By Ethan Weinstein Inside St. Joseph Kervick, an assisted living facility, seniors walked and rolled toward a familiar face: Rob Zollman. Zollman runs a monthly drum circle at St. Jospeh Kervick, bringing music and activity to an excited group of residents. Zollman has been playing drums and other percussion instruments for over 40 years, and leading drum…

Salisbury mosquitos get a pass from insect control district, citizens reject pesticide use By John Vaaler Salisbury will no longer be sprayed for mosquitos by the Brandon Leicester Salisbury Goshen & Pittsford Insect Control District (BLSG), which voted at a meeting June 24 to suspend the town’s services starting July 1, the beginning of the…

Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum to help welcome crowds back to the Paramount Theatre's stage downtown Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum, a children’s museum in the heart of downtown Rutland, will help to welcome local events back to The Paramount this fall with its ever- popular Lip Sync Battle returning to the stage Saturday, Sept. 25. As audiences from past years can attest,…

Hiring to begin for 25-30 jobs Harbor Freight Tools, a tool and equip- ment retailer, has announced that it will be opening a new store in Rutland. The new store will be located behind Aldi market, Route 7 South in Rutland town. It is expect- ed to open late summer. An official opening date will be announced closer…

WEST HAVEN—Tanner Siemons made an authoritative statement at Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s Mid-Season Championships on Saturday, July 10, by winning on the half-mile track for the first time in his career and holding off some of the region’s top stars to do it. The Granite Stater headlined a decidedly youthful win list that also included Beau Reeves, Chris…

By Neil P. Allen RUTLAND — One hundred years ago, a Rutland resident had the foresight to donate 273 acres of land on Pine Hill to the city of Rutland to be used as a park and it is still fulfilling that vision today. On May 2, 1921, Henry O. Carpenter gave the land to Rutland with the idea…

By Ethan Weinstein   We're working on a podcast, My Side of the Mountain, featuring overlooked stories of everyday life. For the first episode, I went foraging with Ian Vair. Listen here:     “I didn’t just do this because I said, ‘Oh cool, medicinal mushrooms.’ They healed me in some ways. And it was really…

By Ethan Weinstein Nothing could stop Jessie Gagnon and Earl Kehoe from finally marrying. Kehoe’s stroke hadn’t. Covid hadn’t. And the couple certainly wasn’t going to let the day’s 90-degree heat delay their marriage any longer. So on Tuesday, June 30, the couple’s family and friends gathered outside The Pines Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation…

On the night of July 4, state police from the Rutland Barracks were dispatched to a single vehicle crash involving a pedestrian on Route 7 in Rutland. Upon arrival, they learned that the operator of the vehicle, Taylor Edwards-Galarneau of Proctor struck a pedestrian, identified as Rutland resident Gregory C. Merriam, who succumbed to his injuries…

By Karen D. Lorentz It’s summer, and in a sign of life getting back to normal, Okemo Mountain Resort has resumed summer operations and construction on two lift projects. The mountain opened its adventure zone and mountain bike park on June 17 with 2021 operating hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger RUTLAND — Health care providers hope a new $600,000 pilot program, coming to Rutland this fall, will help reduce mental health crises that send a high number of children and teens to the local hospital. On average, young people visit Rutland’s emergency room more often than in most other parts of Vermont. Those…

By Ethan Weinstein After a 40-year hiatus from farming, Mission Farm in Killington is working the land once again. Their goal: address the community’s needs through food and faith. Led by Executive Director Reverend Lisa Ransom and “Farm Priest” Reverend Rachel Field, three summer interns have joined the team. These divinity school students, planting rows…

By Curt Peterson The Killington Select Board met on the afternoon of June 30 and set the official FY2022 municipal tax rate: $.5382. In the 2020 Town Report, the municipal tax rate had been estimated at $.5425, slightly higher than the final rate. The rate is made up of two factors: The voter-approved budget and…

Richard Morse and his students used what they had and kept it simple By Shelby Graves, Grade 10 at Killington Mountain School While sitting in school, wouldn’t you want to be able to have the opportunity to learn outside while looking at the beautiful blue sky and fresh blooming flowers? Here at Killington Mountain School, math,…

RUTLAND—The Vermont Society of Health-System Pharmacists (VTSHP) recently announced its 2021 Pharmacist and Pharmacy Technician of the year, honoring two practitioners from Rutland Regional Medical Center. Saisha Branchaud, PharmD, BCPS, the director of pharmacy services, was named the 2021 Pharmacist of the Year. She was recognized for her “steadfast leadership” during the past year and…