The Cobra gymnastics team in Rutland were among 176 gymnasts from seven Vermont gymnastics schools that participated in the annual Green Mountain Invitational in Williston Feb. 7-8. Shining stars from Cobra include Hazel Mabey, London Febbie, Bay Sparks, Sadie White, Amelia Gibbs and Maleah Jones as they compiled some of their personal best all-around scores…

By Liz DiMarco Weinmann There is an enormous but untapped business opportunity to grow Vermont’s economic vitality and diversity, to create networks of mentorship, to secure funding for small business, and to increase contributions to Vermont’s economy on an ongoing basis. What is this growth engine, and why is it untapped? According to Meg Smith,…

By Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Vermont skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle has scored Olympic silver in the Super-G at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. Cochran-Siegle, 29, of Starksboro won his medal almost 50 years to the day his mother, Barbara Ann Cochran, snagged gold at the 1972 competition in Sapporo, Japan. Cochran-Siegle skied “a near perfect run,” according…

By Katy Savage Hannah Soar didn’t get a medal in her first Olympics on Feb. 6, but that didn’t matter to those who watched her grow up skiing. About 200 people got up before the sun on Sunday to cheer Soar on at Killington’s Snowshed Lodge for a 6 a.m. watch party. The room had…

By Katy Savage Before the Bengals and Rams take the field for Superbowl LVI on Feb. 13, puppies will compete in the 18th annual Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet and this year, two local dogs have made the cut. Dumpling and Pudding, two Labrador mixes from the Rutland County Humane Society, are in this year’s…

RUTLAND — Vermont Farmers Food Center (VFFC) has appointed Heidi Lynch as interim executive director, as it enters its second decade as an agricultural food and education hub for Rutland County. Lynch moves into the leadership role after 10 years with the organization, where she began as a volunteer in 2012, and most recently served…

By Katy Savage Hannah Soar heard it growing up. As she bumped down the moguls of the Outer Limits trail at Killington Resort as a child, other skiers told her, “You’re going to be an Olympian,” Soar remembers. Soar, a fearless child, just liked to be on snow and though she was talented, she wasn’t…

LeRoy “Roy” Erwin Prior, 82, died on Jan. 26 at home in Mendon, Vermont. He was born to Lucy R. Hunt Prior and Erwin Wilson Prior in their home in West Bridgewater, Vermont. Roy graduated from Woodstock High School. He received a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from Castleton College in 1988 and…

On July 1, 2022, Michael Ruppel, 33, will become OVUHS’s new principal, replacing Principal James Avery, who after 30 years with the RNESU district — 27 of which he served as associate principal and principal — announced his retirement in November. An aggressive search process got underway immediately, and among several applicants, Ruppel was picked…

By Ariadne Will A presentation to the Pittsford Select Board by the Otter Creek Consolidated Communications District (OCCUD) asked the panel to consider allocating ARPA funds to broadband infrastructure in the community. Tony Ferraro, a representative from the communications district, explained OCCUD’s plan to deliver broadband service to all Pittsford homes over the next several…

By Brooke Geery Not every child in Vermont has the chance to go skiing or snowboarding, but Pico Mountain’s school program aims to change that. Since 2016, the resort has worked with area schools to bring groups of students from kindergarten through 8th grade to the mountain to experience the sports, part of the resort’s…

By Curt Peterson Their first meeting in 10 months brought members of the Windsor Central Unified Union School District’s (WCUUSD) new build working group up to speed regarding developments and status since last spring. The group’s goal is a new $75 million middle and high school to be built at the current campus in Woodstock.…

By Curt Peterson More than 30 people attended Hartland’s second public meeting on Thursday night, Jan. 27 to discuss how the town might best invest $1,050,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Everyone attended virtually but Rendy Strawbridge of Barron Hill Road, who sat with Town Manager David Ormiston in Damon Hall. Of the…

By Polly Mikula The Vermont Economic Progress Council (VEPC) met with the town of Killington and its residents via Zoom Thursday, Jan. 27, for a public hearing on the town of Killington’s tax increment financing (TIF) application. The town hopes to utilize future incremental municipal and education property tax revenue to finance planned infrastructure that…

Dear Editor, Editor’s note: The following letter is an adaptation of the testimony Art Malatzky gave to the Vermont Economic Progress Council (VEPC) on Jan. 27. VEPC is considering the town of Killington’s application to utilize future incremental municipal and education property tax revenue to finance debt, if approved by the voters and incurred for…