It is with a heavy heart that the board of directors of the Rutland County Humane Society announces that their executive director, Gretchen Goodman, will be retiring at the end of 2017. Goodman has served in the position of director for 13 years. The agency will be starting a search for her replacement in the…

It’s no secret that Vermonters love snowmobiling, but did you know that more than 2,400 miles of VAST (Vermont Association of Snow Travelers) Trails cross Vermont farmland? That’s more than half of all the VAST trails, statewide. “Without farmers, the VAST trail system as we know it would not exist,” according to Matt Tetreault, VAST’s…

Jeffrey M. Rousseau, 51, of Stockbridge peacefully left his wife, family and friends on March 15, 2017. Originally from Mason, N.H., Jeff moved to Vermont after his service in the U.S. Air Force. His love for the outdoors and rural countryside led him to the ski industry and Vermont, of which he felt so at…

Maple Open House Weekend is celebrating its 16th year by expanding the weekend’s offerings and activities to include local partnering businesses who specialize in their own craft and support Vermont’s maple industry by including maple in their ingredients, on their menus, and offered for sale at their locations. Sugarmakers throughout the state will open the…

By Alan J. Keays, VTDigger RUTLAND — Moments after his swearing-in as mayor, a steady stream of well-wishers walked past David Allaire’s new City Hall office on their way to a refreshment table. Allaire, 61, a 19-year member of the Board of Aldermen, said Wednesday morning he planned to get right down to work at…

KILLINGTON—St.Patrick’s Day Friday, March 17, was truly a day to remember at Killington Resort. It was a sunny bluebird day with fantastic snow conditions after Storm Stella blessed us with 33 inches of snow. It also marked the day that Teresa Giblin became a first-time inductee into the 100 Day Club! Teresa Giblin joined the…

By Stephen Seitz BARNARD—Act 46 is getting off to a creaky start, at least for some. The law, which went into effect in 2015, has the goal of merging Vermont’s school districts in the hope of providing better education, as well as get a better handle on costs. The towns of Barnard, Bridgewater, Killington, Reading,…

By Alan J. Keays, VTDigger RUTLAND — Michael Coppinger is stepping down next month from his post as chief marketer for the city. Coppinger, the executive director of the Downtown Rutland Partnership for the past 10 years, said he formally submitted his resignation Tuesday, March 14, at a meeting of the organization’s board of directors.…

By Evan Johnson RUTLAND—On Monday afternoon, March 20, the Hunger Council of Rutland County convened in a conference room at Rutland Regional Medical Center to explore ways to connect local food production with food security. The most recent data from Hunger Free Vermont show that one in four children in Rutland County are food insecure,…

The U.S. senator toured Rutland’s Stafford Hill solar farm Friday By Alan J. Keays, VTDigger U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders stood outside a field filled with solar panels in Rutland and told 17-year-old Cameron Wilk that he was looking out at a revolution. “When you’re my age, this is going to look obsolete, old-fashioned,” Sanders said…

By Tiffany Danitz Pache, VTDigger A House Education Committee has approved a bill that revamps the statewide property tax formula for education. The formula is based on a per pupil calculation. School districts that spend above a threshold would pay a higher tax rate; those that spend below the target would pay less. The change…

Webster defines a G Force as a force acting on a body as a result of acceleration or gravity. On Sunday March 12, Peggy Golonka aka “Mrs. G.” recently back from skiing in Zermatt in Switzerland with her husband Larry, was a powerful G Force at Killington Resort defying gravity and accelerating as she soared…

Area high school students from Rutland captured a win this past weekend at the FIRST Robotics District Event at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass. There were 40 teams from all over New England competing in this year’s challenge, including FIRST Team 2370, the IBOTS from Rutland. The IBOTS competed in a game called FIRST…

KILLINGTON—The Killington Pico Area Association (KPAA) operates the Killington Welcome Center, located at 2319 US-4, formerly home to Bill’s Country Store. This location served as the unofficial park-and-ride of Killington for decades. Today, not only is this site an official park-and-ride, but both Vermont Translines (formerly Greyhound) and Marble Valley Regional Transit’s “Diamond Express” pick…

Jo Ann Riley, Castleton Community Seniors executive director, receives a $500 donation from Jennifer Hicks, manager of Stewart’s Shops Fair Haven. The Stewart’s Holiday Match gift will be used to provide scholarship assistance to children attending the Community Center’s SCAMP program, a summer day camp for children. From Thanksgiving through Christmas Day, customers contributed to…