KILLINGTON — The United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA), in partnership with Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, will once again host their annual Winter Ski Festival at Pico Mountain in Killington, Feb. 5-8. The event, in its ninth year, is one of the largest annual gatherings in the United States of skiers who are blind and visually…

By Karen D. Lorentz This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of Elan, the Slovenia ski manufacturing company. Since 1945, Elan has grown from a small ski workshop into a specialty manufacturing company that manufactures snowboards, sailboats, sports equipment, and wind turbines. Most significantly, Elan became a pioneer of innovation in skis and…

By Lani Duke Updated town plan addresses land use issues PAWLET—Pawlet’s Select Board will consider readopting a reworked town plan in February 2016, with minor modifications to the plan currently in place, adopted Nov. 16, 2010. Among other inclusions, the plan contains a projection on the future of agriculture in the town, composed by the…

By Lani Duke RUTLAND TOWN Select Board vacancies When Rutland Town voters make their selections in March, they will have three Select Board seats to fill. Chair Joseph Dicton has announced he will resign that day, although his term would not end for another year. The other two open seats are occupied by Don Chioffi…

RUTLAND — Vermont State Police have made two arrests in a retail theft that occurred on Tuesday, Dec. 29 at Sensible Shoe in Rutland Town. Store owners called Vermont State Police around 2 p.m. on Tuesday and reported that an unknown male and female entered their store, distracted a store clerk, and stolen two pairs…

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is encouraging people to include the 2016 Vermont  Habitat Stamp among their year-end donations. The $15 stamp is available on the Fish & Wildlife Department’s website and is also available as a voluntary add-on to 2016 hunting or fishing licenses when purchased online at vtfishandwildlife.com. The Habitat Stamp was introduced…

Cal Garrison (a.k.a Mother of the Skye) writes weekly horoscopes for The Mountain Times. If you would like an emailed notification sent to you weekly, sign up for the newsletter, below. Want to hear more from Mother of the Skye? Check out Mother's Celestial Inspirations     Horoscopes for January 6 - January 12, 2016…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye This week's Horoscopes are coming out under the light of an Aquarius Moon, with a bunch of aspects that make me feel really good about the coming week. There's a beautiful trine running from Jupiter to Pallas, Mercury, and the Sun, that means we will be doing…

John Pacht, Mary Morrissey, Michael Kainen, and Michael Harris appointed trial judges Gov. Peter Shumlin announced four judicial appointments on Monday, Jan. 4. Burlington attorney John Pacht will fill a judgeship recently funded to help address increasing caseloads related to child protection and opiate-abuse across Vermont. Chittenden County Deputy State’s Attorney Mary Morrissey will fill the…

Dear Editor, It is easy to understand why Vermont has attracted so many retirees over the last 30 years or so—it is truly a beautiful place to live, and property compared to many places in New England was reasonable and taxes were low. But now Vermont is at a crossroads: we have the second oldest…

Dear Editor, Once again, it’s time for New Year’s resolutions, particularly those to improve our diet and exercise routine. Although gun violence and traffic accidents remain the leading causes of death among young people, the most dangerous weapon for the rest of us is still our fork. Well over a million of us are killed…

Dear Editor, In response to Eli Harrington’s letter, “Vermont leaders approach cannabis with healthy skepticism and caution, not naivete,” which appeared in the Dec. 31-Jan 6 edition of The Mountain Times, I note that Mr. Harrington is the founder of Vermontijuana (Vermont + Tijuana?), which you describe as “a hub for information and resources related…

Dear Editor, The WSYB Christmas Fund has been a Christmas tradition for families in the Rutland area for 44 years. For many, it wouldn’t be Christmas without sharing their good fortune and giving a donation to the Christmas Fund. Since that first Christmas, the Christmas Fund has raised well over a million dollars from small…

By Brian Dubie It was my honor to serve as Vermont’s Lieutenant Governor for eight years. While I was in office, I was invited to tour the site of a proposed industrial wind turbine complex in Ira, Vt. My tour guide was a commercial pilot. He explained his concerns about the project’s impact on Southern Vermont…

By Dom Cioffi My 11-year-old son has been displaying a remarkable lack of intellect lately when it comes  to money. It all started over the last year when several fateful events brought me great pause. The first “situation” involved an overnight school trip where he was corralled into a card game in the back of…