News

Gov. says unemployment logjam cleared

MONTPELIER- At his press conference Monday morning, Gov. Phil Scott said he personally mailed 8,384 checks to Vermonters with unemployment insurance claims that weren't cleared by the Saturday deadline he set last week.
On Friday, Gov. Scott ordered the Vermont Department of Labor to clear...

Gov. starts getting Vermonters back to work, promises action on unemployment backlog

MONTPELIER- Gov. Phil Scott announced his first "quarter turn of the spigot" to restart Vermont's economy at his Friday morning press conference.
Gov. Scott said the state's modeling data continues to show a trajectory below earlier projections, and the rate of new cases has dropped from 7...

Gravel pit deal grates on voters

HALIFAX- Two of the town's selectboard members defended their deal to purchase land for a gravel pit from the town's third selectboard member during a public conference call meeting Tuesday evening. At issue is a purchase and sale agreement that selectboard chair Lewis Sumner and Mitch Greene...

Coronavirus takes second Boyd brother

WILMINGTON- In a sad anniversary, people from around the area lined up to honor Leon Boyd with a motor vehicle procession Sunday, driving past his house and the family farm where he grew up. Boyd, who was 64, died on April 9, just six days after his twin brother, Cleon Boyd, died. Both brothers...

Southern Valley School District grapples with connectivity, budget deficit

READSBORO- The Southern Valley Unified Union School District discussed remote learning and connectivity issues by teleconference meeting Wednesday evening.
Principal Sandy Pentak-Cohen told board members that the district's continuity of learning plan has been completed and approved by the...

Deerfield Valley CUD officially formed

DEERFIELD VALLEY - The Deerfield Valley Communications Union District officially formed on Thursday, April 9, in an organization meeting held virtually via GoToMeeting. Two new towns were added to the DVCUD, thus making it a seven-member CUD. Additionally, Rob Fish, rural broadband technical...

Gov. Phil Scott removes a face mask to make remarks at a press conference on Wednesday.

Vermont may be near peak, but mitigation measures will be needed long-term

MONTPELIER - Although Gov. Phil Scott and Commissioner of Health Mark Levine said at a Wednesday press conference that Vermont may be nearing its peak of COVID-19 cases, remarks throughout the event painted a picture of a long-term altered way of life here. Scott said he hopes to open parts of...

Gov. extends emergency, infection rate down

MONTPELIER- Gov. Phil Scott has extended Vermont's COVID-19 state of emergency until May 15. The extension also applies to all of his orders issued during the emergency, but he said he hopes to be able to ease some restrictions earlier than May 15, if the state's COVID-19 cases begin to...

Hermitage founder appeals bankruptcy court decision

BURLINGTON- Hermitage founder James Barnes is moving forward with his appeal of Vermont District Bankruptcy Court Judge Colleen Brown's denial of his motion to postpone the sale of the Hermitage until the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided. Last week, Barnes submitted a statement of issues on...

Dover set to send checks to businesses

DOVER - At a virtual meeting of the Dover Selectboard Tuesday, the board approved $77,940 in commercial emergency assistance funds. The board engaged in lengthy discussion about eligibility for the program and how much it should spend toward it. Ultimately another $50,000 was added to the...