By Tony Accurso, Owner of Alpine Bike Works “Svelte Tiger” in the Pine Hills trail system is one of the main arteries of the network. It is accessed at the first intersection on “Escalator” from the parking lot, and is the most popular way to access the network. It is a tight and twisty trail…

Courtesy of InclusiveVermont.com Paula Macneil Every winter, thousands of people take to the mountains of Vermont to experience all that the state has to offer. Paula McNeill is no different. This mother of two has spent the last seven years working as a buyer at Killington Resort, which also is her home mountain for skiing…

Courtesy of InclusiveVermont.com Mac Janney There is no rush like skiing down a steep slope at high speed, hanging off a sailboat in rapid winds or mountain biking in the Green Mountains. Mac Janney, a development coordinator for a Vermont nonprofit who is visually impaired, enjoys these experiences daily and takes advantage of a number…

By Lani Duke Solar field proposed for Castleton—but . . . CASTLETON—Solar energy developer Green Lantern Group has proposed a four-acre solar array next to the temporary town offices’ parking lot. Comprising 125 racks bearing 2,250 solar panels, it would be part of a commercial-scale 500-kilowatt project. Energy from it would flow into the Green…

Submitted Photo of a waterfall by Eli Adams Eli Adams is a tenth grade student at LiHigh School, a small independent school in Poultney, Vt. He discovered photography at age 13, and has been developing his craft for the past four years. His favorite subjects include Vermont landscapes, old barns and buildings, sunrises and sunsets, nature…

By Lani Duke Digital maker’s space to open Watch for the opening of a digital maker’s space on the second floor of the Chaffee Art Center. Soon it will be open to the community, with computers and peripheral devices for creating digital designs and small videos. Also in the not-so-distant future are weatherization of and…

By Joanne Pearson Fair Haven Photography courtesy of Mountain Top Inn & Resort CHITTENDEN — On July 7, Khele Sparks, general manager of The Mountain Top Inn & Resort, announced the opening of the resort’s new 6,000-sq. ft. spa and salon, located on the newly renovated first floor of the resort’s event barn. It features…

CASTLETON — On Wednesday, July 1, 11 New York City children arrived in Castleton to spend one or two weeks with volunteer host families in South Pomfret, Middletown Springs, Poultney, Killington, Mount Holly, West Rutland, Rutland, Quechee, and Ferrisburgh. Volunteer host families will share their summers with Fresh Air children, ages 6 -18, who leave behind…

RANDOLPH—Kurt Thoma has decided “for personal reasons” to leave the central Vermont area, thus taking him away from his position at Chandler Center for the Arts. Thoma arrived in Randolph from Michigan last August and took over the helm of Chandler with great enthusiasm. “His energy is contagious and we will miss him greatly,” said…

  By Declan McCabe Biologists sometimes field questions about a “huge scary bug” that appeared in someone’s home or worse yet, on their person. Most turn out to be benign organisms that ended up in the wrong place. For me, the most common questions come in July, when male dobsonflies emerge from the Winooski River…

As I grow older I realize that things I thought were about as exciting as watching paint dry have now worked their way into my life. It’s gardening season and I seem to have inherited both my father’s love of a vegetable garden and my mother’s passion for flowers. Since the majority of houses on…

I am not going to fool myself into thinking that you are all waiting with baited breath to hear what happened at the big trail run in Canada.  But, also, I am not going to fool myself into thinking that I won’t tell you all anyway. My last missive was a sad little tale about…

“Lip Sync Battle”—the half-hour viral sensation that pits celebrities against one another in fake karaoke contests—is about to enter its “second season” (only a month and a half after the conclusion of its first) on Spike TV, which seems as good a time as any to ask: why does this show exist? Like Ellen DeGeneres’s…

KILLINGTON — Barb Loeliger-Myers, assistant town clerk at the town of Killington, called Sheila Finneron on March 19 and asked, “Have you seen the paper? There is a mud run called the ‘Dirty Girl,’ we have got to do this!” Loeliger-Myers and Finneron are members of the Dirty Girl Gardening Club in Killington, which was established…

By Stephen Seitz Photo One: The National Guard honor guard takes a wreath to the grave of President Calvin Coolidge for the annual memorial ceremony. Photo Two: Actor Jim Cooke in his last performance as Calvin Coolidge. PLYMOUTH NOTCH – Longtime Calvin Coolidge impersonator Jim Cooke chose the Fourth of July, Coolidge’s 143rd birthday, to…