By Alan J. Keays/VTDigger MONTPELIER—State police say that a pistol a man displayed during a standoff, Jan. 16, on a field at Montpelier High School, prompting nine officers to open fire and kill him, was a BB gun. A day after the shooting, police said Wednesday their investigation has identified the silver handgun Nathan Giffin,…

By Evan Johnson Killington visitors and locals hauled their Christmas trees to Charity’s Tavern and Restaurant on Sunday evening for bonfire and fundraiser. The event was a benefit for the Killington-Pico Rotary club and Vermont Special Olympics, which will hold the 2018 Winter games at Pico Mountain, March 18-20. Special Olympic Vermont Athlete Jack Rasmussen…

(Click for full image) By Karen D. Lorentz “Wow, that is inspiring but I don’t think my knees will last that long!” So said a 30ish male at Okemo, reacting to members of the 70+ Club racing, including some in their eighties and one in his nineties. Another man quietly confided he was 75 and…

RUTLAND—The Cobra Gymnastics Team is rolling into 2018 with success and excitement for the rest of their competitive season.  In a time when USA Gymnastics is undergoing a hard evaluation, the Cobra girls continue to show their prowess of strength, focus and dedication, all under the healthy coaching models of Shelby Collett and her staff. …

Woodstock Union High School Innovation, Design, Engineering and Action (IDEA) students have learned to be empathetic by designing for it. Creating devices that simulate the challenges that arise from concussions, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), ALS, and dyslexia, students hope that experiencing the frustration that comes with these disabilities will bring about understanding, and maybe some…

FAIR HAVEN— Fair Haven Union High School will once again join in the fight against cancer by sponsoring Coaches vs. Cancer games. This year they will compete on the court with Otter Valley. The public is invited to attend the Coaches vs. Cancer night to cheer on the Slaters. The games, which take place at…

By Evan Johnson When Nancy Mark retired from a career in education, she wasn’t ready to walk away from the classroom. After retiring from her role as principal at the Mettawee Community School in Pawlet, she took an online English as a Second Language (ESL) course and signed up with Vermont Adult Learning to begin…

By Evan Johnson The owners of the Cortina Inn in Killington have a plan to breathe new life into the space. This spring, the Cortina will close operations in early April as it begins work to become residential care facility with specialized units for memory care that would house 75. “We did a market study…

Performance apparel company Under Armour announced the race dates and locations for the second annual Under Armour Mountain Running Series. In partnership with Powdr Corp, the trail running series is designed for running professionals and enthusiasts alike who want to experience trail in challenging mountain environments across North America. Powdr’s mountain resorts provide diverse climates, changing…

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has arranged for a shipment of 25 surplus computers to five Vermont Schools through the U.S. Senate’s Computers for Schools programs.  Overseen by the Senate’s Sergeant At Arms, the program was established to offer surplus computers to classrooms across the country. Leahy worked with Vermont Agency of Education officials to identify…

By Evan Johnson RUTLAND—After serving a lengthy jail sentence, reentering a community and adjusting to an unstructured life can be a daunting task. Thanks to a group of volunteers in Rutland, that obstacle becomes easier for offenders to overcome. Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA), is a relatively new program at the Rutland County Community…

RUTLAND—Rutland Blooms, a donation-funded city beautification program that has planted thousands of flowers and hundreds of flowering crabapples, maples and other trees in Rutland, presented the City of Rutland with a $25,000 grant Thursday in support of the Center Street Marketplace. The funding, which comes from Rutland Blooms donors, will pay for landscaping and plantings in the…

By Evan Johnson A Connecticut man who skied out of bounds at Killington Resort made it home safely. State police said in a press release they received a call at 4 p.m. on Jan. 4 from 22-year-old Kyle Ford of Ridgefield, Conn., who said he was lost after skiing off the resort property. Ford’s coordinates…

By Julia Purdy FAIR HAVEN—On Sunday, Jan. 7, Castleton Library’s popular monthly Science Pub featured an illustrated talk, “Wetlands Restoration Along Otter Creek,” by James Eikenberry, wetlands specialist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The venue was the large dining room in the Fair Haven Inn, where an atentive…

By Alan Keays/VTDigger RUTLAND—The third of three anchor stores at the Diamond Run Mall in Rutland Town plans to close, leaving local officials to wonder about the future of the regional shopping center. Sears Holding Corp. announced Thursday plans to shutter 64 underperforming Kmart and 39 Sears stores across the country, with the Kmart store…