By Brooke Geery “Second Sight or the Way Of Holiness” premiered to a packed house on Turs- day, July 29, for a three-day run inside the Caldwell family’s barn in Pittsfield. The play, written by Rutland native Ryan Mangan, melds Vermont history and spirituality to tell the story of the Eddys, a real Vermont family…

Hi! My name’s Roman, and I’m a 10-month-old neutered male. It was a strange experience being so young and out on my own, but thankfully a sweet citizen found me and brought me to Lucy Mackenzie. I am adjusting well to a new life that is full of safety and security — it’s pretty groovy!…

Episode no. 3 of My Side of the Mountain — overlooked stories of everyday life in the Green Mountain State. 10-minutes. https://omny.fm/shows/my-side-of-the-mountain/sheep-farming-and-vertical-integration By Ethan Weinstein It started as a joke: What if we had a sheep farm? Nine years later, Peg and Todd Allen know sheep. They raise lambs — “the finest colored Corriedales in…

By Brett Yates The Mendon Select Board has set the municipal tax rate for 2021–2022 at 0.3973%, which means that Mendon homeowners will pay 16.4 fewer cents in municipal taxes per $100 of assessed property value than they did last year. That’s mostly because their assessed property values skyrocketed during the spring’s townwide reappraisal, which…

On Saturday, July 24, the residents of Reading voted in a special election to determine whether or not the voting mechanism on town meeting day should change. According to Reading resident Shiri Macri, who brought forward the petition to change the voting mechanism, the meeting lasted about an hour and was attended by about 68…

By Brett Yates Rutland City underspent its annual budget in Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) by nearly $1 million. Rutland City’s fiscal calendar ends on June 30, according to City Treasurer Mary Markowski. The city’s biggest savings came from the Dept. of Public Works, which declined to make use of a $500,000 allocation for paving contracts,…

RUTLAND—The Grace Congregational United Church of Christ steeple rises high above Main Street Park in Rutland. But as of last Wednesday, July 21, it's 6 feet shorter. Jay Southgate from Southgate Steeplejacks in Barre and Ben Classen from Classen’s Crane Service removed the 6-foot finial from the spire of the 199-foot tall church. Church members…

By Curt Peterson Windsor Central Unified School District superintendent Sherry Sousa told the Mountain Times last week that protocols for reopening are still up in the air, presumably due to the recent upsurge in Covid cases across the country. “The Agency of Education [AoE] and Dept. of Health will be providing us with guidance regarding…

Fundraising efforts are underway for phase 2, duathalton race and silent auction held Saturday By Brooke Geery Saturday, July 31 at 9 a.m—BETHEL —Nestled in the White River Valley watershed, Bethel, Vermont, is predominantly made up of farms, marshes and craggy hills, as well as a historic village with old brick buildings left over from…

2‐year‐old. Neutered male. Tan and white. Hound mix. I am hoping to find a home where we can have snuggle time and listen to some tunes. Rutland County Humane Society, 765 Stevens Road, Pittsford, VT • (802) 483-6700 • Tues. – Sat. 12-5p.m. Closed Sun. & Mon. • www.rchsvt.org If you love the great outdoors…

Crowds gather in Rutland and Castleton to celebrate reopening By Polly Mikula At 7:30 a.m. on Monday, July 19, the James M. Jeffords Station in downtown Rutland was packed with passengers eager to board the Ethan Allen Express for the first time in 16 months. Many local officials and residents were there for the celebration. After…

Vermont Everyone Eats (VEE), the innovative Covid-19 response program that provides meal assistance to Vermonters in need while supporting local restaurants, farmers and food producers, has received an extension to continue programming. Program managers had previously anticipated that the program would end on June 30, but the state has extended the program contract recognizing that…

By Ethan Weinstein RUTLAND—Congressman Peter Welch visited the Vermont Farmers Food Center (VFFC) Friday, July 16, after earmarking $1.6 million for the nonprofit. The House Appropriations subcommittee approved Rep. Welch’s funding request and it will likely pass by vote in the House next week. Then, it will be off to the Senate for further consideration.…

By Brooke Geery Rutland Rec Superintendent Kim Peters has been working overtime throughout the pandemic. She and her team revamped the College of St. Joseph campus to create a diverse and well-stocked community center. They’ve added a new pool and made other improvements to existing parks in Rutland City. And behind the scenes, the department…

By Erin Petenko and Emma Cotton/VTDigger Washington, Oregon, California and British Columbia are in the midst of a brutal heatwave that has broken records with 115° temperatures and widespread highs above 100 °. It seems unthinkable to imagine Vermont, land of snow and frigid winters, experiencing such a once-in-a-lifetime event. But data and interviews with…