Dear Editor: Here are the eight best reasons for barbecuing veggie burgers and veggie hot dogs at this year’s Independence Day gatherings, rather than ground-up animal body parts: Focusing on traffic and fireworks safety, rather than food safety. Giving your eyes a break from reading food warning labels. Not sweating cancer-causing compounds if barbecue temperature…

By Jack Hoffman The Equal Educational Opportunity Act, better known as Act 60, is 20 years old on Monday. On June 26, 1997, at an outdoor ceremony in Whiting, Gov. Howard Dean signed into law Vermont’s unique and groundbreaking education funding system. As we face tensions over school consolidation and who should determine teachers’ health…

Dear Editor, Two years ago, I wrote an op-ed that opened: “The Legislature can work with local communities to improve education, or it can push them around.” This is the fundamental choice that the governor and lawmakers continued to wrestle with this session. In 2015, the debate was over school district consolidation. This year, the…

Dear Editor, On behalf of the Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union (BRSU) I would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to some of the organizations that have offered support to our students and families throughout the 2016-2017 school year. Casella Waste Management has continually offered unwavering support to students and families particularly with the Community Clean Up…

Dear Editor, I am a father, husband, and small business owner, and my work is as a healthcare provider. Since going into business for myself in 2001, I have lived either without health insurance, or with uncertainty about insurance availability and affordability. My kids grew up enjoying team sports, skiing/riding, and biking, as so many…

By Steve Costello As regular readers may recall, I am a lover of  fables, stories that for generations have carried a message. With the recent news about the purchase of two key downtown buildings by MKF Properties and plans in the work for a variety of projects downtown, I am reminded of one of Aesop’s…

By Lee H. Hamilton The Trump administration, like its predecessors, has shown an apparent appetite for the use of force overseas. The “mother of all bombs” dropped on Syrian troops, saber-rattling toward North Korea, proposed deployments of U.S. forces in 10 or more countries — all of this suggests a growing comfort with the idea…

Dear Editor, The staff, clients and board of Black River Good Neighbor Services offer their sincere thanks to the donors, customers and volunteers who made our semi-annual rummage sale a great success. We held the sale on May 19-21 at Fletcher Farm on Route 103 in Ludlow. Whether customers wanted clothes, furniture, household goods, books,…

Dear Editor, Our government is elected to support and further the well being and prosperity of its citizens. A high quality education system is essential for prosperity. Vermonters believe strongly that local control/decision making results in the highest quality schools, ones that provide the best education for its students and the future prosperity of its…

Dear Editor, Thank you to all who helped make the celebration of my birthday/retirement party the most special of special occasions. The Tweety Cake, the cupcakes, the wonderful gifts, cards, emails and calls from Georgia, Hawaii, New Jersey, Florida, Newport were mind boggling. The surprise party at the Foundry of co-workers, old friends, family and…

By Sen. Bernie Sanders The good news is that Vermont has one of the highest high school graduation rates in the country; fully 88 percent of our kids leave high school with a diploma. All of us — parents, educators, community members and, most of all, our hardworking students — should feel great pride in…

By Senator Bernie Sanders President Trump’s budget is morally obscene and bad economic policy.  It would cause devastating economic pain to tens of thousands of Vermonters, making it harder for our children to get a decent education, harder for our working families to get the health care they desperately need, harder to protect our environment,…

Dear Editor, I write as the executive director of the Community of Vermont Elders (COVE), an organization that represents older Vermonters’ interests on the state level and has done so for more than three decades.  Given the economic realities of today, many older Vermonters struggle to live lives with dignity and respect in which their…

Dear Editor, Many thanks to the parade committee of the 53rd Loyalty Day parade: Sam Gorruso, Gerry Garrow, Dick Blongy, Bruce Baccei, Mark and Jean Prouty, Bill Flory, Don Choiniere, Jim Mills, Sharon Corey, Bonnie Burke, Suzanne Houston, Shella Mills, Tony and Donna Manfredi, Ron Senecal, Marie Fallon, Howard & Hurley Cavacas, Donnaleen Farewell and…

Dear Editor, Are you, too, fighting mad about Trump pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord? Then let’s fight back three times a day by adopting an eco-friendly plant-based diet. Yes, our diet is pivotal. A 2010 United Nations report blames animal agriculture for 19 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, 38 percent of land…