By Merisa J. Sherman “The next challenge,” I yelled out, “is to see who can stand on one foot the longest!” The kids all scrambled into position, making sure they had just enough room to flail their arms as they were going down. It was a tight space, but not a single one of them was…

By Sandra Dee Owens I  bought another half gallon of eggnog—my fourth of the season. Dammit.  What began years earlier as a benign, seasonal treat, has blossomed into a full-blown, eggnog addiction.  How did I get here? Each year, when eggnog arrived on grocery store shelves, I gleefully bought a carton, raced home to drink…

By Mary Ellen Shaw Although “Dancing with the Rutland Stars” is over for this season, I think that when we watched it the “dancer” in all of us came to life! I was talking to friends about how we were introduced to dancing. The experiences varied. Some of us learned how to dance in elementary…

By Merisa Sherman When they were married, a woman told her husband that they could share anything and everything in their lives just so long as he promised never to look in one  particular drawer. Of course,  the man began to imagine all kinds of things being stored in this drawer: from notes from a…

By Dom Cioffi It’s common for my teenage son to call me and announce that he’s having a few friends over to the house. I usually ask thve number and then remind him that I expect his visitors to respect our home and rules. Minutes later, my space is generally overwhelmed with boys.  When my…

Mammals and birds are endotherms, which means they generate their own body heat through relatively high metabolic rates. That high metabolism requires energy, which these animals garner from food. We typically think of endotherms as warm-blooded; however, some of them are not warm all of the time. Most active birds and mammals maintain relatively high…

By Victoria Gaither How do you define a community? Webster’s Dictionary defines a community as a group with shared values, interests, and goals.  While that is true, the story of Arlo, the missing 1-year-old dog, and how the Killington community came together to bring him home to his owner, Joseph “Joe” Ceccacci, who was recovering…

By Susie Spikol A flash of orange streaks across the meadow— a red fox, like a starburst in the snow. Its fur shimmers in the early morning light, and I, bundled in my winter layers and still shivering cold, envy the fox’s luxurious coat.    At its simplest, hair—or fur – keeps mammals warm by…

By Merisa Sherman We all moved across the bridge together, probably over a thousand cars all creeping precariously across the Hudson or whereever. Sure, there were some moving in faster bursts in an attempt to get around and others just maintaining a constant speed, but we were indeed all moving together. An aerial photo would…

By Dom Cioffi Have you ever had one of those days at work when everything goes wrong? And then, when you finally head home to recover, you get an email about work that kicks things up another notch? I had one of those days recently. But then it got even worse. It was around 7…

By DJ Dave Hoffenberg Royals are bringing their pop masterpiece to the Pickle Barrel this Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 9 p.m. I saw them last winter for their first time in Killington and my first time seeing them. I’m really looking forward to seeing the show again. I highly recommend you go…

By DJ Dave Hoffenberg Brian “Bglow” Glowacki is bringing his stand-up comedy show to the Paramount Theatre in Rutland, Vermont on Saturday January 21st at 7:30 p.m.  It’s going to be a live comedy taping. I first met Brian in the summer of 1998 in Nantucket, my only season there. We’ve stayed friends but I’ve…

By Liz DiMarco Weinmann Tawdry treachery! Dastardly deeds! Sinful sex! Unrequited love between distraught divas and vain villains! More melodramatic mayhem than in whole seasons of Law & Order and Lifetime Movies! Yes, please! More to the point, “Bravo!” Growing up in an Italian household, I have been listening to opera since I was 5,…

By Rep. Jim Harrison The first week of a new legislative biennium is full of tradition, pomp and circumstance, along with a heavy dose of getting organized. And, unlike the U.S. Congress this past week, the Vermont House and Senate completed their organization within hours of their respective official roll calls. Once the House members…

By Sen. Alison Clarkson It is always exciting to begin a new biennium in the Vermont Statehouse. And, the 2023 launch of the first year of that two year legislative period was no exception.  Over one third of our legislators are newly elected. Of the 10 new senators, only three have served previously in the…