By Brooke Geery 2020 will go down in infamy as a year remembered more for the bad than the good, like 1929 or 2008. For that reason, we’ve opted to save our Year In Review until we were sure it was actually over. Now, in this first week of January, let’s look back on the…

By Curt Peterson On Monday, Jan. 4, Wade Mullins, 37, was arrested by the Vermont State Police (VSP) on suspicion of embezzlement. The police report cited evidence that Mullins misappropriated approximately $10,000 between 2014 and 2020 while serving as Reading Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization’s treasurer. Reading is one of seven towns that joined to…

By Katy Savage Construction of the new 58,000 square-foot Killington base lodge won’t resume until next winter, for an anticipated opening in 2022. The new three-story building was originally targeted to open in November 2020, in time for the Audi FIS Ski Women’s World Cup, but construction abruptly halted in March 2020 due to the…

He becomes second to challenge Allaire for top city job Matthew Godnick Seager, Rutland City resident, educator, small business owner and entrepreneur announced his candidacy for mayor of the City of Rutland on Dec. 30. He is the grandson of former Rutland City Mayor Gilbert “Gilly” Godnick who served as city mayor from 1973 to…

By Katy Savage Killington Resort has been named one of the country’s best and took the top ranking for Eastern resorts. The resort ranked No. 11 nationally on The American Ski Index by Koala, which scored 450 ski resorts across the U.S., taking into account annual snowfall, cost of lift tickets and reviews. Killington Resort…

Officials urge vigilance, adherence to Covid travel and gathering guidelines By Polly Mikula For the second straight week, Vermont and the Northeast region have seen Covid cases decline. Governor Phil Scott called the trend a “promising sign,” before cautioning listeners at his regular Covid-19 press conference, Tuesday, Dec. 29, that it was “too early to…

Ski resorts attract crowds, but protocols appear to be working By Emma Cotton/VTDigger On the snowy ascent to Killington Resort, blue road signs instruct out-of-state skiers to turn away if they haven’t quarantined according to Vermont’s Covid-19 guidelines. The signs are a final plea by the resort, and the state, for those who haven’t followed the…

By Brooke Geery Sometime during the middle of December, a large metal monolith appeared on top of a mountain in Pittsfield. Like the other monoliths that have showed up in Utah, Romania and California recently, its appearance was a mystery. Then, late in the day on Wednesday, Dec. 23, it disappeared. Not, however, before some…

By Brooke Geery If ever there was a year we were ready to have in the rearview it’s 2020. Thank goodness 2021 is almost here. While like most other things this year, celebrations will look different than ever before, that doesn’t mean you can’t eat, drink and be merry from a safe social distance. Sure,…

Bruce Bouchard reflects on 50 years in theatre By Polly Mikula In his last 12 years in the industry, Bruce Bouchard simultaneously elevated Rutland’s Paramount Theatre, while demystifying its elitism. Through his efforts, the number of events on the Paramount stage tripled and, though it was six figures in debt when he took the reins…

By Katy Savage While lodges and restaurants in Killington would normally be operating at full capacity this time of year, some establishments are down as much as 80%, due in part to the pandemic and the late start to the winter season. Kayla Bouffard, the innkeeper at the Vermont Inn in Mendon, said she was…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger Nick Grandchamp took one look at the snowy pile covering his car Thursday morning, Dec. 17, and walked to work instead. There, at the Rutland Area Food Co-op, it was an unusually quiet day. The store, which usually closes at 7 p.m., closed at 4 p.m., he said. Most people in the area…

By Brooke Geery For local fried chicken fans, there is a bright side to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Rollin’ Rooster food trucks have pumped out so much food for hungry Vermonters since the pandemic began in March, that owners Nicole and Scott Bower have expanded to multiple trucks, and now, a brick and mortar location…

State says immunity is still months away By Polly Mikula Governor Phil Scott announced the arrival in Vermont of the first 1,950 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at the regular press conference Tuesday, Dec. 15. It was the first portion of the 5,850 doses expected to arrive in Vermont this week. The first doses…

By Katy Savage After 34 years, Chef Claude Blais is moving on. Blais sold his Choices Restaurant on Killington Road to two of his employees on Dec. 14. Dan Tolley, the bartender and Tim Galvin, the sous chef, are reopening the restaurant under their name on Dec. 17. Blais, who had long been looking to…