The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board voted on the Fish & Wildlife Department’s proposal for antlerless deer hunting for 2017 at its meeting on April 26 in Montpelier. “We are recommending an increase in muzzleloader season antlerless deer permits this year to account for the increase in the deer population following another mild winter in…

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is looking for volunteers to help count state-endangered little brown bats as they emerge at dusk at locations throughout the Champlain Valley. Vermont’s little brown bats suffered massive declines due to the deadly disease, white-nose syndrome. An estimated 90 percent of the state’s bat population has been lost to…

RUTLAND—Green Mountain Power earned top spots on Smart Electric Power Alliance’s annual energy storage rankings for 2016. GMP ranked No.10 for the most storage installed in the country, with two megawatts in 2016. GMP also scored the No. 9 spot for most watts per customer in 2016. This is the first year SEPA looked at…

By Evan Johnson HARTFORD—A 22-year-old worker at a Hartford assisted-living facility has been accused of sexually abusing an 83-year-old woman with dementia. Valley Terrace employee Michael Paton, allegedly had sex with the woman in her room on Monday, according to a news release from Vermont State Police issued on Tuesday night. Police said in the…

By Alan J. Keays, VTDigger A city panel has strongly backed a local organization’s bid to seek state funding for a family homeless shelter in Rutland. The Board of Aldermen’s Community and Economic Development Committee at a recent meeting unanimously approved a request from the Homeless Prevention Center in Rutland to allow Mayor David Allaire…

Rutland City Fire Department,  GMP win first Lip Sync Battle By Polly Lynn Mikula UPDATE, MAY 10: The event raised over $16,000 for Wonderfeet Kid's Museum. On Saturday night, April 29, eight teams battled it out at the inaugural Lip Sync Battle at the Paramount Theatre in Rutland. Funds raised at the event benefited Wonderfeet Kids’…

By Robin Alberti Cristy Murphy found her calling in teaching kids yoga. With a background in elementary education, she was introduced to yoga by her teaching partner at Barstow School, and she immediately saw the benefits of teaching it to kids. Giving students the opportunity to move their bodies and relax their minds during a…

By Tiffany Danitz Pache Moments before the House was to take up an amendment that would have moved teacher health care negotiations to the state level, the bill was pulled from the floor. House Minority Leader Don Turner, R-Milton, said he pulled the amendment because the Democratic majority planned to send the school tax bill…

By Susan Durant Vermont had the highest incidence of Lyme disease in the U.S. in 2013 and, 2015, and the incidence for 2016 should be similar, said Bradley Tompkins, a vector borne epidemiologist at the Vermont Department of Health (VDH). The VDH website lists over 380 confirmed cases of Lyme disease since 2011, which is up…

KILLINGTON—The Killington Pico Area Association (KPAA) has hired a new staff member in time for the busy summer season. Alexis King, from Pittsfield, Mass., is filling the role of membership and events assistant. After growing up in the hills of Berkshire County, Mass., she moved to the North Shore of Boston to study communications at…

By Alan J. Keays, VTDigger Rutland City Fire Chief Michael Jones said he is considering quitting his job due to lack of support from the city’s new mayor. “We look at things differently, I would say,” Jones said Tuesday, April 25, of his relationship with Mayor David Allaire, elected to the post in March. “Where…

By Evan Johnson and Julia Purdy Delays are expected this week as road work including drainage and milling is scheduled to continue on Route 4 this week. The project is scheduled to last through this spring and summer and covers a distance of roughly 14 miles between the Rutland-Mendon town line and Mission Farm Road…

Always the first Saturday in May, Green Up Day this year is May 6. Volunteers come together to clean up litter from roadsides and public spaces to help keep Vermont green and clean. Vermont’s interstates and state highways, totaling some 2,707 miles, are cleaned each spring by Vermont’s Agency of Transportation. Community volunteers through Green…

RUTLAND—Rutland Blooms is planning its most ambitious crop of city beautification projects yet, and will kick off the spring season by planting 46 crabapple trees and nine maple trees, May 11. The kickoff event will include planting  nearly four dozen crabapple trees along Harrington Avenue in front of St. Joseph’s Cemetery, and nine “Sunset Red”…

RUTLAND—College of St. Joseph has announced that former Vermont Governor Jim Douglas will deliver the commencement address at the college’s graduation ceremony on May 13. Douglas was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in November 1972, where he would become the House majority leader during his third two-year term at just 25 years old.…