By Lani Duke Lacking contested races, West Rutland voters had relatively few contentious issues facing them on March 3. They passed their $1,208,082 town budget and their $5,713,687 school budget, and funding for the $50,000 school resource officer position for the upcoming school year passed by a margin of four votes. In Wallingford, there were…

By Lani Duke Rutland City voters returned Christopher Louras to the mayor’s office for a fifth term. He received 1,863 votes to David Allaire’s 1,341 votes. The third candidate, Kam Johnston, received 99 votes. Louras campaigned that he had put the city in a position to make major improvements and that changing leadership would stop…

By Lani Duke A survey of 993 respondents showed strong report for a municipal pool, even among people who have not used White’s Pool. The closing of the disintegrating pool leaves summer recreation with a gaping hole—a hole that 90 percent of the respondents want a pool to fill, Parks and Rec superintendent Cindi Wight…

 STOCKBRIDGE—On March 3 at about 11 a.m., Barbara Kessel, age 66 of Shelburne, Vt., hit a patch of ice on Route 107 in Stockbridge, losing control of her vehicle and crossing into the oncoming lane. Donna Thompson, age 58 of Pittsfield, Vt., driving in the oncoming lane, was unable to avoid hitting her and the…

Tuesday, March 17 at 6:30 p.m. — RUTLAND — Working with the Creative Economy, the Rutland Recreation & Parks Department is hosting a meeting about a possible dog park in Rutland. The meeting will take place at the Rutland Recreation offices at 16 North Street Extension on Tuesday, March 17 at 6:30 p.m. The Rec Department is looking…

By Lani Duke Here is a roundup of changes by town: BENSON—Benson’s public floor meeting presented the best possible illustration of the value of the Vermont election process. Speakers explored the issue of public versus individual responsibility as they debated whether the town should give $1,500 to the Benson Youth League or leave funding to…

Provided by Rutland Regional Medical Center Pictured (l-r) Kathleen M. Craig, Director, Rutland Women’s Healthcare, Andrea Borchlewicz, RN (center) and Valerie Pajak, cousin of Andrea Borchlewicz. RUTLAND–Rutland Regional Medical Center’s Andrea Borchlewicz, a registered nurse (RN) with Rutland Women’s Healthcare, was honored for excellent care by the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, a peer-elected awards…

Apply by March 20 The Journalism Education Foundation of New England, a division of the New England Newspaper & Press Association (NENPA), will award up to ten $1,000 scholarships this spring to high school seniors and college students residing in the six New England states who aspire to a career in journalism. This program encourages…

KILLINGTON—Killington Mountain School, in partnership with Killington Resort, recently announced a new series offered this summer: the Killington Mountain Adventure Camps Series (KMACS), which will run through July 2015, for kids 8 to14 years old. Spartan Race coach Mark Jones and his staff of expert coaches have come on board to offer three one-week sessions…

By Amy Ash Nixon, VTDigger.org Voters rejected just 20 school budgets on Town Meeting Day, about half the number that went down a year ago. All told, 37 school budgets were defeated in 2014. Jeff Francis, executive director of the Vermont Superintendents Association, said March 4, that 226 budgets passed this week and the rest…

Building A remains standing (left) but  towers B-D  (right) were gutted by the fire that broke out early Saturday. By Polly Lynn Largest fire in a decade, chief says KILLINGTON— Just after midnight Saturday morning, March 7, firefighters from across the region were called to the scene of a major fire at 48 Innsbruck Lane,…

March 14 is Pi Day! Students learn the parts of a circle, calculate the diameter, circumference, and area of circular and spherical objects, and read books such as “Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi,” available in the KES Library.

Incumbent Mill River Union High school board chair Brownson Spencer lost his seat to last-minute write-in candidate Len Doucette in an election coup. Doucette received 269 votes to Spencer’s 134. Although Spencer had served on the board since 2008, he especially lost favor with the public over an unfortunate remark in February about special education…

The community says goodbye to Peter Mello, Rutland City school board president, who leaves not only the school board but also the state. Working in several pro education positions in Rutland County since 1980, Mello is moving back to his home state of Massachusetts to enjoy his grandchildren.

Rutland Regional Medical Center received a $10,000 check from the March of Dimes on March 4. The money funds a Centering Pregnancy program, new to RRMC, that integrates health assessment, education, and support to help local women have healthier pregnancies and babies.