LUDLOW – Okemo Mountain Resort is preparing for the 2016/2017 winter season with more improvements. Okemo’s commitment to snowmaking and grooming makes it a sure bet in the best of times – and when Mother Nature poses a challenge. That commitment continues this winter. Snowmaking After several years of major snowmaking improvements totaling more than…

By: Matt Baatz I remember what hooked a lot of us into mountain biking in the early 90s. The sense of freedom of riding a bike, multiplied by mastering daunting terrain in beautiful natural settings, yielded exponential results. The payoff was nothing short of the liberation of mind, body and spirit. The side benefit of…

PITTSFIELD—The Green Mountain Trails (GMT) will host two mountain bike races this Sunday: GMT Gnarly Adventure and the 6-hour Challenge. Both races take place on Sunday, Sept. 18, on the Green Mountain Trails in Pittsfield and include a barbecue free for registered racers ($15 for guests). Registration includes a t-shirt for competitors and awards for…

RUTLAND—College of St. Joseph recently added its eighth intercollegiate varsity sport with the launch of men’s golf. The team began USCAA Division II competition this fall. The addition of a golf program marks the second expansion of the Saints’ athletic offerings in the last year, with women’s volleyball joining the athletic roster last fall. Green…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Capricorn Moon that will stay Void-of-Course until it enters Aquarius at about 5:28 p.m. If it’s hard to get into the weekday grind on any other Monday, we can bet that the Void-of-Course energy that takes…

By Todd McLeish The big, meaty green caterpillars that many of us have been fighting to eradicate from our gardens this summer make plenty of people squirm. In part it’s because they are among the largest caterpillars in the region, sometimes reaching close to three inches in length, with reddish horns on their ends that…

From the time we are kids, life seems to make us “wannabe” something that we will probably never be. We might “wannabe” the kid who gets picked first by his classmates to play on a team. Or we might “wannabe” popular, pretty, handsome or thin. But as we grow up we realize that wishing doesn’t…

By: Marguerite Jill Dye For over a decade I taught art classes to seniors at the Killington Summerfest and was sorry to see it come to an end. However, I recently passed the crowded Adventure Center at Snowshed Base Lodge and saw mountain bikers and adventurers on chairlifts and zip lines, and I better understand…

Since August, the same sports-journalism scandal has occurred twice. First, an Internet firestorm arose when The Chicago Tribune tweeted the following: “Wife of a Bears’ lineman wins a bronze medal today in Rio Olympics.” Feminists, already exasperated by numerous previous instances of sexist Olympic coverage, took the newspaper to task for identifying an accomplished woman…

Rich McCoy to lead Pico; KSRM grad Jordan Spear to manage marketing KILLINGTON—On Friday, Sept. 9, Killington Resort announced the hiring of talented leaders to fill positions ahead of the 2016-17 winter season at Killington Resort and Pico Mountain. Two key roles have been filled through internal promotions, including director of operations at Pico Mountain…

LUDLOW—Big Eyes Bakery has relocated to 126 Main Street in downtown Ludlow. Situated immediately behind Engel and Volker’s Real Estate Office, the new space is accessible on foot, and there is plenty of parking on or off the street. The bakery now offers seating, and an expanded coffee bar serving Mountain Grove Coffee, a family…

RUTLAND TOWN—On Sept. 3, at approximately 11:03 p.m. member of the Vermont State Police-Rutland Barracks, Rutland County Sheriff’s Department, Rutland Town Fire Department and Regional Ambulance Service responded to a single vehicle crash on West Proctor Road in Rutland Town. Preliminary investigation revealed that Kathy L. Johnson, age 52 of Proctor, Vt., as driving her…

TINMOUTH—On Sept. 9 at approximately 2:32 p.m. member of the Vermont State Police-Rutland Barracks, Danby Fire Department, Tinmouth Fire Department and Regional Ambulance Service responded to a single ATV incident on a trail off Tinmouth Pond Road in the town of Tinmouth. Preliminary investigation revealed Clifford G. Bushee Jr., age 64 from Tinmouth was driving…

On Sept. 4 at 12:10 p.m. rescue crews and the state police were called to the Long Trail after a man had reportedly become ill and was unresponsive in the area of the Peru Peak Shelter near Griffith Lake in the town of Peru. Resuscitation efforts failed and the subject was determined to be deceased.…

KILLINGTON—On Sept. 12, at approximately 3:15 p.m., the Vermont State Police investigated a two vehicle crash, at 2825 Killington Road, (near Domenics and Choices Restaurants) in the town of Killington. The investigation revealed a 2006 Ford F350, operated by Cole W. Hall, age 18 from Bennington, Vt., was traveling north on Killington Road when it…