Vermont

Directive to wear face masks in public may be coming

MONTPELIER- At a press conference Monday, exactly one month after declaring a state of emergency, Gov. Phil Scott hinted that there may be more orders coming this week, including a directive to wear face masks when in public.
"It's hard to believe it was only one month ago today that I...

Gov. Scott closes schools, health department expands testing

By Mike Eldred MONTPELIER- Late Thursday afternoon, Gov. Phil Scott issued an order dismissing in-person education at Vermont schools for the remainder of the school year.
The latest order supersedes his earlier order, which closed schools until April 6. Under the order, districts...

Hiking at the top of Mount Snow.

GMNF trails still open but offices go virtual

VERMONT- The Green Mountain National Forest is closing its offices and implementing virtual services to protect the health and safety of employees and members of the public during the COVID-19 outbreak, in accordance with guidance from federal and state authorities.
Though the offices have...

Gov. Scott warns Vermonters to prepare for stricter mitigation measures

MONTPELIER- At his press conference Monday, Gov. Phil Scott told Vermonters to expect additional mitigation measures soon, although he stopped short of calling for a “shelter in place” order. “At the state level we've done a lot to make sure people are social-distancing,” Gov. Scott said, “as...

Locals testify in Senate Education Committee hearing

MONTPELIER- Educators and parents from around the state offered testimony at a Senate Committee on Education hearing on a study of pupil weighting in Vermont’s education funding formula.
The study, which concluded that the current pupil weighting system that determines districts’ “...

Frustrated by cheap state

Officials decry paltry development funding WILMINGTON - At a meeting of the bi-town economic development committee on Thursday, September 5, several committee members cited frustration with the state.
Eric Durocher, executive director of the Southern Vermont Deerfield...

Grant funding for opioids help coming to Vermont

BURLINGTON - In early August it was announced that $6.6 million in grant funding was awarded to the University of Vermont Medical Center, which will establish one of three “Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorders.” The others will be located in New York and Georgia.
The...

Top education official says costs belong to all

Urges thinking about “21st century schools” HALIFAX- Vermont Education Secretary Dan French visited Halifax Monday evening, to answer questions posed by Southern Valley Unified Union School District School Board members and the public.
One district resident directed...

Courts try to sort out Hermitage bankruptcy consolidation

BURLINGTON- Bankruptcy judges in Vermont and Connecticut have ordered a temporary stay of Hermitage Chapter 11 cases filed in Connecticut while the Vermont District Bankruptcy Court decides whether to consolidate the cases in Vermont. The filing of Hermitage Chapter 11 bankruptcies in...

State, community efforts attempting to deal with impact of opioid crisis

VERMONT- The state’s opioid crisis was first brought sharply into focus - to Vermonters and to the nation - when Gov. Peter Shumlin took the unusual step of devoting his January 2014 state of the state address to the rising tide of addiction, crime, and overdose. “In every corner of our state,...