Friday, Dec. 11 at 5 p.m. — RUTLAND — Trinity Episcopal Church is bringing in the new year (on the Christian calendar) with “A Festive Feast” and Holiday Concert on Friday, Dec. 11 to which the Rutland community is cordially invited. The event will begin at 5 p.m. with a concert of holiday music presented by women’s…

Submitted Governor Peter Shumlin selected and harvested a Christmas Tree Sunday, Nov. 30, from Isham Family Farm in Williston, Vt. Owner Mike Isham (pictured right) joined him for the selection. Over 134,000 Christmas Trees are harvested in Vermont annually Vermont’s Christmas tree industry received one of its early customers Sunday, Nov. 29, when Gov. Peter…

Liam Jeremy Prior was born Friday, Nov. 20, (“the day of the Scrambler” according to The Birthday Book) at Gifford Medical Center in Randolph, to proud parents Lindsey Rogers and Jeremy Prior of Chittenden, Vt. The healthy baby boy was 9 pounds 1 ounce. His older brother Jacob helped his parents welcome Liam home.

Submitted Photo One: Michael S. Rousseau Photo Two: Michael H. Halliday KILLINGTON — On Friday, Nov. 27 at approximately 10:50 a.m., the Vermont state police responded to a call from the parking lot of the K-1 Gondola at Killington Resort. A concerned citizen observed a male use a snowboard to smash the sun roof of…

Courtesy of KPAA A horse drawn sleigh has made for an iconic photo opportunity at a the Vermont Holiday Festival at the Killington Grand Resort Hotel in years past. This year, organizers are hoping for at least a dusting of snow to help set the appropriate scene. The Vermont Holiday Festival, Toys For Tots and…

By Lee J. Kahrs BRANDON — The Rutland Northeast Act 46 Study Committee has decided to send the question of local school consolidation to the voters in each of the all six district towns, plus Mendon and Chittenden, in January 2016. The committee was formed in September in order to examine the options and feasibility…

By Tiffany Danitz Pache, VTDigger.org The State Board of Education will revise rules for state approval of private schools in the coming year. The decision, made at a meeting earlier this month, caught the Vermont Independent Schools Association off guard. The recommendation for review was brought by William Mathis, a board member, who raised concerns…

On Tuesday, Dec. 1, Commissioner of Taxes Mary Peterson released forecasts related to Vermont education tax rates for the upcoming fiscal year, FY2017. The statutorily required forecasts are a joint effort between the Agency of Education, Department of Taxes, and Joint Fiscal Office. This year the forecast shows that the projected average homestead property tax…

After a successful pilot program earlier this year, Gov. Peter Shumlin and Windsor County State’s Attorney Michael Kainen Nov. 23, announced that a Driver Restoration Day will be held in Windsor County on Dec. 11. Vermonters who have had their license suspended for failure to pay traffic tickets will be eligible to pay $25 per…

Rutland addicts offered naltrexone RUTLAND — On Tuesday, Dec. 1, Gov. Peter Shumlin announced a pilot program to test in Vermont a new treatment option for opiate addiction. Under the pilot, offenders coming out of Marble Valley Correctional Center in Rutland will now be offered naltrexone, an injected, long-acting medication that reduces the urge for opioid…

By Bruce Parker, Vermont Watchdog A poll of registered voters in Vermont, conducted by the Center for Regulatory Solutions, has found that most Vermonters oppose adding higher amounts of ethanol into gasoline. According to a survey of 600 registered voters taken earlier this month, 67 percent of respondents said they disagree with the federal Renewable…

Courtesy of the state of Vermont The Lester H. Greene Co., in Montpelier, Vt., manufactured and sold a cough syrup containing alcohol, chloroform and heroin. The company was fined in 1917. On Tuesday, Oct. 20 at UVM, historian and author Gary Shattuck presented “Opiate Use in Vermont: The Present Reflects the Past,” a talk about…

By Lt. Governor Phil Scott At the start of every legislative session since being elected Lt. Governor, I’ve urged legislators to evaluate every proposal based on whether it helps our economy, improves efficiencies or reduces costs. If the answer to any of those questions was “yes,” then I suggested they put it on the front…

Dear editor, ARC Rutland Area (ARC) recently held its annual membership meeting for people with developmental disabilities and their families. We celebrated the accomplishments of our members with Maggie Pak Awards and the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. At the meeting, we also explored how the ARC services make impacts in the members’ lives.…

Dear Editor, I started this letter to the editor sometime in June or July. It was intended to be a question to the town manager, his first and only response was a press release. Then, the chair of our Select Board Patty McGrath decided to take this question on. Her first response was excuses such…