vermont maple syrup to local goodies like Kimball Brook Farm chocolate milk and Gringo Jack’s…