Lawmakers weigh suicide prevention measures at Quechee Gorge, eight in eight years have died By Elizabeth Hewitt, VTDigger.org Before Regina-Anne Cooper’s 21-year-old son died by suicide in 2011, he might have had second thoughts. The mother told lawmakers Tuesday, March 8, that, according to a witness, Derek Cooper tried to pull himself back over the…

Submitted WOODSTOCK — No matter your age, receiving a handwritten letter is a special thing. While most communication is electronic-based these days, local seniors and students are taking time to get to know one another the old fashioned way. Residents of Woodstock Terrace Assisted Living and fourth-grade students from Woodstock Elementary have been putting pen…

Courtesy of VT F&W Vermont Fish & Wildlife recommends taking down bird feeders now to avoid attracting black bears that are waking from hibernation. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department says warm spring weather and melting snows are causing bears to come out of their winter dens early in search of a meal. The department recommends…

Courtesy of VT F&W Proceeds from the sale of conservation license plates also go to the Nongame Wildlife Fund to support the Wildlife Diversity Program. 15 Vermont Watershed Grants awarded for 2016 Trout habitat will be improved, water will be cleaner and invasive plants will be better controlled, thanks to funding from Vermont’s 2016 Watershed…

Fair Haven Union High School student Samantha Morse selected to receive $9,000; Central Vt. well represented The Comcast Foundation recently awarded 20 Vermont high school seniors scholarships through its annual Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Program, according to a March 11 news release. The program recognizes students’ leadership skills, academic achievement and commitment to community service. Comcast, joined…

Act 46 district votes on name Mill River area voters decided the name for their school district should be Mill River Union School District 40, rejecting the alternative name of White Rocks. In addition to Mill River Union High School, it contains Clarendon, Wallingford, Shrewsbury and Tinmouth elementary schools, with leadership by a single 13-member…

Fair Haven HS bests Rutland HS Good work, Fair Haven scholars! Fair Haven students beat Rutland High’s team on PEGTV’s academic trivia show, 250 to 120. Fair Haven team members are Charlie Cacciatore, Trevor Reck, Zachary Caraballo, and Isaac Nichols; their coach is Torrey MacGregory. Towns grapple with defeated budgets Both Fair Haven and Benson…

RUTLAND — The 53rd annual VFW Loyalty Day Parade is coming May 1, and they would like to remind entrants as such. Participants in past parades have included:  military units such as VFW Posts & American Legion Posts; VFW Post 648 Buddy Poppy Princess; American Legion Unit 31 Poppy Princess; high school bands; fire departments; Smokey…

Susan L. Donegan, commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR), announced March 10 that Travelers Insurance Co. and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. have paid Vermont $154,000 in fines and repaid consumers another $54,500. The two insurance companies this week paid fines totaling $154,000 for violating Vermont laws regarding the timing of policy cancellation and…

By Richard Podlesney

Courtesy of CSJ College of St. Joseph’s President Dr. Richard Lloyd announced that he will be stepping down, effective June 30. RUTLAND—After nearly four years of outstanding service and accomplishments, Dr. Richard Lloyd will step down as president of College of St. Joseph effective June 30, 2016. Dr. Lloyd, who joined CSJ in July 2012…

By Eileen Vaughn

Courtesy of Seven Days PAUL HEINTZ Paul Heintz is an editor and columnist for Vermont’s Seven Days newspaper based in Burlington, Vt. Before graduating from Dartmouth College in 2006, he worked as an intern with NPR’s “On the Media.” After graduation, he became s a desk assistant for “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer” before…

Courtesy of Paramount Theatre JARED BERNSTEIN Jared Bernstein was the Chief Economist and Economic Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, executive director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class, and a member of President Obama’s economic team. In addition to authoring several books, Bernstein has published extensively in various venues, including The…

Paramount Theatre, downtown Rutland, hosts events March 9-10 On Wed. and Thurs., March 9 and 10, the Paramount Theatre and Castleton University will host back-to-back broadcasts of the Democratic and the Republican primary debates as part of their 14-month series, Project 240: Celebrating the American Experience. Audience members will watch the debates live on the…