West Rutland was one of seven municipalities that received a downtown transportation fund grant. West Rutland received $172,091 to improve sidewalks. Gov. Phil Scott and the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announced awards of over $1 million in downtown transportation fund grants in designated downtowns and eligible designated village centers on May 4.…

By Katy Savage After closing down in November 2022, the Belmont General Store in Mount Holly is reopening this summer with new owners. Alissa Tilly, 28, bought the store, which dates back to the 1840s, two weeks ago.   “We want to start small and then start adding on,” she said. Tilly grew up in…

By Katy Savage After community members sounded off concerns about losing their only grocery store in Rochester, Mac’s Market has a new owner and is slated to reopen this month. John Sikandar is taking over the store on May 19 and plans to open it under its new name — Village Grocery — on May…

By Polly Mikula The Rutland Free Library (RFL) has reinvigorated renovation plans to make the library (in its current location) more user-friendly, accessible and meet modern needs. And it hopes to get $500,000 — about a third of the total project cost —from the state through Federal ARPA funds set aside for libraries.  RFL recently…

By Curt Peterson Thirty Woodstock High advanced French students have participated in a virtual language and culture exchange program with 20 peers — 10 in Beirut, Lebanon and 10 in Tunis, Tunisia, using Zoom. Language teacher Colleen O’Connell has developed and managed the program for two years. She has been trained as a facilitator by Soliya,…

By Curt Peterson Following weeks of sometimes difficult meetings and negotiations, and after a brief executive session, on May 8 four Hartland selectboard members unanimously approved a separation agreement involving former town manager David Ormiston. “(It) is in their respective best interests,” the agreement begins, “to cease their employment relationship.” Ormiston was put on “paid…

By Katy Savage Margo Thompson remembers the day she decided she wanted to build robots and pursue STEM for the rest of her life.  She was about 10 years old and building lego robots at a summer camp, where she was partnered with a boy.  “I was sitting there and he was doing it all,”…

Phillip Modesti, who graduated in 1990, will deliver the commencement address at Castleton University’s 235th commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 13, 2023.   Modesti currently serves as global vice president for Medical Education at Establishment Labs, a global, high-tech medical device and aesthetics company that designs, develops, manufactures, and markets a product portfolio consisting of advanced…

  By Katy Savage Sen. Peter Welch  sounded off his concerns about the nation’s first potential debt default — a measure that could have a catastrophic impact on food security, Welch said, as he spoke to a crowd of 200 people at the Vermont Foodbank’s annual Hunger Action Conference at the Killington Grand Hotel on…

By Steven Jupiter Editor’s Note: Steven Jupiter is board member and frequent contributor to The Reporter, which is a nonprofit, community-supported newspaper as of Jan. 1, 2023. As of last week, the historic Brandon Inn has a new owner: Isidro “Sid” Beccar-Varela.  The Inn’s previous owners, Joel and Darcy MacClaren, passed the torch to Beccar-Varelaafter…

Small amphitheater in Killington is part of a master plan to better connect, engage with community and nature By Polly Mikula Mission Farm in Killington is situated on four acres of open land with an orchard. Behind it 176 acres of forest rises up the mountainside and the Ottauquechee River flows in front separating the…

Staff report Unauthorized military training is officially banned in Vermont after Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill into law on Monday, May 8.  The law specifically prohibits teaching techniques intended to cause injury or death. It also bans making a firearm or explosive device capable of causing injury or death. The law went into effect…

By Katy Savage Wood's Market Garden in Brandon has new owners after more than 20 years.  Dan and Elyse Wulfkuhle bought the 165-acre organic farm stand in December and have been making it their own ever since. Woods opened for the season May 6.  “It’s a lot,” said Dan, who recently moved to the area…

Great Gulf and SP Land Co. finalize the purchase and sales agreement for 1,095 acres of development land including the Six Peak Village at the base of Snowshed and Ramshead at Killington Resort on Wednesday, May 3.  The sales price was $43 million, according to Town Clerk Lucrecia Wonsor, who received the official documents and…

Staff report This past Saturday, May 6, 48 people showed up for the annual Peavine Whitewater Race in Stockbridge. Racers paddled solo and in tandem kayaks ranging from 7 to 17 feet long, solo and tandem canoes, and a whitewater standup paddle boards (SUP). The race is a fundraiser for Ridgeline Outdoor Collective.  “The low water…