School choice applications accepted at MRUHS WALLINGFORD—Mill River Union High School is accepting school choice applications from any high school student in grades 8 through 11 who is interested in attending a public high school outside his or her home district during the 2017-2018 school year. Students who wish to take advantage of this opportunity…

Vermont Cannoli will be open at its new location at 145 South Main Street in Chester, Vt. for President’s Day weekend. Hours are Fridays from 3-7 p.m. and Sundays from 11-4 p.m. Authentic Italian cannoli is are made with hand-dipped, homemade ricotta. Overstuffed small and large cannoli come in three flavors:  traditional with chips of pistachio, almond,…

WALLINGFORD—Marc and Lisa Williams have opened The Village Community Acupuncture, located at 271 South Main Street in Wallingford. Acupuncture as a healing modality dates back over 2,000 years, and can provide relief from pain, infertility, depression, anxiety, digestive issues, arthritis, as well as help with smoking cessation, addiction and other conditions. Treatments are available on…

Castleton mom questions school snacks list CASTLETON—Nicole Wilkins told the Castleton School Board the school snack policy needs revision, when the board met Feb. 1. The school sends parents a list of snacks that students may bring to school with them, and offers snacks that children may buy at school for one dollar. However, numerous…

By Dom Cioffi Back in the late 1950s, Dr. Paul Janssen and his team of scientists at Janssen Pharmaceuticals first started synthesizing a new drug for pain management. The extremely potent, synthetic opioid they developed was known for its rapid onset and short duration of action. They eventually realized it was also 100 times more…

By Mike Solimano “The 1 percent local option sales tax component of the options tax contributes approximately $400,000 to $500,000 to the annual General Fund budget. Who do you think is going to make that up if it is rescinded? You and me in our property taxes. As it is, we have an increase this…

Dear Editor, In response to last week’s letter to the editor from Diane Scappaticci Rosenblum regarding the local option sales tax vote to rescind. First I’d like to start off by saying I have a lot of respect and regard for Mrs. Rosenblum, so Diane, please don’t take this as an attack. While reading your…

Dear editor, More than 480,000 people in the United States will die this year from a tobacco-related disease. Each day, more than 1,000 kids become new, regular smokers; roughly one-third of them will die prematurely from a tobacco-related disease. On March 15, 2017, Kick Butts Day, thousands of young people and adults across the country…

Dear Editor, My name is Jim Haff. Around four months ago I was appointed to be the chair of the finance committee. I’ve worked hard with both principals at the middle and high schools and Richard Seaman, director of finance and operations for the Windsor Central Supervisory Union. The total proposed budget for FY18, $11,698,853,…

Dear editor, If the audacious come-from-behind win pulled off by the New England Patriots at this year’s Super Bowl has taught us anything, it is that no matter what, we should never stop believing in our abilities to succeed, even in the face of overwhelming odds. This win is one for the ages; and without…

Dear editor, Despite the various and differing views printed here on a weekly basis, our community has come a long way to come together in a short few years. In the early 2000s our town identified a problem in Killington. Simply put, our community was not united. We were lacking a sense of community in…

Dear editor, Raising the minimum wage is not a new idea. But we need to get serious now. There is a bill before the legislature that would gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. There are many benefits to this. It would help Vermont workers. It would help families. It would help the…

By Lyle Jepson and Mary Cohen Imagine a future for Rutland County in which young families move into efficient new homes close to high-paying advanced manufacturing jobs … recent college graduates shop downtown for “first day of work” wardrobes before starting jobs with local companies where they worked as student interns. … construction workers in…

Called on out-of-state employers to “pardon” employees for a snow day to take advantage of weekend storm, extend their stay in Vermont With Vermont’s biggest snow storm of the year rolling across the region Sunday through Monday morning, Feb. 12-13, Governor Phil Scott declared Monday a “Powder Day” and urged regional winter enthusiasts to take…

Feb. 17-25—RUTLAND—The 15th annual Winter Fest will take place Feb. 17-25 with many activities and opportunities to be part of the community. The event starts off on Friday, Feb. 17 with a community skate at Giorgetti Arena and concludes on Feb. 25 with a Wonderfeet Winter Dance at The Palms Restaurant. During the week there…