By Katy Savage Cannabis retailers won’t be allowed in Woodstock village since it failed 80-53,during the annual village meeting on March 24. There were 13 blank votes. “We’re going to definitely respect the voters,” said Victoria Littlefield, who chairs the Woodstock Cannabis Review Committee. While cannabis won’t be sold in the Village, which encompasses most…

By Christopher Ross/ Addison County Independent Roughly 14% of Middlebury College students have tested positive for Covid-19 since arriving for the spring semester last month, but the cases have not been severe or persistent enough to warrant a change in campus policies, officials said. Middlebury currently has 2,626 residential students and has logged 383 cases,…

Dear Editor, Recently, I read a social media exchange between a mother and her teenage daughter. The mother asked the girl, “What’s wrong?” and the girl responded, “I don’t want people to think I’m a Republican.” That made me stop in my tracks, and I thought, “What is wrong with being a Republican?” Most Republicans…

The v voted Wednesday, March 23, to advance legislation that would set limits on public money going to private and religious schools. The final vote on the bill, S.219, then passed Thursday, March 24. Now the measure moves to the House. Vermont students living in “choice towns” — municipalities across the state that don’t operate…

Dear Editor, Americans now need to look to Ukraine for examples of bravery and heroism. The coverage of multimillionaire oligarchs and mega-yachts are highlighted while children and pregnant women are being bombed out of their homes and rooms and old people and their dogs are facing down the incredibly “brave” Russian soldiers. Then we look…

Dear Editor, Nestle is refusing to join the Russia boycott and defends its decision over Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s blunt criticism. Nestle is based in Switzerland, which has always kept a politically neutral stance. The do-or-die, raw courage and ironclad determination shown by the Ukrainians have arrested the attention of the entire world. CNNBusiness quoted Zelenskyy:…

By Angelo Lynn With the world’s problems at everyone’s doorstep each morning, or at their fingertips any time of the day, it’s little wonder that news about the cost of healthcare has dropped out of sight. Pre-pandemic it was one of the nation’s top concerns, but since then it’s now somewhere below several world-grabbing stories,…

Dear Editor, In former Vermont secretary of education Rebecca Holcome’s commentary published in the Mountain Times, March 23, titled “Unintended consequences: Vermont Senate Bill 219 on course to hand a weapon to the religious right” is pure sophistry. If anything, school choice is the epitome of educational democracy. And, if anything, Vermont’s public-school monopoly is…

By Merisa Sherman It’s spring! It’s spring! I can hear the birds beginning to chirp in the mornings as the sun warms my lawn. It’s so nice to watch as the grass on my lawn is getting less crinkly and more green every day. The snow has melted and I think it might be one…

By Katy Savage Helen and Emmett Norton, who are lifelong skiers, didn’t know if they’d ever be able to take their daughter on the snow. Their daughter, Erin, has cerebral palsy and Down syndrome. She’s non-verbal and is in a wheelchair. When Erin was 10, Helen saw an ad in a local newspaper for adaptive…

Staff report The Canadian government announced March 17 that fully vaccinated travelers will no longer need Covid-19 test results to enter Canada by air, land or water, effective April 1. “After a challenging two years, we all want the Canadian economy, including the tourism sector, to rebound and grow,” said Randy Boissonnault, PC MP, the…

The Prouty is back in-person on July 8-9 Northern New England’s largest family-friendly fundraising event is back and in-person on July 8-9. Registration is now open at theprouty.org for the 41st annual Prouty, benefiting life-saving cancer research and patient and family support services at Dartmouth. Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s participation options include cycling, walking, rowing, golfing, and the…

Mar. 26 and April 2 — If you would like to learn how to effectively hunt wild turkey gobblers in the upcoming spring hunting season, consider attending the turkey hunting seminars being offered by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department and volunteer instructors on Mar. 26 and April 2. Learning to Hunt Spring Turkeys, designed…

By Curt Peterson The Killington Planning Commission, with increased mixed-use development in mind, is considering how and whether to continue Planned Unit Development (PUD) projects as an option. Ed Bove, as part of the Rutland Regional Planning Commission contract to assist the zoning review, advised planning commission members to keep the PUD option in the…

If you are a newcomer to the region or someone who perhaps grew up here but has lived elsewhere for a while, it can be difficult to get to know your neighbors, especially if they live half a mile down the road. It can be hard to navigate the small-town experience, or figure out how…