By Julia Purdy RUTLAND—Wednesday, Dec. 21, was the final day of the 2016 season for eligible households to pick up a hefty shopping tote stuffed with fresh, local farm produce at the Vermont Farmers’ Food Center at 251 West Street in Rutland, site of the regular Rutland winter farmers’ market. For the past two years,…

By Julia Purdy Gov. Peter Shumlin has stated that Vermont now boasts 17,000 jobs in the clean energy industry. Where does that figure come from? In May 2016 the Department of Public Service released the Vermont Clean Energy 2016 Industry Report, following reports in 2014 and 2015. The report measures rates of employment among categories…

By Karen D. Lorentz The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation Securities Division has oversight of 104,00 registered investment broker/dealer agents in Vermont. Those agents don’t have to live here, noted William “Bill” Carrigan, deputy commissioner of the Securities Division. In addition to registering broker-dealers, investment advisors, and their agents and representatives and bringing administrative or…

Norwich University has been named Organization of the Year by Special Olympics Vermont. The university was recognized at an annual awards luncheon held on Dec. 11 at Killington Resort. “Norwich University has been an important partner of Special Olympics Vermont for many years, hosting two annual sports events and providing volunteer support at numerous other…

RUTLAND—Thanks to contributions from family, friends, and community members, the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link has met its fundraising goal to acquire a gently used van for the Glean Team. The organization raised $1,500 through Facebook and its website, with $1,000 matched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In January RAFFL will put…

DuBois & King, headquartered in Randolph, Vt., has announced that Joe Coutermarsh, PE, has joined the firm as a senior mechanical engineer. Coutermarsh has 30 years of experience providing design of mechanical-HVAC, plumbing, and fire protection systems for industrial, commercial, educational, healthcare, and municipal projects. Licensed in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, Coutermarsh lives in…

A number of Vermonters have received unsolicited phone calls from parties claiming affiliation with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont. The caller offers a special program regarding pain management and opioid prescriptions and asks the consumer to disclose personal information to determine qualification for the program. BCBS is not affiliated with any such program and…

SO. POMFRET—State police and the U.S. Postal Service are investigating a break-in and burglary that occurred at the Teago General Store and U.S. Post Office in So. Pomfret. On Thursday, Dec. 22, at approximately 8:14 a.m. state police from the Royalton Barracks responded to a report of a break-in at the combined store and post…

Department of Vermont Health Access officials reported that Vermont Health Connect Open Enrollment has been progressing smoothly. They expect the state to maintain one of the lowest uninsured rates in the country in 2017. Open Enrollment is a time for new customers to sign up for health and dental plans for the coming year. It…

City budget omits fire department; Louras leaves meeting RUTLAND—When Rutland City voters mark their ballots in March, their city budget will not include funding for the fire department. The Board of Aldermen voted to remove that $3.5 million sector of the budget in accordance with the Public Safety Committee’s recommendation. There appears to be no…

Nursing students learn from Army CASTLETON—Forty-six Castleton junior and senior nursing students as well as two faculty members took part in a Nov. 29 hemorrhage clinic, learning the basics of stopping excessive bleeding in a patient, second in seriousness to trauma injuries. The students learned how to use tourniquets, pack simulated wounds, and use various…

KILLINGTON—Snowy conditions prevailed this past Saturday afternoon and evening at Killington Resort as a full roster of skiers and snowboarders competed in the annual Rails 2 Riches rail jam. The competition took place on lower Bunny Buster with a $25,000 cash purse up for grabs. See page 31 for a complete list of results and…

An Executive Order signed by Gov. Peter Shumlin that gives businesses fighting climate change preference in the state contracting process has been finalized. The new policy applies to any contract over $25,000, which captures at least 97 percent of state contracting dollars. The state of Vermont spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year in contracts.…

By Evan Johnson POMFRET — As skiers return to Suicide Six for the 2016-2017 ski season, they’ll be riding a newly installed Leitner-Poma chairlift to the top. On Monday, Dec. 19, longtime skiers and resort management gathered to cut a ribbon on the new lift and take the inaugural ride for the first turns of…

By Karen D. Lorentz While Mother Nature has been kind of late with some steady small snowfalls, ski resorts don’t take anything for granted. Okemo has already received 30 inches of natural snow and, combined with round-the-clock snowmaking, had 60 trails on the main mountain, Jackson Gore, Solitude and South Face, open on Dec. 19.…