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Stories featured in this section are the top stories of the week, often appearing on the front page or in the No. 1 spot in a specific section of the paper. In short, their the articles you shouldn’t miss!

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By Polly Mikula-Woodstock Union Middle/High School.

MVSU board narrowly votes to keep arts, languages in tact

December 18, 2024
By Polly Mikula A motion to save all unified arts (UA) programs and positions in Mountain Views School Distict passed in a tiebreaker vote Monday night, Dec. 16. Ryan Townsend from Bridgewater made the motion, with seven district board representatives voting for and seven voting against. The chair of the board, Keri Bristow of Woodstock,…

Okemo Valley Holiday Express brings festive cheer to Vermont

December 18, 2024
Dec. 21 through 22 from 9 a.m to 6 p.m.—CHESTER—The Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce (OVRCC), in collaboration with Vermont Rail System, is launching the Okemo Valley Holiday Express, a new festive holiday train experience for families and visitors. Running on Dec 21 and 22, the excursion train offers a scenic journey through South-Central…

John Rodgers seeks to be a bridge between parties in his new role as Lt. Gov.

December 18, 2024
By Ekaterina Raikhovski Editor’s note: The following story was supplied by Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, originally produced for an assignment for the Winooski News. Grandchildren running around his 1840s farmhouse isn’t the only thing keeping John Rodgers’ hands full these days. There’s the masonry business the West Glover 59-year-old has…

Education funding: The three cliffs problem

December 18, 2024
Education spending saw its biggest jump in years in fiscal 2025, and school taxpayers are noticing the change in their bills. The increase this year was due to a lot of factors outside both schools’ and taxpayers’ control—inflation, healthcare costs, and the loss of pandemic-era federal support chief among them. All of that led to…

Vermont loosened Act 250 rules for housing, how are developers responding?

December 18, 2024
By Carly Berlin Editor’s note: This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public. When 10 apartments at the new Armory House building just outside of downtown Vergennes opened in June, they all had tenants within two weeks. To Peter Kahn, the building’s developer, watching…

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MVSU board narrowly votes to keep arts, languages in tact

December 18, 2024
By Polly Mikula A motion to save all unified arts (UA) programs and positions in Mountain Views School Distict passed in a tiebreaker vote Monday night, Dec. 16. Ryan Townsend from Bridgewater made the motion, with seven district board representatives voting for and seven voting against. The chair of the board, Keri Bristow of Woodstock,…

Dream Maker Bakers will close Dec. 22

December 11, 2024
By Polly Mikula Megan Wagner, owner of Dream Maker Bakers, announced Saturday Dec. 7, that she will be closing her bakery in Killington.  “With a mix of emotions, I’m announcing that Dream Maker Bakers will be permanently closing on December 22, 2024,” she posted on Facebook. “This is something that I have known I wanted…

Parents complaints about gender curriculum in kindergarten spark concerns from local advocacy groups about censorship

December 11, 2024
By John Flowers/Addison Independent and Mountain Times staff The leadership of the Rutland Area NAACP raised concern over recent developments in neighboring Addison County related to the actions of two Mary Hogan Elementary School parents/guardians who have challenged gender-related instructional materials to educate kindergarten students at the Middlebury school. According to sources, the complaints relate…

Pico Mountain opens for the season on Friday the 13th

December 11, 2024
Pico Mountain will kick off its 2024/25 winter season at 9 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 13, welcoming skiers and riders for another season of snowy adventures.  The mountain will operate Thursday through Monday throughout the season, with daily operations during holiday weeks. “This season is already shaping up to be an exciting one,” said Rich…

Community rallies to save art programs at MVSU amid steep budget cuts, board faces tough decisions

December 11, 2024
By Polly Mikula Over 100 district residents attended the last Mountain Views Supervisory Union (MVSU) board meeting Monday, Dec. 2, to object to the proposed elimination of 17 teaching and staff positions, including both full- and part-time roles, five of which are in unified arts programs — visual and performing arts, music and world languages —…

Woodstock’s Wassail Weekend ushers in the holiday season with tradition and celebration

December 11, 2024
Dec. 13 through 15, from 5 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Sunday—Woodstock— Beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday afternoon, Woodstock will transform into a festive wonderland for its annual Wassail Weekend, with events planned through Sunday evening. This cherished tradition blends music, history, and holiday cheer in a packed weekend designed to capture the charm…

Mountain Views SU discusses $2.5 million budget cuts, tax impacts

December 4, 2024
By Polly Mikula On Monday, Dec. 2, the Mountain Views Supervisory Union met to discuss a proposed $2.5 million budget cut.  “These cuts were necessary to stay under the penalty threshold,” Superintendent Sherry Sousa explained. “The proposed cuts are across all schools and the central office,” she said.  The proposed budget is just below the…

Shiffrin’s crash hushed Killington’s record-breaking crowd

December 4, 2024
By Polly Mikula For the eighth time the women’s Audi FIS Ski World Cup came to Killington Resort over Thanksgiving weekend. The first day of racing, a Giant Slalom on Saturday, was marked by a combination of jubilation and heartbreak as U.S. Ski team members Nina O’Brien and Paula Moltzan posted their best World Cup…

The Bus looks to scale back some Rutland routes, gaps in service hours remain

December 4, 2024
By Greta Solsaa/VTDigger Chris Bannerman works with the organization Bridge to Rutland to help provide housing, legal aid, education, and other resources to asylum seekers in the region. She often sees people who lack transportation, making it difficult to find jobs and build new lives. One asylum seeker who has held a job at Rutland…

The anticipated ‘Dec. 1 letter’ from the Vermont tax dept. projects 5.9% property tax increase

December 4, 2024
By Ethan Weinstein/VTDigger and Polly Mikula Vermonters can expect a 5.9% average increase in education property taxes next year absent major changes, according to the annual forecast from Craig Bolio, Vermont’s tax commissioner. The news arrived Monday, Dec. 2, in the form of the “Dec. 1 letter,” an annual projection required by law that represents the…

KPAA’s Vermont holiday festival celebrates 20 years of holiday magic

December 4, 2024
Thursday, Dec. 5 through Saturday, Dec. 7. —KILLINGTON— The Vermont holiday festival returns to the Killington Grand Hotel from Dec. 5 to 7, bringing holiday cheer, community spirit, and family fun to Killington. Now in its 20th year, the festival offers an expanded schedule of activities, including live music, themed tree decorating, vendor shopping, and…

Design changes delay but don’t deter ski village plans

November 27, 2024
By Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Developers of a proposed 450-acre retail and residential village at the base of the Killington Resort — the biggest ski area in eastern North America — say design changes will postpone the project for at least a year. Announced last winter, the Great Gulf plans include a new lodge, some 32,000 square feet of commercial space,…

Sen. Alison Clarkson ousted as Senate majority leader

November 27, 2024
By Sarah Mearhoff/VTDigger A week and a half after Vermont voters eviscerated their supermajority, Senate Democrats convened Saturday, Nov. 16, to reflect on their election losses and chart a new course ahead of the 2025 legislative session. They voted to retain one top leader — but jettisoned another.  Saturday’s caucus at the Statehouse was the first…

Shiffrin tees up potential for 100th win at Killington

November 27, 2024
By Polly Mikula Mikaela Shiffrin, 29, the two-time Olympic gold medalist, six-time Stifel Killington Cup slalom winner and the winningest Alpine skier in history is set to crack another milestone:  a historic 100th World Cup win, and it could happen this weekend at Killington Resort. The milestone is monumental. Two years ago in January 2023…

Ribbon cutting celebrates new housing development on Baxter Street

November 27, 2024
By James Kent RUTLAND CITY—Not even the rain on a drizzly Tuesday morning could dampen the mood of the small crowd gathered at 76 Baxter Street, a once-condemned property in Rutland City. This day was one of celebration. Collaborative efforts between multiple community, city, and state officials, led by local developer Stephen Box, have transformed…