By Emma Cotton/VTDigger Rutland Mayor Dave Allaire ordered the Quality Inn to shut down after city and state inspectors found numerous health and safety violations at the motel. Around 40 people experiencing homelessness, currently housed there, will need to relocate immediately. Other motels in Rutland have the capacity to accept those displaced by the situation, a…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger The Rutland Raider mascot is still up for debate. In the next several weeks, a new committee will decide whether the Rutland School Board adhered to its own rules when it voted last October to abandon the high school mascot and its arrowhead imagery. Committee members met for the first time on Tuesday,…

Last fall at Castleton University, Professor David Blow tried something different in his Media Writing class, asking his students to write a biweekly blog. The result is a published book, “Covid Chronicles.” “Life is tough for everyone during this pandemic, but college students are losing so much of that sacred experience,” Blow wrote in his…

2-year-old. Neutered male. Hound mix. Tri-color. I just want to be everyone’s best friend.  Rutland County Humane Society, 765 Stevens Road, Pittsford, VT • (802) 483-6700 • Tues. – Sat. 12-5p.m. Closed Sun. & Mon. • www.rchsvt.org   I’m a 1-year-old Labrador mix. I came from another shelter. I have a sensitive side and take time…

Learning a new skill at 40 can be terrifyingly fun By Brooke Geery Killington Resort officially opened for weekend-only Downhill Mountain Biking (DMB) on Saturday, May 29, kicking off the 30th season of the Killington Bike Park. Ironically, Mother Nature also decided to blanket the mountaintops with snow that day. On Sunday temps were in…

6-year-old. Spayed female. Border collie mix. Black and white. Sophisticated active sensitive lady looking for her forever home! Rutland County Humane Society, 765 Stevens Road, Pittsford, VT • (802) 483-6700 • Tues. – Sat. 12-5p.m. Closed Sun. & Mon. • www.rchsvt.org I’m a 2-year-old neutered male. I came to Lucy Mackenzie after a kind person found…

By Brooke Geery RUTLAND— The former Knight of Columbus (KOC) building is showing the classic signs of remodeling, as it is one of the several properties purchased by Belarus-native and Guilford, Vermont, resident Pavek “Paul” Belegour, 50.  The tech mogul and cryptocurrency investor has been in the news a lot lately, after purchasing at least…

Volunteers plant flowering trees, including cherry, pear, horse chestnut A small army of Rutland Blooms volunteers beautified Rutland’s northern gateway Thursday, May 20, planting flowering trees along a roughly half-mile section of North Main Street. “It felt great after a one-year hiatus due to Covid-19 to get out there with other volunteers and plant trees…

Community-built wood playground no longer meets safety, development requirements By Polly Mikula Killington Elementary School’s (KES) wooden playground, Kids' Kingdom, has come to the end of its useful life and it will be removed in the coming weeks. The one-of-a-kind structure was build by the community 30 years ago. “The Dept. of Children and Families…

‘All are welcome here,’ says new Rutland campaign Building off a desire to make the greater Rutland community hospitable to everyone, including the LGBTQ+ community, a new coalition and campaign is heralding the message that “All are welcome here.” Initiated by Rutland native Avery Provin, the effort includes members of the local LGBTQ+ community members,…

Vaccinating 80% of the state’s eligible population may be achieved this week, the governor says By Polly Mikula Governor Phil Scott announced at the Friday, May 21, press conference that when 80% of Vermont’s eligible population — those age 12 and older — have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, the state will enter Step…

By Brett Yates Through a proposal aimed to boost LGBTQ Pride Month locally, Alderman Thomas Franco is hoping to help make Rutland City’s recent symbolic commitment to diversity and tolerance a little more tangible. On May 3, Rutland City officially adopted a declaration of inclusion, which “condemns racism and discrimination of any type and welcomes…

By Polly Mikula The forest fire that broke out Saturday, May 15, in Killington has been contained but is still smoldering. After initially being contained, it flared up again Wednesday and Thursday last week, requiring fire departments from 10 towns to provide mutual aid. Killington Fire Warden Tom Rock said they are still monitoring it…

Gov. Phil Scott announced that vaccinating 80% of the state’s eligible population is new threshold, will be sooner than July 4   Governor Phil Scott announced at the Friday, May 21, press conference that when 80% of Vermont’s eligible population — those age 12 and older — have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, the…

UPDATE: Thursday, May 20: Killington ends skiing for the 2020-21 season. "After assessing the conditions and forecast, it's clear that the 2020-2021 winter season at Killington has come to an end after 170 operating days — the longest season in the East," the resort stated Thursday afternoon. "We will not reopen for skiing and riding…