By Emma Cotton/VTDigger Rutland Mayor Dave Allaire ordered the Quality Inn to shut down after city and state inspectors found numerous health and safety violations at the motel. Around 40 people experiencing homelessness, currently housed there, will need to relocate immediately. Other motels in Rutland have the capacity to accept those displaced by the situation, a…

By Emma Cotton/VTDigger The Rutland Raider mascot is still up for debate. In the next several weeks, a new committee will decide whether the Rutland School Board adhered to its own rules when it voted last October to abandon the high school mascot and its arrowhead imagery. Committee members met for the first time on Tuesday,…

Last fall at Castleton University, Professor David Blow tried something different in his Media Writing class, asking his students to write a biweekly blog. The result is a published book, “Covid Chronicles.” “Life is tough for everyone during this pandemic, but college students are losing so much of that sacred experience,” Blow wrote in his…

The Community College of Vermont (CCV) will celebrate its 2021 graduates, along with the Class of 2020, with a virtual event on Saturday, June 5 at 2 p.m. More than 450 students from the Class of 2021 will receive associate degrees. Graduates represent all 14 Vermont counties, 10 states, and 15 countries. The youngest graduate…

By Curt Peterson The Killington Select Board unanimously authorized execution of a contract engaging White + Burke Real Estate Advisors, Inc. to shepherd the town’s application for approval of a tax increment financing (TIF) district, pending approval by the town’s legal counsel. Approval as a TIF district would provide funding for infrastructure improvements that would…

Governor Phil Scott and Sen. Bernie Sanders help 100 programs receive grants to expand offerings for state’s Summer Matters initiative Governor Phil Scott, Senator Bernie Sanders and Vermont Afterschool announced Friday, May 28, the recipients of the Summer Matters for All grant program. A total of $3.85 million was awarded to about 100 programs in…

By Victoria Gaither RUTLAND—WEXP Community Radio for Rutland County and Killington Valley has kicked off the station’s spring fundraising campaign. The radio campaign will run May through June. Since non-commercial stations like WEXP 101.5 FM legally cannot accept advertisements, they raise operating capital for the station through donations, notably from listeners. Radio Personality, Uncle Dave,…

By Brooke Geery RUTLAND— The former Knight of Columbus (KOC) building is showing the classic signs of remodeling, as it is one of the several properties purchased by Belarus-native and Guilford, Vermont, resident Pavek “Paul” Belegour, 50.  The tech mogul and cryptocurrency investor has been in the news a lot lately, after purchasing at least…

New signs will remind public The Partners for Prevention, a program of Rutland Regional Medical Center, has joined with the Rutland Recreation and Parks Dept. to launch a campaign supporting new and improved signs to highlight safe and substance free spaces across the city’s parks and facilities. Organizers began putting the signs up this week…

By Peg Bolgioni Scott Corbett, director of the Allen Street Campus, has a phrase he often tells his students, “We are exploring and providing access to your backyard.” His philosophy is finding what engages a child and connect them with it, then the learning part is easy.  Located directly across from Rutland Regional Medical Center,…

Volunteers plant flowering trees, including cherry, pear, horse chestnut A small army of Rutland Blooms volunteers beautified Rutland’s northern gateway Thursday, May 20, planting flowering trees along a roughly half-mile section of North Main Street. “It felt great after a one-year hiatus due to Covid-19 to get out there with other volunteers and plant trees…

A Mettawee Community School sixth grader broke into an ecstatic dance and clenched her fists in the air, as her classmates applauded. Her physical education teacher Janna Webb had just announced that she had moved up from training wheels to official bike rider. It was a joyful example of success after a week of training provided…

Community-built wood playground no longer meets safety, development requirements By Polly Mikula Killington Elementary School’s (KES) wooden playground, Kids' Kingdom, has come to the end of its useful life and it will be removed in the coming weeks. The one-of-a-kind structure was build by the community 30 years ago. “The Dept. of Children and Families…

‘All are welcome here,’ says new Rutland campaign Building off a desire to make the greater Rutland community hospitable to everyone, including the LGBTQ+ community, a new coalition and campaign is heralding the message that “All are welcome here.” Initiated by Rutland native Avery Provin, the effort includes members of the local LGBTQ+ community members,…

By Brett Yates Through a proposal aimed to boost LGBTQ Pride Month locally, Alderman Thomas Franco is hoping to help make Rutland City’s recent symbolic commitment to diversity and tolerance a little more tangible. On May 3, Rutland City officially adopted a declaration of inclusion, which “condemns racism and discrimination of any type and welcomes…