Benefits will start being issued in mid-November On Nov. 3, Gov. Peter Shumlin, Vt. Agency of Human Services Secretary Hal Cohen, and Vt. Dept. of Children and Families Commissioner Ken Schatz announced that the average Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) benefit will increase for most eligible households this year. Last winter the average…

By Evan Johnson ROCHESTER — At last week’s Vermont Backcountry Forum in Rochester, vice president of the Rochester Area Sport Trails Alliance (RASTA) Zac Freeman was describing the group’s recent work near Randolph, maintaining a network of glades spread along four peaks and renovating a cabin for overnight use, when someone in the crowd of…

By Lee H. Hamilton One of the more intriguing aspects of this unusual election year is the extent to which the underpinning of the election itself — voting — has become an issue in its own right. An act that we used to take for granted is increasingly being called into question. Just look at…

By Polly Lynn Rutland County county voters re-elected three republican incumbents for the state Senate seats: Kevin Mullin, Peg Flory and Brian Collamore will all return to Montpelier. Mullin received the highest vote totals with 14,553, followed by Flory with 13,984 and Collamore with 13,482. Democrat challengers Cheryl Hooker received the next highest count at…

By Mark Johnson, Jasper Craven and Anne Galloway, VTDigger.org Republican Phil Scott won the race for Vermont governor Tuesday night, defeating Democrat Sue Minter by a wide margin. He cruised to victory despite the state’s left-leaning electorate and a controversial candidate at the top of his party’s ticket. Scott won the state’s more rural areas…

By Bob Allen and Thanh Nguyen Editor’s note: The following is an open letter addressed to the region’s future Syrian neighbors written by Bob Allen, president of Green Mountain College in Poultney, and GMC student Thanh Nguyen who was born in Moscow, Russia, and lived most of her life in Hanoi, Vietnam. International students at…

KILLINGTON – Killington resident Gary Roth recently won gold in advanced eight-way formation skydiving at the 2016 U.S. Parachute Association National Skydiving Championships at Skydive, Arizona, held Oct. 20-29, according to a Nov. 8 press release. Roth won the event with his team, affectionately named Sugar Free Haribo Gummi Bears. The National Championships drew nearly…

By Angelo Lynn In Vermont, the news was only slightly better, with Democrat incumbents winning the statewide seats as expected, but Republican Phil Scott beat Democrat Sue Minter, 53 percent to 44 percent, with 3 percent going to Liberty Union candidate Bill Lee in the governor’s race following six years of Democrat Peter Shumlin in…

Shocks pollsters, nation with dominant win By Angelo Lynn Republican Donald Trump has won the presidential race with a projected 300-plus electoral votes, winning the crucial swing states of Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan and Wisconsin. If Democrat Hillary Clinton hangs on to a razor-thin lead in New Hampshire, she will only have carried…

MENDON—Vermont’s Wheels for Warmth program is ready to roll out heating assistance funds for this winter, thanks to its 12th consecutive year of strong community support. Preliminary numbers for 2016 show the program collected a total of $52,000 for emergency fuel assistance programs, sold 2,250 safe tires, and recycled 2,500 donated, unusable tires. Two sale locations at Dubois Construction in Middlesex…

By Stephen Seitz KILLINGTON—Once again, the gaming event Carnage Con came to Killington Mountain Resort  the first weekend in November. “We’ve been coming here for four years now,” said Robert Rousse of Springfield, one of the convention’s organizers. “We were at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, and we loved it there, but we simply…

On Tuesday, Nov. 1, the Killington Selectboard held a regularly scheduled meeting. Here are a few of the highlights, per the meeting minutes reported. Library Roof update Town Manager Debby Schwartz reported that the contract for the library roof  has been reviewed by counsel who discovered some things that it would be in the town’s best…

By Adam Federman, VTDigger.org RUTLAND — The onus is on the Board of Aldermen to cut municipal spending in order to avoid a tax rate increase, Mayor Chris Louras told the Board in a letter Tuesday, Nov. 1, accompanying his fiscal 2018 budget proposal. The Board’s decision in July to effectively double the city’s annual…

Saturday, Nov. 12 at 11 a.m.—QUECHEE—Simon Pearce—recently featured in Architectural Digest and New York Times—the maker of handcrafted, American-made glassware and pottery, is hosting a complimentary glass signing with Simon Pearce at its flagship location in Quechee, 1760 Quechee Main Street. Meet Pearce and have him sign a handmade glass piece on Saturday, Nov. 12, from 11 a.m.-3…

Friday, Nov. 11 at 5:30 p.m.—KILLINGTON—The town of Killington is bringing back the popular date night on Friday, Nov. 11. Date night is a time for parents to drop off their kids with babysitters who are certified in CPR and first aid, to enjoy the night out. However, the kids probably have more fun than…