By Lani Duke Infrastructure failure continues to perplex Underground drinking water lines must be replaced this year, says Rutland City public works commissioner Jeff Wennberg. There are more than 100 miles of them, the oldest laid down before Abraham Lincoln was elected but still supplying water to some residences. Rutland’s oldest water pipes were laid…

RUTLAND—Drum Journeys of Earth (DJE) held a Halloween parade planning meeting on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Rhythm Hall on the second floor of the Howe Center in Rutland. Drum Journeys of Earth and its students are widely known for leading the Rutland Halloween parade as the Drumming Skeletons. Those hoping to join in on the…

Vermont Business Magazine has selected Nicole Densmore, youth sports director at the Rutland Recreation and Parks Department, as one of Vermont’s “Rising Stars.” A panel of judges choose Rising Stars based on their contribution to their place of employment as well as to the community in which they live. The accolade is made to only…

By Wendy Reese U.S. Forest Service presentation Jay Strand and Christopher Mattrick of the U.S. Forest Service, Rochester Ranger District, shared information on the proposed Robinson Integrated Resource Project (IRP). In the upcoming months, public meetings will be held to take comments, questions, and requests for the management plan that will begin in 2018. Electric…

BETHEL — Saturday, Oct. 3 at 12:13 p.m. Vermont state police responded to a collision involving two vehicles at the intersection of Route 107 and Route 12S in Bethel.  A 1996 Ford Ranger driven by Miles Fleming, age 24 of Springfield, was traveling east on Route 107. A second vehicle, a 1993 Honda Accord driven by…

By Stephen Seitz WOODSTOCK — The deadline is fast approaching for Woodstock area schools to get grants from the Woodstock Union High School Endowment Association. The organization, which serves schools not only in Woodstock but also Killington, Barnard, Bridgewater, Pomfret, and Reading, is accepting grant applications through Oct. 15. “We give grants out twice a…

By Lani Duke New face on campus POULTNEY—AmeriCorps Volunteer Liz Bourguet has joined the staff at Green Mountain College as the new native plant land manager on campus. She is working with students and faculty to promote native plant species while controlling invasive plants both on campus and at the 85-acre Lewis Deane Nature Preserve…

  International Safe Walk to School The annual Safe Walk to School event took place on Wednesday morning, Oct. 7. KES students and parents departed at 7:35 a.m. from Casey’s Caboose parking lot to walk the path through the woods up to school. Field trip to OMYA and the Vermont Marble Museum On a recent…

Oct. 10 and 11 — WEST PAWLET — The eighth year of the Share the Warmth clothing drive will be held at the Mettawee Community School, 5788 VT Route 153, in West Pawlet on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10 and 11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m both days. First come, first served. Please bring your own shopping bags. Imagine walking into…

Courtesy of Vermont Technical College Students get to learn, “Why Isn’t This Thing Working?” in a trade skills workshop. RANDOLPH–The recent Vermont state water quality initiatives, as well as flooding in recent years, has highlighted the negative impact on watersheds caused by farms of all sizes. In a spring 2015 survey of commercial growers on…

Courtesy of CSJ CSJ student Elizabeth Turco assembles packages of kid-friendly, nonperishable food for the BackPack Program at the Vermont Foodbank. RUTLAND—National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week might still be two months away, but students in College of St. Joseph’s Provider Program aren’t waiting to do their part to stop hunger. Each Wednesday, as part…

Volunteers at the annual Shrewsbury Ham Supper sit down to feast after all the guests were served. This year marks the 63rd annual event at the Shrewsbury Town Meeting Hall. By Karen D. Lorentz Vermont has a long history of people in small towns coming together at community suppers and ice cream socials. The social…

RUTLAND—On Thursday, Sept. 24, Vermont State Employee Credit Union (VSECU) announced its 2015 Student LIFT (Loan Independence for Today) award recipients—its annual awards program designed to help Vermonters pay down their student loan debt by awarding three recipients with $5,000 each in monthly loan payments, on behalf of each recipient. This year’s award recipients are…

RUTLAND — Phoenix Books officially opened its doors Monday, Sept. 28, to a crowd of supporters and customers anxious to support the store, independent bookselling and the ongoing revitalization of downtown Rutland. “It’s a spectacular addition to downtown and a symbol of the ongoing rebirth of the city at large,” Mayor Chris Louras said. “The space, the…

By George Cook, Extension Farm Safety Specialist, UVM Most people know of the Great Chicago Fire of Oct. 8-10, 1871. From that conflagration came the establishment of National Fire Prevention Week with the first official proclamation in 1925 by President Calvin Coolidge. This year it will run from Oct. 4-10. The 1871 fire killed up…