KILLINGTON—For the first time, Pico Mountain hosted the Special Olympics Vermont Winter Games March 18-20. “This will be my first Winter Games experience, and the first time Special Olympics Vermont has hosted the event at Pico,” said Sue Minter, president and CEO of the statewide organization, before the event. “We are honored by the warm…

RUTLAND—In spite of snowy conditions, over 150 local community members and luminaries gathered together for Rutland Regional Medical Center’s 2018 annual corporators meeting and retirement celebration for president and CEO Tom Huebner. Following the regular board business and remarks by Governor Phil Scott, bigger news emerged. Rutland Regional Health Services and Rutland Regional Medical Center…

Twenty Rutland-area African-American Civil War veterans will be honored through a new downtown Rutland sculpture commissioned by Rutland Regional Medical Center. The sculpture, part of a series planned by the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center, MKF Properties, Vermont Quarries, and Green Mountain Power’s Rutland Blooms, will highlight the heroism and sacrifice of soldiers who served…

Chittenden family farm plans for its second century By Julia Purdy CHITTENDEN—Jenna Baird and Jacob Powsner live in a modest house on land belonging to Baird’s parents, steps away from the large, traditional farmhouse where Bonnie and Bob Baird live. It’s a common arrangement among working farm families that have been on the same piece…

KILLINGTON—Laura McKenna, owner and operator of Sunup Bakery of Killington, was recently presented with the U.S. Department of Defense Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Patriot Award. David Wheel, representing Vermont Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, presented the award for the outstanding support that McKenna has given to her employee and…

By Katy Savage RUTLAND—Gov. Phil Scott started a speech before members of the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce and Rutland Economic Development Fund Monday, March 12, by addressing what he called “the elephant in the room.” About a month ago, Fair Haven High School—20 miles from Rutland—was threatened by a shooter. The threat at Fair…

By Stephen Seitz LUDLOW—A recent school shooting in Florida and a close call in Fair Haven, where a student plot was foiled in time, have school systems everywhere pondering their safety measures, and the Two Rivers Supervisory Union is one of them. “School safety is one of our highest priorities,” Two Rivers Superintendent Meg Powden…

By Karen D. Lorentz Okemo Mountain Resort has announced its 2018-19 season pass options and with them the new benefits of a partnership with Vail Resorts’ Epic passes. On March 14 Vail Resorts, Inc. announced that the Triple Peaks resorts of Okemo, Mount Sunapee (N.H.), and Crested Butte (Colo.) were the latest areas to join…

KILLINGTON—Food waste comprises about a third of the waste Americans throw away in landfills and is in fact the largest solid waste contributor to landfills. Food scraps in landfills produce methane, a gas with 25 times the global warming potential than carbon dioxide. Vermont’s recycling law, Act 148, bans the disposal of food scraps by…

By Julia Purdy PITTSFORD—Since 2016, Pittsford BTS Retail LLC has been trying to gain approval to build a Dollar General store in the north end of the village, on Plains Road. BTS’ latest attempt was its third hearing before the Zoning Board of Adjustment in Pittsford Monday, March 12, attended by about 40 townspeople. In…

Sunday, March 18, 1 p.m.—MIDDLETOWN SPRINGS—Maple lore and demonstrations, sweet treats from local kitchens, a raffle and a silent auction featuring local artists and craftspersons, merchants and professionals highlight the 30th annual Maple Festival of the Middletown Springs Historical Society on Sunday, March 18 from 1-4 p.m. The event will feature a demonstration of early maple…

RUTLAND—Rutland Recreation’s basketball tournament had a different focus this year: sportsmanship! The tournament, which held 44 games in less than 10 days, took place Feb. 24 to March 3 at Rutland high school. New this year, a sportsmanship code of conduct was read at the beginning of each game by local high school athletes from…

By Julia Purdy and Polly Lynn Mikula With 32 inches of new snow in the past week at Killington and a possibility of 8-12 more inches by Wednesday, March 14, the old weather proverb seems to be proved true: March has come in like a lion! Winter Storm Quinn was the second Nor’easter to strike…

Laurie Canterbury and how Hairball came to be By Karen D. Lorentz Laurie Canterbury volunteers with the mountain ambassador team at Killington Resort. She was born in Palmer, Mass., and lives on the same small lake where she grew up. She loves the peacefulness and the outdoors and learned to ski at a “three-trail ski…

By Colin Meyn, VTDigger Before it became the vehicle for universal background checks and increasing the legal age to purchase guns, Senate bill S.55 had a fairly simple purpose: clear the way for the state to get rid of hundreds of abandoned or unlawful guns currently in storage. While the initial aim of S.55 was straightforward,…