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.…

By Karen Lorentz In the days before climate change, the weather was colder and it snowed more before winter’s official opening date of Dec. 21. But for many years now, early-season temperatures have vacillated wildly and snowfalls have been anything but reliable, so ski areas have utilized vastly expanded and improved snowmaking systems to provide…

By Erin Mansfield, VTDigger Vermont’s three representatives to the Electoral College formally cast their votes Monday, Dec. 17, for Hillary Clinton to be president. Scores of protesters attended the event at the Statehouse. They oppose the nation’s Electoral College and say the U.S. president should be decided by the popular vote. The 2016 election has…

By Julia Purdy RUTLAND—The word is out: Tattersall’s Clothing & Accessories, 96 Merchants Row, will close its doors in mid-January after 21 years in its current location. Owner Christine Tattersall told the Mountain Times that she has tried to promote the sale of the business but has gotten no nibbles. “We always tried to be…

CHITTENDEN—The holidays are a time for traditions, and at Barstow Memorial School, this holds fast. With one tradition added just last year, a thematic door decorating contest, students and staff are able to creatively express themselves, work within their classes to construct their works of art. This year’s door masterpieces included 3D snowmen, the Polar…

CASTLETON—Firefighters from Castleton and Poultney responded to a reported structure fire at Castleton University in the Adams dormitory building located off South St. on Thursday afternoon, Dec. 15. Initial alarm activation in the building was followed up with 911 calls for an active fire on the fourth floor of the building. Upon their arrival, fire…

While policy discussions about technology and innovation issues often focus narrowly on iconic places like Silicon Valley, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) reported in a new study that high-tech innovation plays a large role in the Vermont economy. The Washington, D.C.-based think tank for science and technology policy examined 20 indicators of the…

RUTLAND—State police have arrested Brian McIntyre, an employee of the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility suspected of misusing a credit card assigned to the facility. In early December 2016, state police detectives were contacted by administrators within the Department of Corrections and asked to investigate what they believed were fraudulent charges made to a department-issued…

MOUNT HOLLY—A crash last week left a tractor-trailer in the water and briefly closed Route 103. At about 4:00 in the afternoon Tuesday, Dec. 13, state police were notified of a single-vehicle crash on Route 103 in Mt. Holly. Troopers from the Rutland Barracks responded and located the wreck at the intersection with North Bowlsville…