Purchase of Village School: let the voters decide CASTLETON—Castleton voters will cast ballots May 26 on whether the town should buy the Village School from the Castleton-Hubbardton Union School District, a petition-driven issue. Moving the students to Castleton Elementary and closing the Village School isn’t just a matter of moving the children to other classrooms.…

On April 28 and 29, 61 public librarians from around the state completed a two-day Vermont Early Literacy Initiative (VELI) conference, convened by the Vermont Department of Libraries (VTLIB) and the Vermont Center for the Book (VCB). Librarians learned how to enrich their practice by incorporating important early literacy, early mathematics, and social-emotional development concepts…

Submitted Pictured (l-r): Elizabeth Bushey (Mill River), Ian Dansereau (Mill River), Zachary Hyde (RHS), Max Bushman (Stafford Technical Center), Beccalynn Dugan (Stafford Technical Center), Haley Andrulat (RHS), Olivia Lyons (RHS), Maricate Mangan (RHS), Kyra Traska (MSJ), Kyle Anagnos (MSJ), and Jillian LeBlanc (Proctor). RUTLAND — The 2015 Rutland South Rotary Club Scholarship recipients are a…

Courtesy of Killington Elementary School Preschoolers spend a day as Kindergartners. KILLINGTON — Children in the preschool at Killington Elementary School, known as P@K, have had an opportunity to visit and enjoy the kindergarten room they will attend in the fall. Since the P@K is housed in the elementary school building, K/1 teacher, Melissa Knipes, is…

BARNARD—Sometime overnight between April 20-21, someone removed a sculpture of a fish made from horseshoes from Route 12 next to Silver Lake and across from the Barnard Store. The sculpture belongs to a group from Barnard called "Barnarts.” The sculpture is valued at approximately $2,000. Anyone with information about who removed the sculpture or its…

Submitted Pictured (l-r) Graham Farrington, Lily Gubbins, Anna Gnodde, Joseph Tsouknakis hold their winning posters. The Pomfret School has four winners in the annual Vermont Drinking Water Week poster contest, sponsored by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns. Third and fourth grade students submitted posters addressing this year’s theme: “What do you know about…

By Lani Duke Castleton students take a different kind of final exam CASTLETON—Students in Castleton College's community health and women's health issues classes took their final grade exam outside the classroom, collecting DNA from people who registered to be on the international bone marrow donor list. Instructor Deb Choma believes this final exam is "much…

CHESTER—On April 18 at about 11 p.m. the Chester Fire Department responded to a reported fire at 2703 Green Mountain Turnpike in Chester, owned by Meredith Paul of Portsmouth, R.I. A passerby had called in the fire and, upon arrival, fire personnel found the home to be completely engulfed in flames. They called for assistance…

The in-between time By Rev. Lee Alison Crawford About a month ago, I finally got outside on snowshoes to create walking paths up in the woods behind Church of Our Saviour on Mission Farm Road in Killington. Up until mid-March, the temperature simply prohibited a leisurely walk outside; even with layers and layers on, I…

By Lani Duke Center Street Marketplace plans move forward RUTLAND—Plans continue for developing the Center Street Marketplace as the Rutland Regional Planning Commission (RRPC) gathers lease agreements with the surrounding property owners. One holdup had been that the federal government required longer-term leases than had initially been contracted, said Susan Schreibman, assistant director of the…

RUTLAND — The next chapter in Rutland’s story of revitalization will include an independent downtown bookstore, as Phoenix Books has signed a five-year lease on a portion of the former Lake Sunapee Bank building, owned by MKF Properties. “I could not be more excited about our future in Rutland,” co-owner Michael DeSanto said. “I think we…

Submitted TIM DONOVAN This year marks Castleton’s 228th commencement ceremony CASTLETON—Castleton is pleased to welcome former chancellor of the Vermont State Colleges Tim Donovan to give the address at the college’s 2015 commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 9 at 11 a.m. in the Castleton Pavilion. Donovan recently retired from a career in higher education that…

By Lani Duke RHS expands technology RUTLAND—Rutland High School’s library is undergoing a transformation with the addition of a second level designed for computer labs and classroom and study space. Tools from the folks at Google are a major component of the renewed learning environment, enabling students to work independently, while teachers may oversee and…

ROCHESTER—This year marks 40 years of independent publishing for Vermont-based  Inner Traditions Bear & Company. Founded by Ehud C. Sperling in 1975, Inner Traditions has established itself as a landmark publisher of books on new age spirituality, alternative health and more, with over 1,400 books in print. Inner Traditions moved to Rochester, Vt., in 1986…

By Lani Duke GMC professor receives grant to study Lyme Disease POULTNEY—Green Mountain College biology prof Bill Landesman recently received a grant to study the ecology and microbiology of Lyme Disease in Vermont. He is working under a $25,000 Pilot Renewal Grant from the Vermont Genetics Network. His work this summer will include quantifying infections…