By Curt Peterson  The Hartland Planning Commission displayed results from its 2023 vision survey of residents and non-resident property owners. Mill Moore, who had organized the results, projected a very professional presentation that revealed many interesting and unexpected results.  The town has about 3,400 residents, according to the latest census, including adults and children. Oversimplified,…

  By Glenn Heitsmith  Rotarians Tom Rice, president, and Melanie Gulde, who runs the Divided Sky Recovery Retreat in Ludlow, with County Sheriff Ryan Palmer.      By Glenn Heitsmith Sheriff Ryan Palmer recently joined Rotarians at DJ’s Restaurant in Ludlow. No arrests were made. No speeding tickets were issued. And the meal was typical…

  Staff report Rutland city’s water is slightly contaminated.  Mayor Mike Doenges told the Board of Aldermen Dec. 18 that haloacetic acid was found at 60.5 parts per billion in the water, which is just above the federal limit of 60 parts per billion. Doenges said there were no immediate health risks to the public.…

  By Shaun Robinson/VTDigger Noah Kahan, a Strafford-born singer-songwriter, plays for young patients, their families and hospital staff members at the UVM Medical Center on Friday     Kahan, fresh off a Grammy nomination, played his viral hit “Stick Season” for young patients and their families, on Friday, Dec. 15 By Shaun Robinson/VTDigger Noah Kahan has…

  West Rutland was one of 11 towns that recieved a community development block grant.  West Rutland got a $500,000 CDBG supplemental award for NeighborWorks of Western Vermont to continue operating the revolving loan fund to provide affordable home repair financing and housing counseling services to eligible homeowners in Rutland, Addison, and Bennington Counties. The…

   The most outstanding  Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports volunteers in 2023 were Glen Torres, Andy Holt, Jay Schulz, and Ben Hamilton. Named 2023 Volunteers of the Year, these four recipients embody the traits and legacy of Jim Hutchinson, a Vermont Adaptive volunteer who left a tradition of empowering people of all abilities through sports…

  Lily Doton hired to manage student reporting partnership at VTSU-Castleton UVM’s Community News Service, a pioneering student reporting program that provides professional-level reporting to local news partners across Vermont, is expanding coverage in central Vermont thanks to a grant from the Vermont Community Foundation. The VCF Hills & Hollows Fund will support a 2024…

  Submitted Elizabeth Mauch will take over as the next VSC chancellor. She starts Jan. 1.       By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger Elizabeth Mauch, the president of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, will be the next chancellor of the Vermont State Colleges, trustees announced last week.  Mauch will step into the position on Jan. 1,…

  Rutland County Head Start, which operates within the Rutland Community Programs division of Community Care Network (CCN), announced Dec. 5, the implementation of its new Early Head Start program designed to provide high-quality care for infants and toddlers. “Rutland County Head Start has long recognized the increasing need for quality infant and toddler services…

Submitted Verlene Peck Belden   Verlene Peck Belden, 91, passed away peacefully on Dec. 9 after a courageous 10-year battle with Alzheimer’s, surrounded by her loving family and enjoying the view of Lake Bomoseen.     Verlene was born on Dec. 2, 1932, and grew up in Londonderry,  where she attended grade school. Her mother died…

Submitted Stella Elizabeth Sarandrea       Stella Elizabeth Sarandrea, age 72, of Chittenden, Vermont, passed away peacefully on Nov. 27, 2023, at Rutland Regional Medical Center. Born in Utica, Stella spent the majority of her life in the Oneida area of New York, where she graduated from Oneida High School with the Class of…

  The fourth edition of Vermont Almanac has been published and shipped to bookstores before the holidays. The book features all new stories about and by Vermont farmers, writers, loggers, artists, scientists, poets, thinkers, and doers. More than 50 Vermonters contributed stories to Volume IV.  Remember the Christmas storm last December? The freaky warm January…

  By Marin Howell/Addison Independent  When juveniles were accused of pulling the trigger in two recent fatal shootings just north in Addison County, the spotlight fell on the various questions and complexities that arise when prosecuting crimes committed by minors.   Among those questions: How do Vermont schools educate students who’ve been accused of violent…

  By Curt Peterson Last Friday, Dec. 8, law enforcement officers stopped 11 drivers for speeding on Killington Road, all traveling at over 50 miles per hour in spite of the posted 30-mile-per-hour speed limit. Seven drivers received summonses, Killington Police Chief Whit Montgomery told selectmen Monday, Dec. 11.  When the speed limit on Killington…

        By Tiffany Tan/VTDigger Two months after a retired college dean was fatally shot at a Castleton rail trail — and with no suspect identified — a local resident has spearheaded raising reward money to help solve the homicide case. Honoree Fleming, 77, a former dean of education at what was then…