Discover More from This Category: Columns

Dating through the years

November 30, 2022
By Mary Ellen Shaw I was watching a talk show recently and one of the topics discussed was an article from a 1950 McCall’s magazine. It gave 129 options that women could use to get a date. If you are in the “senior age category” you would be quite amused at some of the techniques…

First turns on North Ridge!

November 23, 2022
By Merisa Sherman Taking a deep breath, I open the car door and swing my feet out of the car. I grab the emergency handle and pull myself out. It’s been a few days of this and already I can feel which muscles have been lingering all summer long and I wonder how people must…

A race to the cure

November 23, 2022
Last week, I was in the kitchen munching on a carrot listening to my wife talk about her recent tennis match when I unexpectedly bit into the side of my mouth. The pain was immediate and intense, so much so that it dropped me to my knees. My wife stopped talking and asked what was…

Year-end tax moves

November 23, 2022
After an interesting year with inflation, housing, energy prices, the markets and more in 2022, it’s just as important as any year to find opportunities before year-end. There are common and lesser-known tax items that can result in considerable value. As a taxpayer, you should first consider your tax bracket and look for ways to…

Asiatic bittersweet: Festive, but invasive

November 23, 2022
My daily walk around my city this fall has been dominated by one plant. It is abundant and leafy with red berries and orange or yellow foliage. It seems to fit in perfectly with a New England autumn in its color and exuberance. Despite its festive appearance however, this plant — Celastrus orbiculatus, more commonly…

Rockin’ the Region with Stephen Kellogg

November 23, 2022
The Women’s World Cup aptly named the HERoic Killington Cup is upon us this weekend. Besides getting to watch the best female skiers in the world, Killington Resort base area is transformed into a festival style village with lots of great music. DJ Angie Vee kicks it off Friday 5 p.m. Saturday, immediately following Run…

Put on your Santa cap for giving Tuesday, Nov. 29

November 23, 2022
By Liz DiMarco Weinmann Giving Tuesday, which falls on Nov. 29, began in New York City in 2012, as a way to intensify awareness of nonprofits, as well as generate gifts and loyalty during the holidays. Today Giving Tuesday is a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of donors. While Giving Tuesday itself has…

The Canada goose migration: A grand spectacle of nature

November 16, 2022
› The musical honking of Canada geese and their V-shaped flocks streaming overhead are classic signs of autumn. I hear the clamor of geese as they fly low over my house, preparing to land in the hayfield in our valley. Sometimes I spot the large, black-necked birds before they take off to continue their journey.Where are they com- ing from, I wonder, and where are they going?…

Reality bites

November 16, 2022
By Dom Cioffi My company had an in-office meeting last week that included the entire staff. I believe this was the first time since March of 2020 (pre-Covid) that we were all in the building at the same time. Initially, I loved working from home. I found the solitude relaxing and noticed my workload increased,…

Turning into our parents

November 16, 2022
By Mary Ellen Shaw At some point in our lives we seem to turn into our parents.I guess it’s inevitable as we grew up following their instructions. I thought of my father when someone commented to me that I mow the lawn in a different direction each time. Back in my youth the task of…

Winter is here!

November 16, 2022
By Merisa Sherman Never doubt The Beast, the biggest and best in the East “Wishing and waiting and thinking and praying, planning and dreaming …” I know that’s the start of the song made famous by Dusty Springfield in 1964, but it’s also the mantra that I have been repeating to myself for the past few…

Rutland’s own Emerald City

November 16, 2022
The Hub CoWorks opens downtown By Liz DiMarco Weinmann The region’s civic leaders, community advocates, business owners, nonprofit professionals, and others representing the innumerable talents of the Killington-Rutland community gathered Monday evening, Nov. 14, to celebrate the much-anticipated grand opening of The Hub CoWorks in downtown Rutland. For this former Manhattanite to compare the buzz…

Where ends and beginnings commingle, a taste of the infinite

November 9, 2022
By Merisa Sherman A few lights litter the shoreline across the way, seemingly more like super bright fireflies than the building that they truly are. Different colors, ranging from white to yellow to red, mark the hillside and the farthest location along the 360 degree outline of the mountain range. The dark hillside seems more…

September yields to a sunnier October

November 9, 2022
By Kevin Theissen For reasons that may never be fully understood, September has historically been the worst month for stocks, according to the average S&P 500 return for each month dating back to 1970. In September, the Dow fell 8.8% and the S&P 500 Index was down approximately 10%. Historically, stocks turn around in October,…

‘Tis the season to appreciate… hospitality workers

November 9, 2022
By Liz DiMarco Weinmann The professionals who run our romantic country inns, family-friendly motels, cozy coffee shops, creative restaurants, unique boutiques, state-of-the-art recreational facilities, and striking jewel-box arts venues are excited to welcome guests again, so this is a friendly nudge for all of us to show our appreciation. Although a recent Wall Street Journal…