By Heather Furman, director for The Nature Conservancy in Vermont Only a few short weeks ago, none of us could have predicted the impacts to our personal and professional lives that COVID-19 would wreak. During times of crisis or tragedy we are often compelled to gather with one another and find community, but in this…

By Katy Savage Volunteers from the Rutland MINT Makerspace are committing to making 10,000 face shields for the Rutland Regional Medical Center as the hospital combats the coronavirus. MINT MakerSpace spokesperson Karen McCalla said MINT members Gabe Oberkirch and Tom Lichtman created the design for the shields and are cutting them with a laser. Oberkirch…

By Polly Mikula On Friday, April 3, Health Commissioner Mark Levine officially recommended that Vermonters wear cloth facial masks, or coverings, if they need to leave their homes for essential purposes. This advice is based on new data about how COVID-19 can spread before a person has any symptoms, in other words: before they know…

Staff report The state identified 70 new coronavirus positive cases Saturday, April 4 — the largest increase of any single day so far. The next day brought 52 more. The state has double its confirmed cases in just a week, 280 new cases in seven days for a total of 575 confirmed cases as of…

The Killington Community comes together over a common love for their pets By Brooke Geery This week Flor Bolige posted a call for people to share pictures of their four legged friends (rather than attacking each other for having out of state plates) on the Killington Locals+ Facebook group.  The request worked, and over 100…

The state identified 71 new coronavirus positive cases Saturday — the largest increase of any single day so far — and reported three new deaths in Vermont. Sunday brought 52 more. The new cases bring the total number of positive coronavirus tests in the state since the beginning of the outbreak to 512. Thus far,…

On Friday, April 3, Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD, recommended that Vermonters wear cloth facial masks, or coverings, if they need to leave their homes for essential purposes. This advice is based on new data about how COVID-19 can spread before a person has any symptoms. Because people may have COVID-19 but no symptoms, wearing…

Pranks, practical jokes and various goofs are Hallmarks of April 1st, April Fools’ Day — a tradition that dates back several centuries. Media has been a prime vehicle for some April tomfoolery over the years, too. Here are a few favorites: In 1957, the BBC told viewers there was a great spaghetti crop in Switzerland…

At a press conference on Friday, March 27, Governor Phil Scott and Health Commissioner Mark Levine, M.D., announced that aggressive procurement of supplies has allowed the state to broaden the scope of its testing efforts. Until now, limited supplies required restricting prioritized testing to high risk patients. Dr. Levine said health care providers are now…

By Art Woolf The Vermont state labor department received 14,784 claims for unemployment for the week ending March 21. The huge spike in claims came in the wake of coronavirus-related layoffs. Michael Harrington, interim commissioner, told lawmakers Thursday, March 26, that the total number of claims — processed and unprocessed — is an all-time record. In…

By Polly Mikula After promoting a “Stay to Stay” pro-gram for the last two years and creating other incentives to get people to come to Vermont and relocate, Governor Phil Scott issued an executive order — and then an amendment strengthening that order —calling for visitors to, essentially, not visit. The Department of Tourism underscored…

By Erin Petenko and Xander Landen/VTDigger Vermont Gov. Phil Scott issued a “stay home” order on March 24 (effective March 25), then strengthened that order on March 30 with 14-day self-quarantining measures for those traveling in from outside the state. It’s the latest in a series of closures, bans and restrictions intended to keep people at home, away…

By Katy Savage As soon as area businesses were shut down due to coronavirus concerns, Pamela Martin started asking the community for help. Martin, who moved to Killington from New York three years ago, started a GoFundMe, called Killington Strong, to help businesses that closed and laid off service workers. Martin created the GoFundMe on…

By Lisa Lynn, VT Ski & Ride On the night of March 10, Jon Schaefer read an article about the spread of COVID-19. He turned off the lights and went to sleep. “Five minutes later, I woke up and knew what we had to do,” he said. Schaefer runs Berkshire East (the ski area in northwestern…

By Brooke Geery The old idiom about waiting until after Memorial Day to plant a garden here in Vermont, doesn’t have to apply if you start your garden indoors! In this uncertain world, there has never been a better time to get your hands dirty and plant a vegetable garden. Even minimal success will provide…