The Outside Story By Susie Spikol I have always admired nature’s mutineers: animals and plants that thwart the recognized system and do their own thing. As a child I was the sole member of my own duck-billed platypus club, endeared to this creature with the bird-like bill, beaver-style tail, and shocking ability to lay eggs.…

By Mary Ellen Shaw Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! It is a day devoted to love, and as one would expect, the majority of greeting cards are romantic. Some are funny and others simply wish you a “Happy Valentine’s Day.” You can come up with your own meaning for those words! Since Year…

Bringing the game home By Dom Cioffi Somewhere around the ninth grade, something clicked in my head with basketball, where it went from an activity to a passion. I had always played on my school teams and enjoyed watching the sport on TV, but it had never held any hallowed ground in my mind until…

By DJ Dave Hoffenberg King Margo: Coats and Costa find their niche in Killington There’s a new act in Killington: King Margo. After seeing them last Thursday at the Wobbly, I plan on seeing them every chance I get. Their harmonies are incredible and as local skier Paul Padfield said, “They sing like birds.” Their…

by Merisa Sherman We fell in love skiing together, our turns interlacing as we got caught up in the rhythmic pattern.  Dancing together down the mountain, we wove in and out of each other’s turns like skiers through the trees. Our souls intertwined, our ski souls forever merged as our hearts beat a sacred rhythm, joined…

by Meghan McCarthy McPaul Whenever I spy a pileated woodpecker traversing the sky, I pause to watch its weird undulating flight. The jerky rise-and-drop movement of this large woodpecker is endearingly gawky – like a mini pterodactyl visiting from the Cretaceous period. This time of year, the bird’s bold crimson crest flashes in stark contrast…

The reason withdrawals from a traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA) prior to age 59½ are generally subject to a 10% tax penalty is that policymakers wanted to create a disincentive to use these savings for anything other than retirement. Yet, policymakers also recognize that life can present more pressing circumstances that require access to these…

Better late than never? by Dom Cioffi I am confident that at some point in my young life, something happened to me that made me pointedly adverse to being late. I can’t tell you the exact moment or scenario, but I know it happened. I know this because I live my life in such a…

By Cal Garrison a.k.a. Mother of the Skye This week’s horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Gemini Moon. I’ve spent the last few days wondering how to spin this introduction. Should I talk about the Coronavirus? Could we take a look at Brexit? Or could we discuss what’s going on with the…

by Merisa Sherman They met at the bottom of the lift. There were two of them, leaning on their brand new snowboards with such glee that anyone sliding by couldn’t help but feel the joy radiating from them. Friends for quite some time, it was a new treat that they were able to ride together. After…

By Sen. Alison Clarkson It is unusual for legislators to serve on conference committees in January.  Conference committees are formed to iron out the differences between the House and the Senate after both bodies have passed a bill.  Most occur in April and May as we are moving towards the end of a session.  But,…

By Rep. Jim Harrison First a recap of last week: Gov. Phil Scott gave his budget address on Tuesday, Jan. 21, outlining his administration’s spending priorities for the coming year. No new taxes or fees were proposed to fund the state budget, although an expansion of gambling revenues (sports betting and keno) were included to…

By DJ Dave Hoffenberg The Ghost of Paul Revere from Portland, Maine, makes its long awaited return to the Pickle Barrel this Thursday at 8 p.m., with Saints and Liars opening. I’ve been looking forward to this show since it hit the calendar. I saw TGOPR for the first time a year ago and instantly…

Gone too soon By Dom Cioffi Depending on the weekend, I try to reserve Sundays to get all my errands completed. I’ll knock out a number of these tasks in the morning and then once my son wakes up (which is any time between 11 a.m. and noon… eye roll), we’ll head to breakfast before…

The Rutland Recreation Department offered skating in the city as early as the 1940s. My time on skates began in the 1950s. It was a popular activity and one that didn’t come with a high price tag. For awhile Rotary Rink on North Street was the only place for public skating. I don’t know the…