By Evan Johnson KILLINGTON—The Killington Select Board has asked town departments to present budget proposals for fiscal year 2018 and departments are busy crunching the numbers. At a Nov. 15 meeting, board members heard budgets from the library, planning, recreation and roads departments. All of these budgets will be presented to voters in the spring…

By Gaen Murphree ORWELL—Hail, flood, drought, plagues of locusts—since ancient times farming has been one of the riskiest of human endeavors. And it still is. Just ask Orwell turkey farmer Peter Stone, who faced devastating losses just as Turkey Day approached. An outbreak of what’s known as fowl cholera, possibly introduced into one of the…

LUDLOW—Okemo Mountain Resort opened for the 2016/2017 winter season on Nov. 23 with top-to-bottom skiing and snowboarding on seven trails with three lifts operating, including the Sunburst Six high-speed bubble chair with retractable orange domes and heated seats for six passengers at a time. “In spite of varying temperatures this year, our snowmakers have made…

By Julia Purdy RUTLAND—On Friday, Nov. 4, 2016, NeighborWorks of Western Vermont opened its second completely renovated private home at 59 Baxter Street to the public in an open house aimed at attracting a buyer and informing the community of the transformation of run-down houses throughout Rutland’s lower-income Northwest Neighborhood. The first project of this…

As the days get darker and the heater begins to purr, the Cobra Gymnastics Team readies for its the competitive season.  With 58 girls  participating, the team will compete under USA Gymnastics rules in both the Junior Olympic and Xcel Programs. In her fifth year of hosting a competitive team and seventh year in business,…

By Rahmat Shoureshi Today’s 20-something tech wizards might not worry about the challenges of old age. But they should. Seniors represent a huge untapped market for tech companies. While just 13 percent of America’s population is 65 or older today, that slice will jump to 19 percent by 2030. One area that holds particular promise?…

Secretary of State Jim Condos announced last week that Vermont’s Elections Division will be conducting a random audit of the 2016 General Election results beginning Tuesday, Nov. 29. The audit will include six towns randomly selected by the Secretary of State. “Voting is one of the most important responsibilities and privileges that comes with being…

By Stephen Seitz RUTLAND – Attorneys for Pittsfield resident Nadine Price are asking for $300,000 in damages from Killington Mountain Resort after Price spent several hours trapped in a cold and dark gondola which had stopped running unexpectedly on Oct. 1, 2011. Price has alleged negligence on the part of the resort as a cause…

CLARENDON — A local woman died from injuries resulting from a car accident on Monday last week. Troopers from the Rutland Vermont State Police Barracks responded to a two-vehicle crash at the U.S. Route 7 and Vt. Route 7B intersection in Clarendon, Vt. Troopers say Susan Allard of Clarendon, Vt. entered U.S. Route 7 and into…

Vermont has experienced 58 traffic fatalities this year, impacting many of our families and their communities. In an attempt to spread awareness and keep drivers safe, a seatbelt campaign is planned for the heavily traveled holiday season to ensure highways remain safe through the remainder of the year. The Vermont State Police will be participating…

Members of the Vt. State Police Search and Rescue Team located a previously reported missing hunter from Connecticut in Shewsbury last week. Trey Young, age 45, was found in good health in a wooded area off Eastham Road approximately 24 hours after he was reported missing. Young was evaluated by members of Rutland Regional Ambulance…

RUTLAND—With opening day of the Gift-of-Life Marathon–12 Days of Giving barely a week away, organizers today issued an urgent appeal for blood donors. “Appointments are lagging, with well less than half the number of appointments we’d like for the first several days of the event, which starts next week,” said Green Mountain Power Vice President…

Rutland City makes a new green move The lighting of this year’s decorated Christmas tree in Depot Park marks what may be an ecologically significant change to the community’s holiday traditions. In previous years, the city searched for a large tree that a local homeowner would donate, most likely one that had outgrown its site…

College and beyond Castleton alumni Natalie Sargeant and Joshua Levandowski, 2012 and 2014 graduates, have undertaken travel nursing, working with the agency Advantage RN, applying to hospitals that have need of both their skillsets. Assignments are 13 weeks long with occasional options for contract extension. Last summer they worked in North Carolina, then spent the…

Tips to heed to stay safe By Karen D. Lorentz “Computers are commodity items. They are inexpensive and it’s easy to use them to commit cyber fraud,” noted Elliott Greenblott, Vermont’s AARP Fraud Coordinator and Volunteer at a recent presentation in Rutland. What makes cyber fraud work so well, he explained, is that “most computer…