By Curt Peterson Inspired by the still-mysterious explosions set off over several nights this summer, the Killington Select Board decided at their July 20 meeting to reinforce Vermont state fireworks law with a local fireworks permit system. Selectman Jim Haff raised the issue, citing discomfort fireworks cause for veterans and others suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress…

RUTLAND—The American Hospital Association (AHA) recently recognized Rutland Regional Medical Center for its 100 years of participation and leadership in the organization. Osei Mevs, the Region 1 regional executive from the AHA, presented the organization with a commemorative 100-year award. Rutland Regional President and CEO Claudio Fort, along with members of the executive team, graciously…

By Neil P. Allen KILLINGTON—On July 20, the Killington Planning Commission voted to accept the VHB Killington Road Survey Study, and will be forwarding the study to the Select Board to enact on the engineering services and design work for Phase 1 of the project. The study addresses the reconstruction of Killington Road, which has…

By Curt Peterson Killington Select Board member Jim Haff has been managing Killington’s recycling center since the Covid pandemic began, a job that gave him an opportunity to help Mission Farm and Church of Our Savior gear up their food shelf and augment recent upgrades to their on-site bakery. “The folks from Mission Farm came…

Episode no. 3 of My Side of the Mountain — overlooked stories of everyday life in the Green Mountain State. 10-minutes. https://omny.fm/shows/my-side-of-the-mountain/sheep-farming-and-vertical-integration By Ethan Weinstein It started as a joke: What if we had a sheep farm? Nine years later, Peg and Todd Allen know sheep. They raise lambs — “the finest colored Corriedales in…

WEST RUTLAND—On July 23, 2021, at 6:50 a.m., troopers from the Vermont State Police — Rutland Barracks were advised of a two car motor vehicle crash on Business Route 4 in West Rutland. While en-route, troopers learned one of the people involved in the crash had fled the scene. The driver, Brian Amerio of Center…

By Katy Savage The Woodstock Select Board unanimously approved moving forward with a multi-million dollar Town Hall renovation project on Tuesday, July 20. The board specifically approved four design elements — bringing the Town Hall Theatre into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), improving offices and meeting spaces, adding stage wings to the…

By Brett Yates The Mendon Select Board has set the municipal tax rate for 2021–2022 at 0.3973%, which means that Mendon homeowners will pay 16.4 fewer cents in municipal taxes per $100 of assessed property value than they did last year. That’s mostly because their assessed property values skyrocketed during the spring’s townwide reappraisal, which…

KILLINGTON—Last week, Killington Mountain School (KMS) and ELITEAM partnered to host Elite Camp, a six-day summer cross-training program for kids 12-14 led by former Olympian Doug Lewis. Elite Camp is in its 13th year, but this is the first time KMS has hosted. Forty-three campers from around the country came to Killington for a week…

On Saturday, July 24, the residents of Reading voted in a special election to determine whether or not the voting mechanism on town meeting day should change. According to Reading resident Shiri Macri, who brought forward the petition to change the voting mechanism, the meeting lasted about an hour and was attended by about 68…

By Julia Purdy On Sunday, July 18, the state of Vermont formally acknowledged Vermonters’ first defiant bid for autonomy, an incident now referred to locally as the “Breakenridge Standoff.” Two-and-a-half centuries ago in July 1771, settlers in Bennington stood up to a sheriff’s posse from New York Province sent to deliver a notice of eviction…

By Robin Alberti The Mountain Times had the opportunity to speak with an up and coming talent on the MAXXIS Eastern States Cup Women’s Intense Downhill Amateur circuit, 15-year-old Lenci Bogdan. She will be a sophomore at Killington Mountain School (KMS) this fall, and won her first three races ever this year. Though currently sidelined…

By Brett Yates Rutland City underspent its annual budget in Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) by nearly $1 million. Rutland City’s fiscal calendar ends on June 30, according to City Treasurer Mary Markowski. The city’s biggest savings came from the Dept. of Public Works, which declined to make use of a $500,000 allocation for paving contracts,…

By Curt Peterson The Killington Select Board officially accepted Chuck Claffey’s resignation as selectman at its July 20 meeting. Claffey had served about 2 1/2 years of the 3-year term for which he was elected in 2019. His resignation letter read, in part: “This letter is my notification of resignation from the Selectboard, as I…

RUTLAND—The Grace Congregational United Church of Christ steeple rises high above Main Street Park in Rutland. But as of last Wednesday, July 21, it's 6 feet shorter. Jay Southgate from Southgate Steeplejacks in Barre and Ben Classen from Classen’s Crane Service removed the 6-foot finial from the spire of the 199-foot tall church. Church members…