Voters pass on pond purchase TINMOUTH—Given a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to acquire the two-acre Nelson Parker estate property on Tinmouth Pond, voters declined. More than a third of Tinmouth’s 393 registered voters turned out for the special election, defeating the proposal 95 to 47. Select Board Chair Matthew Patry said he believed the rejection arose over…

Parents and children come to blows over Internet use on holiday A study of 2,000 parents across the country has found that a majority are concerned by their children’s Internet use during holiday times (school breaks and summer vacation). The survey also reveals the solutions parents are opting to cope with the stress of their children using…

Castleton Under Chief Mantello, police dept. reaches out Local businesses and private citizens recently donated three new Taser stun guns to the Castleton Police department. Police Chief Peter Mantello said that local donations were in response to hand-delivered letters asking for funds for the new equipment. The department’s previous stun guns were at least 10…

Rutland Integrative Health opened its doors Dec. 1, and will be celebrating with an open house on Friday, Jan. 15 from 4-6 p.m. Rutland Integrative Health is a collaboration that combines naturopathic medicine with acupuncture and Chinese medicine under one roof. Dr. Greg Burkland, ND, and Dalite Sancic, LAC, MS, have each been treating patients…

The Evergreen Slate Co., Inc., one of the largest producers and suppliers of domestic natural slate roofing in the United States, will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2016. The company was founded in Granville, N.Y., in 1916 by the Hicks family, who emigrated to the United States from Great Britain. The company owns slate quarries…

Rutland County State approves RSSU merger plan; now it goes to the voters The State Board of Education has officially approved the merger plan created by the Act 46 study committee of Rutland South Supervisory Union (RSSU). Voters in RSSU member towns will vote on the proposed merger March 1, 2016, as they are asked…

Students of the National Art Honor Society got into the spirit of giving and created a mural for William’s Hardware on Main Street in Poultney. “Mr. Williams and the staff of Williams Hardware are always showing support for Poultney High School and we wanted to show our appreciation for all they do,” said teacher Melissa…

By Lani Duke Pool approved for March ballot Rutland’s Aldermen voted unanimously to place a $2.5 million bond to replace the pool in White Park on the March Town Meeting ballot. Voters for a number of years—and ballots—have repeatedly turned down a multi-function recreation center with pool, but that was when the community continued to…

RUTLAND–The Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum has received a grant from the Bowse Health Trust, the organization announced Friday, Dec. 11. The grant provides three years of funding starting in 2016. Wonderfeet will hire a part-time education coordinator to assist with implementing the community impact commitment. Wonderfeet Museum Director Myra Peffer said, “We are very pleased to…

College of St. Joseph has been awarded a grant by the Bowse Health Trust, a department of Rutland Regional Medical Center. The grant awards $88,400 over three years. Marble Valley Grows, the farm-to-school network run by Kimberly Griffin, College of St. Joseph’s farm manager and wellness coordinator, will use the grant to continue working within…

New model of group care educates and empowers women RUTLAND — Rutland Women’s Healthcare at Rutland Regional Medical Center announced Dec. 9 that its site was approved for CenteringPregnancy®, a holistic childbirth program committed to the empowerment of pregnant women. “This is an exciting time for our practice as we offer CenteringPregnancy, a nationally recognized…

WOODSTOCK — The Woodstock Farmers’ Market announced Dec. 14 that its annual effort to support the Woodstock Community Food Shelf continues this holiday season and that the name of the campaign will be changed to “Harvest For Hunger” to better reflect the mission of providing fresh produce to the organization. The market’s goal is to…

By Tiffany Danitz Pache, VTDigger.org On Dec. 2, the Shumlin Administration recommended a 1-cent increase in the statewide property tax rates—the lowest increase in three years—for residential and commercial property for fiscal year 2017. Each year, the Agency of Education, Department of Taxes, and Joint Fiscal Office work together to predict what will be needed…

On Dec. 1, the Emergency Board approved Gov. Peter Shumlin’s recommendation to increase the cap on the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive for projects in economically distressed regions of Vermont. The approval allows for consideration of proposals that could create 200 new full-time jobs and $6.5 million in new payroll. Regions of the state that have…

Courtesy of KES Abigail Masillo, Hannah Black, and Heidi Alf tested the angles of solar panels at the angles of zero, 22, 40, 60, and 90 degrees. By Hannah Black, Grade 6 The Killington Elementary sixth-graders have been working on experiments with photovoltaic cells, also known as solar power. We split up into groups to…