By Emma Cotton/VTDigger In the lead-up to Town Meeting Day, Rutland City lawns have been covered with candidate signs. Two dozen people are competing for seven positions in city leadership, and while Covid-19 has made it easier to file as a candidate, contested races are nothing new in Rutland, particularly for the board of aldermen. In…

Sculpture designer honored to see his work for the first time during Black History Month By Victoria Gaither The Martin Henry Freeman sculpture took its place on the Downtown Rutland Sculpture Trail and Vermont African American Heritage Trail on Nov. 20, 2020. But Black artist Mark Burnett made his first trip to see the statue…

  By Emma Cotton and Lola Duffort/VTDigger Sen. Joshua Terenzini, R-Rutland, introduced a new bill on Thursday, Feb. 11, that would expand police presence in school districts around the state. Terenzini and Sen. Brian Collamore, R-Rutland, held a press conference in front of the Rutland Police Department  offices  to announce their sponsorship of S.76, which would allocate $1 million…

By Brooke Geery Like many ski bums over the years, 25-year-old Austin Oesterle’s dream of moving up to Killington from Long Island, New York to snowboard hit a speed bump when he tore his ACL. Down but not out, he headed back to Long Island and shifted his creative efforts into learning to blow and…

  Volunteers share a joy of skiing, passion for Killington and service By Karen D. Lorentz For Killington regulars, the green-jacketed Killington Mountain ambassadors are a familiar presence as they interact with and help guests every day at the ski resort. This year, the ambassadors also play another significant role: they reminding people to mask-up.…

By Karen D. Lorentz Killington is a massive mountain — its variety of terrain is its most distinctive and renowned feature. Part of that is the variety of trails, but for freestyle skiers  and riders, it is the dedication to providing terrain parks that makes the mountain their favorite winter playground. That dedication was rewarded…

By Karen D. Lorentz Okemo opened Vermont’s first-of-the-season halfpipe on Sunday, Feb. 7. The superpipe was the first to open in New England (the only other one open by Feb. 7 was in Pennsylvania). One of the factors that has delayed halfpipe builds was the need to make snow on ski trails first so more…

By Victoria Gaither At 3 years old, Harley Ruffle, known locally as “Lil Homie,” is a snowboard sensation. His mother, Jill Ruffle, just laughs. “I’m amazed he is so good. He can barely talk,” she said. Harley started walking and skateboarding at the same time, explained his father, Gary. “He has good balance, and Tucker…

By Katy Savage With the closure of bars, people are drinking at home like never before. Liquor stores across the country and locally have seen record sales since the start of the pandemic last March. The week after a national state of emergency was declared, alcohol sales jumped 54% from the previous year, according to…

By Brooke Geery Painter Maurie Harrington has been called the “traveling artist” for her penchant for jet-setting to exotic locales around the globe, but she is happy to call Vermont home. “Travel and art have been a big part of my life,” Harrington said. “I love painting snow scenes in Killington. I only have to…

By Brooke Geery Sunday is Valentine’s Day, and like everything else in the last year, it won’t look like ever before. But that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate safely with your sweetie, and to help you we’ve put together a list of local ideas and happenings to make the 14th day of February special. Travel…

By Brooke Geery Shortly after the permanent sign for Flannels Bar & Grill went up at 74 US-Route 4 in Mendon, the people who’d named the restaurant sold it to Avery Chipka and Hunter Pike. This wasn’t all that surprising — the location has changed hands several times over the years. In the 60s it…

By Curt Peterson Early in the evening on Jan. 30, Raymond Park, 49, of Killington, was snowboarding on the backside of the Killington Ski Area, out of bounds, and spent several subsequent hours trying unsuccessfully to return to the trail he had left. He was found by rescuers at 8 a.m. Jan 31, five hours…

By Brooke Geery Snowshoeing is one of the most accessible ways to enjoy the beauty and peace of Vermont in winter. All you need are snowshoes, a few layers of warm clothing, and perhaps a backpack filled with snacks to enjoy along the trails, fields, or really any snow covered surface. It is a low-impact…

McNeil and Reedy celebrates 65 years in downtown with a new look By Victoria Gaither and Brooke Geery A major renovation project is underway at McNeil & Reedy men’s clothing and shoe store in downtown Rutland. The store, which has been a go-to for proms, weddings, and funerals since 1956, is benefitting from new blood…