Editorial

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...

Everyone has to help solve housing shortage

The Deerfield Valley has a housing shortage.
That may seem counterintuitive, to think that the Deerfield Valley has a housing shortage. After all, just drive up and down Route 100 or any number of side roads and there are hundreds of condos and second homes lining them.
But for a...

Health survey results should raise concerns

While Vermont may be one of the healthiest states in the country, Windham County may be one of the least healthy parts of Vermont. That’s one of the conclusions that can be drawn from a recent report completed by Grace Cottage Hospital, in cooperation with the Brattleboro Retreat and Brattleboro...

Shop local, support many around the community

The holiday season is in full swing, and with this weekend being Thanksgiving we feel it is important to urge readers to give thanks to our local businesses. In so many ways they are the backbone of the economy of the Deerfield Valley.
One of the best ways to say thanks to local...

Decision a good step forward for change

News this week that Whitingham’s education funding lawsuit against the state of Vermont can move forward should be welcome in many communities across the state.
Last Thursday, Windham Superior Court Judge Robert P. Gerety issued his opinion that the town of Whitingham could remain part...

Pain before Healing

A week ago we reported on another of an ongoing series of meetings about the opioid epidemic here in the valley, and what people are trying to do to deal with it. As part of that meeting, some of the people who spoke, including a mother who lost her son to an addiction-related death and a...