Demand for luxury homes + low inventory + price appreciation = sellers' market By Karen D. Lorentz A stunning trailside five-bedroom, five-bath, three-level contemporary house set on an almost one-acre lot has set a new record for single-family-home sale price in Killington at a $2.65 million. The previous record was $2.4 million, noted Kyle Kershner,…

By Julia Purdy Six of the seven mayoral candidates for Rutland city went before the public Feb. 10 in a virtual forum led by the Rutland Young Professionals and livestreamed on Facebook. Kimberly Rupe, president of the RYP board, explained that signups for Zoom had exceeded the permissible number so the forum was moved to…

Castleton University to combine with NVU and VTC, CCV to remain separate, all campuses to stay open Staff report On Monday, Feb. 22, the Vermont State College System board of trustees voted unanimously to move forward with the proposal outlined by the state’s Select Committee on the Future of Public Higher Education in Vermont. The…

Taking the entrepreneurial passion route to the ski life By Karen D. Lorentz Growing up in a family of seven boys and one girl, Pico’s Director of Operations and Killington’s Director of Summer Operations Rich McCoy will tell you it was natural to play sports and love waterskiing and boating on nearby lakes. That background…

By Victoria Gaither If there was ever a king of snowmaking, Brian Hughes holds the title. Celebrating 28 years at Killington Resort, Hughes started his career with no snowmaking or grooming experience when he landed in Vermont by chance from San Diego, California. “I needed a change of pace, so I took out a map…

Enrollment opens at 8:15 a.m. Monday, March 1 By Polly Mikula Vermonters ages 65 or older can register for the Covid-19 vaccine beginning at 8:15 a.m. on Monday, March 1, officials said at a press conference Tuesday, Feb. 23. State officials recommend that the 42,000 Vermonters in this age category make appointments on the Department of…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger In the lead-up to Town Meeting Day, Rutland City lawns have been covered with candidate signs. Two dozen people are competing for seven positions in city leadership, and while Covid-19 has made it easier to file as a candidate, contested races are nothing new in Rutland, particularly for the board of aldermen. In…

Sculpture designer honored to see his work for the first time during Black History Month By Victoria Gaither The Martin Henry Freeman sculpture took its place on the Downtown Rutland Sculpture Trail and Vermont African American Heritage Trail on Nov. 20, 2020. But Black artist Mark Burnett made his first trip to see the statue…

  By Emma Cotton and Lola Duffort/VTDigger Sen. Joshua Terenzini, R-Rutland, introduced a new bill on Thursday, Feb. 11, that would expand police presence in school districts around the state. Terenzini and Sen. Brian Collamore, R-Rutland, held a press conference in front of the Rutland Police Department  offices  to announce their sponsorship of S.76, which would allocate $1 million…

By Brooke Geery Like many ski bums over the years, 25-year-old Austin Oesterle’s dream of moving up to Killington from Long Island, New York to snowboard hit a speed bump when he tore his ACL. Down but not out, he headed back to Long Island and shifted his creative efforts into learning to blow and…

  Volunteers share a joy of skiing, passion for Killington and service By Karen D. Lorentz For Killington regulars, the green-jacketed Killington Mountain ambassadors are a familiar presence as they interact with and help guests every day at the ski resort. This year, the ambassadors also play another significant role: they reminding people to mask-up.…

By Karen D. Lorentz Killington is a massive mountain — its variety of terrain is its most distinctive and renowned feature. Part of that is the variety of trails, but for freestyle skiers  and riders, it is the dedication to providing terrain parks that makes the mountain their favorite winter playground. That dedication was rewarded…

By Karen D. Lorentz Okemo opened Vermont’s first-of-the-season halfpipe on Sunday, Feb. 7. The superpipe was the first to open in New England (the only other one open by Feb. 7 was in Pennsylvania). One of the factors that has delayed halfpipe builds was the need to make snow on ski trails first so more…

By Victoria Gaither At 3 years old, Harley Ruffle, known locally as “Lil Homie,” is a snowboard sensation. His mother, Jill Ruffle, just laughs. “I’m amazed he is so good. He can barely talk,” she said. Harley started walking and skateboarding at the same time, explained his father, Gary. “He has good balance, and Tucker…

By Katy Savage With the closure of bars, people are drinking at home like never before. Liquor stores across the country and locally have seen record sales since the start of the pandemic last March. The week after a national state of emergency was declared, alcohol sales jumped 54% from the previous year, according to…