Editorial

Is there a prayer of a chance to end division?

In this week’s print edition, we have a full-page ad from a local church that urges joint daily nonpartisan prayer during the ongoing presidential election. In part the ad says “Grasping for much needed grace” and “Our nation and society are deeply divided” as it calls for unity and healing....

Reminding legislature it has a big lift ahead of it

Lost in much of the hullabaloo surrounding the fall election cycle in Vermont has been the serious need to reform how the state pays for its primary and secondary education. When it comes to how education dollars are doled out to school districts there are serious inequities across the state....

Free press under attack

Protesters’ burning of newspapers shows free speech attacks, censorship, and media distrust possible from all sides of the political spectrum The Vermont Press Association Executive Board has voted to condemn the confiscation and burning of piles of Seven Days newspapers by...

Will breakup lead to more district divorces?

“Act 46 is working better than I had imagined. Over half of all students in this state now live in communities that are moving forward with or having serious conversations about how to work together to improve educational quality and provide relief to taxpayers. That is happening because of Act...

Vermont's approach can work for schools as well

A little more than a week ago Vermont opened its primary and secondary school doors.
Well, some schools opened more than others, as it turns out. Given the current coronavirus pandemic and the assorted efforts to keep it under control, that shouldn’t have been too surprising. What we’ve...

Remembering 9/11 and the leadership that came with the crisis

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children.”...

A time to say thanks to workers who’ve risked so much in pandemic

“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity.”
- Martin Luther King Jr. Monday is Labor Day. This year more than most is the time to stop and thank workers everywhere for their efforts during the past months. As the year began, who knew what kind of curve balls were going to be thrown...

Having a social worker on scene could save lives

There’s been quite a lot of discussion, and anger, around the country about police departments and their roles in the community. While the discussion is not new, it has been intensified this summer by a number of incidents that have gained national attention for how a police encounter can go...

Above, Cliff Duncan stands on a ladder while hanging a banner in 1982 in Wilmington. A planned KKK rally brought out many locals in opposition to the racist group. Below, another banner that was displayed by anti-KKK protestors. The banner points out some of the racial injustices are still flash points today. File photo

Years later hate still trying to sprout roots

“Hate does not grow well in the rocky soil of Vermont.”
That slogan was first coined in 1982, as the Ku Klux Klan was readying for a rally in Wilmington. How the people around the valley responded to that rally, by counter-protesting the KKK with a large, peaceful showing of force, has...

Local voters buck state-wide primary trends

Tuesday was primary day in Vermont. As election day results go in Vermont they were pretty much as expected. Most of the incumbents and favorites won statewide races, although there were some underdog wins, and it would appear that mail-in voting was a success and not the overwhelming disaster...