By Alan J. Keays RUTLAND – A 60-year-old Rutland man is denying charges he threatened in a phone call to “shoot up” Rutland Regional Medical Center late last week. Paul Rice Sr. entered the innocent pleas Monday, Aug. 14, in Rutland Superior Court to misdemeanor offenses of causing false alarm and disturbing the peace by…

By Evan Johnson After multiple failed votes and revotes, school officials in four central Vermont towns are exploring or putting forward new consolidation plans for their area schools.  Royalton and Bethel are now moving forward on a possible partnership, as are Rochester and Stockbridge. In a plan that resembles parts of a three-town plan that…

RUTLAND—U.S. News & World Report has named Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC) a “Best Regional Hospital” for 2017-2018. Out of 4,500 hospitals evaluated nationwide, only 545 achieved that status, and Rutland Regional was the only “Best Regional” in the state of Vermont. Additionally, Rutland Regional was the only hospital in the state to achieve “high…

By Alan J. Keays RUTLAND — Tabitha Pohl-Moore said people must speak up when confronted with hate and violence. The president of the Rutland Area NAACP did just that Monday evening. And she wasn’t alone. About 200 people joined Pohl-Moore at a rally on Monday, Aug. 14, led by the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement…

POULTNEY— Green Mountain College President Bob Allen announced on Wednesday that the college’s athletic affiliation with the North Atlantic Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) will end after the 2017-18 academic year. Green Mountain is currently pursuing admittance into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with the intention of joining the newly formed Northeastern…

The arts are aplenty in Rutland this weekend. The Rutland Art Walk Friday night will bring visitors along a tour of artwork sprinkled around downtown Rutland, and Chaffee Art Center’s bi-annual Art in the Park goes on Saturday and Sunday. Courtesy of NeighborWorks of Western Vermont

Sharks swimmers Nova Wang, Matt Titterton, Bailey Peters, Griffin Vanniel and Kyle Weirether competed in this past weekend’s swim meet. The Killington Swim Team had a successful and fun swim season with Head Coach Kim Peters, and assistants Bailey Peters, Matt Titterton, Kate Ganley, and Maddie Reed. The team had over 50 swimmers this season.…

By Julia Purdy RUTLAND— The third of five public forums on Moon Brook took place at the Rutland High School Monday, July 24. The purpose of the forum was to present options for achieving acceptable water temperatures in Moon Brook and its ponds, as well as a plan for dealing with the dam/causeway at Combination…

Green Mountain Power is warning customers about a bill payment phone scam that threatens customers with disconnection within 15 minutes if they do not pay immediately. In a new wave of calls today, customers received calls claiming to be from GMP and giving the customer a fake toll-free number to call, which is answered by a recording…

By Lani Duke Residents’ cooperative to buy mobile home park CASTLETON— The Windy Hollow Mobile Home Park on River Street in Castleton is about to become the Windy Hollow Mobile Home Cooperative. With the guidance of the Cooperative Development Institute (CDI), the park’s inhabitants have joined together to purchase the park from owner Joe Howard,…

By Lani Duke Biz bits The Palms Restaurant, 36 Strongs Ave., has formally changed its name to The Palms Restaurant- Downtown Rutland, to further differentiate from its younger sister restaurant, The Palms at Prospect Bay on Lake Bomoseen. The Rutland County Habitat for Humanity gained two new board members: Jenna Watson and John Braun. Watson,…

RUTLAND— The Agency of Natural Resources announced last week that Central Vermont Motorcycles, Inc., a powersports dealer and service center in Rutland, is now required to pay a fine of $23,062 for multiple violations of Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations. A Final Judicial Order was issued on July 25, 2017. Within 30 days of the…

By Stephen Seitz LUDLOW— Already facing sexual assault charges, Chester resident Ryan Stocker, 18, now finds himself possibly facing life in prison. On Aug. 7, Stocker appeared in Windsor Superior Court to face charges of kidnapping, attempted sexual assault, and lewd and lascivious conduct with a child. According to court documents, the two incidents occurred…

By Evan Johnson Clad in cycling shoes, shorts and superhero t-shirts, three friends near the end of their cross-country bike trip to raise money for pancreatic cancer research. The trip, which is being called Portland to Portland, is a project of Josh Johannessen, Scott Phillips, and José Alfaro, three high school friends from Budd Lake,…

KILLINGTON— The Killington Welcome Center has extended its hours to support the heightened levels of visitors. The Welcome Center will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The extended hours will continue until Jan. 1, 2018. “During the last two weeks in July…