By Evan Johnson KILLINGTON—A longtime Killington Resort employee died while on the job Saturday, according to state police. According to a news release, EMS responded to the Killington Ski Resort for an injured employee. The employee, Jeffrey K. Chalk, age 53 of Pittsford, had been found injured and unresponsive by a fellow employee. Chalk, a…

By Anne Galloway, VTDigger Organizers say Gov. Phil Scott’s inaugural gala was the largest in the state’s history. More than 1,200 people attended the event. Scott, the newly sworn in Republican governor, celebrated his inauguration at a helicopter hangar at the Vermont Air Guard complex in South Burlington Saturday night, Jan. 7. The cavernous hangar…

Pack The Paramount food drive reorganizes RUTLAND—Pack the Paramount, which has annually filled seats at the Paramount Theatre with tons of food for the Rutland Community Cupboard, BROC Community Food Shelf and Salvation Army, is changing names and focus. It will now be known as Pack The Paramount–The “Newly”wed Game Rutland. With an eye toward…

Passport Day is Saturday, Jan. 14 BRIDGEWATER–The travel industry saw close to one billion international travelers in the first nine months of 2016 according to the World Tourism Organization—that’s 34 million more than the same period the prior year — and the U.S. Postal Service is ready to prepare travelers for such future excursions. Now…

VTF&W is monitoring the animal for possible brainworm disease RUTLAND—A moose that is suspected to have a fatal disease is being monitored in Rutland County. The moose has remained near a road for several weeks and biologists and wardens are checking on the animal for symptoms of brainworm. The public is warned not to approach…

On Jan. 5, the American Red Cross reported a severe winter blood shortage and issued an emergency call for blood and platelet donors to make a donation appointment in order to help save patient lives. Hectic holiday schedules for many regular blood donors contributed to about 37,000 fewer donations in November and December, 2016, than…

Poster board bearing a blown up Trump tweet goes viral By Kevin O’Connor, VTDigger Bernie Sanders may not have won the 2016 U.S. presidential race, but the Vermont senator — former presidential candidate turned chairman of his chamber’s Democratic Party outreach — can claim last year’s highest number of Sunday show appearances (70, double President-elect…

By Jasper Craven, VTDigger Perched on a podium on the U.S. Senate floor, Vermont’s Bernie Sanders suggested this week that Republican president-elect Donald Trump was a liar. Gesturing at a cardboard cutout of a Trump tweet in which the billionaire businessman promised not to cut federal health care programs, Sanders took aim. “I was the…

Dear Editor, In late 2015, I received an email informing me that Killington, my home mountain – the place where I invest my time and energy and where I’m raising my family to appreciate and love winter sports – was added to the 2016 Women’s World Cup schedule by FIS, the International Ski Federation. The…

Dear Editor, In response to Kyle Finneron’s story “The first 30 days,” published in the Mountain Times Dec. 21-27, which asks if organically grown food is worth the extra money: In most cases, it is not. After extensive testing, which many organic growers claim they have never done, it does not appear that organic fruits…

Dear Editor, The response from people I received after my letter was published in last week’s edition, was overwhelmingly positive everywhere I went—skiing Thursday and Friday, at Choices Friday night, the Deli on Route 4, everywhere—not one negative remark. But this is not just one man’s battle. We all need to make our voices heard.…

Dear Editor, The staff and clients of Black River Good Neighbor Services offer their sincere thanks to all who made our annual holiday food and gift distribution possible. In all we delivered nearly $11,000 worth of food and toys to people in Ludlow, Cavendish, Proctorsville, Plymouth, Mount Holly, and Belmont. Again this year our staff…

Dear Editor, On Jan. 20, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. Mr. Trump has said many times that he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act—the ACA, or Obamacare—on “day one.” Mr. Trump’s pronouncements are notoriously erratic and changeable, but his choice of Tom Price—an inveterate…

By Gail Johnson The question “Can Rutland have it all?”—an expanding commerce base, increased employment, new residents—isn’t rhetorical any more. The three issues are easily combined in conversations, editorials, and now in a story that made front page of The New York Times on Jan. 2, 2017, “Ailing Vermont Town Pins Hopes on Mideast Refugees.”…

Every second Friday night of the month at 7 p.m., you need to head to Taps Tavern in Poultney  to see the Mean Waltons. They’ll be nice to you and your ears as you listen to some great folk covers. The Mean Waltons are Wayne Surrell, guitars and vocals; and Earle Provin, slide guitar, mandolin,…