2021-04-08 E-Edition

Schools, WRP Get VTC Funds

Settlement Money Will Pay For Water Projects

As part of the settlement over a 2018 spill of effluent into Penny Brook, Vermont Technical College has awarded $40,000 to schools in the Orange Southwest district and the White River Partnership. The spill of thousands of gallons of effluent, used to fertilize the fields, into the Randolph Center brook resulted in the death of most of the brook’s fish […]

Summer Staples (Probably) Return

Area Organizers Plan Cautiously For Slate of Events

The news of the state’s reopening plan (see separate story) will likely be music to the ears of organizers responsible for events that were largely canceled last year. In Chelsea, Phyllis Hayward, who serves as a coordinator for that town’s annual flea market, said that organizers of the popular event had been waiting on the state’s guidance. “We wanted to […]

Two Found Dead In Vershire Driveway

Carbon Monoxide Likely Cause Of Untimely Deaths

Two people were found dead in a car in a Vershire driveway, Saturday, just after noon. Cody Coburn, 28, of Vershire, and Joelle Ryder, 36, of Sharon, likely died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, police said. According to Vermont State Police Detective Trooper Christopher Pilner, the two victims were acquaintances. Coburn had lived off and on at the […]

Scott: 90 Days To Go

Public Events Poised To Return As Reopening Plan Is Unveiled

As springtime weather grows warmer, communities across the White River Valley and beyond are preparing to gradually emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. With the growing number of Vermonters vaccinated against the coronavirus (see separate story), Gov. Phil Scott unveiled on Tuesday the state’s new plan for lifting restrictions—all with the hope of returning to relative normalcy by July 4. “We […]

Creative Coffee Company Curates Caffeine Cravings

Vershire Man Hopes Market Loves ‘Cascara’

The coffee bean is already one of the most popular products consumed every day around the world. Now, a Vermont-based coffee company is hoping to innovate the market by merchandising coffee fruit as well. Entrepreneur Justin Will is the founder of Inspired Coffee Merchants, a wholesale retail company based in Vershire, which primarily sells a product made from dried coffee […]

Salamander Secrets

The Outside Story

On a warm, rainy April night a few years ago, I drove up our muddy, rutted dirt road through the mist, steering around the wood frogs hopping across the road. As I approached the vernal pool, there were more frogs in the road, so I parked to avoid hitting them and walked the rest of the way. There were still […]

Weatherwise


Last week featured typical early spring weather. It snowed on three days, while two others saw highs reach into the 50s. Monday was windy, with velocities averaging 20-25 mph for most of the morning. After a nice day for sugaring Tuesday, rain fell on Wednesday. As it picked up in intensity in the evening, the temperatures dropped; at one point, […]

Australian Ballot Year Yielded Mixed Message in W.R. Valley


Town meeting is changing. Across the state, Australian ballots are becoming increasingly popular while trends lean away from voting on the floor and losing the traditional in-person town meeting. This year, a pandemic-forced Australian ballot effort saw mixed results in the White River Valley. A study conducted by the Center for Research on Vermont averaged 50 Vermont towns and found […]

State Nears 50% Vaccinated, Younger Groups Prep for Jab


With more than 231,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered in the state, Vermont appears poised this month to reach the halfway mark in its goal of vaccinating every resident against COVID-19. Though the numbers vary from county to county, the state has thus far administered at least one dose of the vaccine to roughly 42% of its overall population, […]