By Amy Ash Nixon, VTDigger.org When the newly formed long-range planning committee of the Vermont State Colleges (VSC) system meets, one of the topics under discussion will be changing Castleton State College’s name to Castleton University. VSC Chancellor Jeb Spaulding on Tuesday confirmed that a name change for Castleton is under review. Spaulding said Castleton…

By Katie Jickling RANDOLPH, Vt. -— After 43 years at the helm of The Herald of Randolph, editor and publisher M. Dickey Drysdale has sold the paper to Herald photographer Tim Calabro and is stepping down. Drysdale, who turned 70 in November, retires from his post just months after his induction into the New England…

Students and grownups get to debut inventions Staff report KILLINGTON—Killington Elementary School students outdid themselves with projects at the school’s first ever Makers’ Faire earlier this month, reported school officials in the weekly newsletter. Projects ran the gamut and included solar cars, flying cars, nature trail designs, bristle bot designs and races, floating and sinking…

By Elizabeth Hewitt, VTDigger.org The Vermont National Guard announced plans Wednesday, June 10, for some 150 Vermont guardsmen and ten F-16 fighter jets of the 158th Fighter Wing of the Air Combat Command to be deployed to Okinawa, Japan, to supplement the U.S. security forces in the Pacific region. A news release described the deployment…

On Thursday, June 11, Gov. Peter Shumlin signed into law a comprehensive energy bill that is anticipated to create new jobs, save Vermonters on energy costs, and help Vermont achieve one-quarter of its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets by 2050. The legislation also creates an innovative new program under which Vermont utilities will help customers…

By Lee H. Hamilton I spend a fair amount of time talking to students and other young people about Congress and politics in general, and I’ve noticed something. It used to be that I’d regularly get asked how one runs for office. Nowadays, I rarely do. A lot of young people are repelled by politics;…

Dear Editor, The front page of this past week’s (June 11-17) Mountain Times reported on the first quarter local options tax in the story headlined “Central Vermont towns report good first quarter revenue for local options tax.” In it, Killington town manager reported we took in $483,628. Where does that money go? It goes into the…

Killington Reunion Weekend promises many memories and laughs Dear Editor, I’m sure by now everyone has heard about the Killington Reunion Weekend, June 26, 27, and 28, 2015. My spies inform me the weekend will kick off with a “meet and greet” at the Summit Lodge featuring Okie’s historic slide show. May I suggest that,…

Dear Editor, As a member of the business community, a resident of the town of Killington and an Executive Board member of the KPAA, I wanted to respond to some questions that have arisen regarding the KPAA’s proposal to the Select Board to manage the Marketing and Special Events for the town. The KPAA is…

By Karen D. Lorentz The Vermont Ski Areas Association (VSAA) recently announced that Vermont’s ski resorts recorded 4,670,903  skier and snowboarder visits for 2015, topping last year’s 4,503,269 and setting a record since VSAA began directly tallying visits in 1992. Vermont continued its number-one ranking in the East and also retained its lead on Utah,…

On Wednesday evening, June 10, the Vermont State Police were contacted by the Kansas Highway Patrol about an incident possibly involving Jason Kendall, who was being sought for the alleged murder of Molly Helland, age 23 of Windsor, Vt. Kansas police said that a silver 1996 Honda Accord with Mass. license plates was spotted on…

By Morgan True, VTDigger.org The Conservation Law Foundation has agreed not to oppose a 154-mile high-voltage transmission cable that would run beneath Lake Champlain in exchange for an increase the value of a benefits package the developer offered the state. The agreement was filed Friday, June 12, with the Public Service Board as part of…

By Dom Cioffi My son graduated from elementary school last week. I never thought you could graduate from elementary school. I just thought it ended and the next year you started middle school. But apparently, times have changed. It turned out to be quite the festive occasion with a large school ceremony, bouquets of flowers…

By Cristina Kumka and Polly Lynn At the June 2 Killington Select Board meeting, the Board unanimously asked Town Manager Seth Webb and the newly formed KPAA (Killington Pico Area Association) to present them with a proposal for how the town’s marketing and special events program could be outsourced to the KPAA via an annual…

By Jim Haff KILLINGTON — The President’s Education Award is given to sixth graders based upon academic performance on report cards and tests plus teacher recommendation. The award is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with National Association of Secondary School Principals, and was developed to help principals recognize and honor students who…