Editorial

Legislature is taking on issues with local impact

In case readers and news junkies haven’t noticed, the Vermont Legislature is in session. Of course, it’s hard not to notice. News reports across all media have daily or weekly updates about what our elected representatives are doing in the Statehouse.
Just a week ago this publication ran...

Valentine’s Day offers a time to embrace love

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, this might be a good time for people to take a step back and consider what role “love” plays in their life and in their world.
Of course we love our spouse, significant other, family, and friends. We may love our preacher, teacher or co-workers. We...

State’s vision clouded

A couple of weeks ago we reported on a memo released by the Vermont Agency of Education that outlined a complete overhaul of the state’s education system. It was said to be a “visioning exercise” by state officials that was meant to stimulate creative ways of looking at what the future of public...

Fire another challenge

Once again the resilience of people in the valley is being challenged, this time by a number of fires during the long weekend. Topping that list of fires is the one that destroyed a well-known valley eatery, Dot’s of Dover.
There is tragic loss anytime somebody’s business or home burns. ...

King’s words still ring true in today’s times

“We must build dikes of courage
to hold back the flood of fear.”
Martin Luther King Jr. Monday is the national holiday to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. On more than one occasion we’ve used this space and King’s words from a half-century ago to highlight how...

It's petition time once again

Spend any time at a local post office, school or grocery store in the next couple of weeks and chances are someone will walk through looking for signatures on a sheet of paper on a clipboard.
That’s right, it’s petition season.
More specifically, it’s petition season for local...

Housing need pointed out again

Housing problems in the Deerfield Valley cropped up in the news again last week, albeit in a bit of a roundabout way.
A Readsboro resident has written a letter to local town governments and county agencies voicing concerns about the demolition of three decrepit buildings in the town. ...

Legislature is about to be back in session

Next week the Vermont Legislature begins the 2019 session. As is always the case in Vermont, the annual session comes with a sense of urgency that isn’t always apparent in other legislative bodies (see US Congress re: border wall and government shutdown).
A big part of that urgency is...

New Year’s resolutions

January 1 is days away, and Monday evening revelers will ring in 2019 and everyone will start off the new year with a clean slate of goals and resolutions. With our tongue firmly planted in our cheek, here are a few New Year’s resolutions we’d like to see:
Jim Barnes resolves to buy a...

A wish and a challenge

And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong And so happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let’s stop all the fight A very Merry Christmas
And a happy new year...