2021-07-22 E-Edition

Floating Through 200 Years

Brookfield’s Unique Landmark Remains Historic Focal Point

In 1889, a subscriber to The Herald and News wrote to the newspaper extolling “a beautiful sheet of water” set in the village of Brookfield, “back among the hills and not far from the center of the state.” Today, the unknown author who lauded present-day Pond Village would feel right at home in the same corner of the White River […]

Randolph Celebrates As Amtrak Service Returns to Vermont

‘Vermonter’ Train Greeted by Cheering Crowd

With a celebratory blow of the whistle and an enthusiastic wave from a conductor, Randolph took one more step out of the pandemic on Monday as Amtrak resumed passenger rail service to Vermont for the first time since March of 2020. Despite the morning’s drizzle, dozens of Randolph area residents, civic leaders, and children gathered on the platform in the […]

Barnett To Serve 30 Days In Prison

Former Principal Pleaded ‘No Contest’ To Sex Crime

David Barnett, the former Randolph Union High School principal will serve 30 days in prison, beginning July 23. Barnett, 53, who was convicted after pleading “no contest” to a charge of sexual exploitation of a minor, appeared by phone for a Wednesday, July 14 sentencing through the Orange County Superior Court. Judge Thomas Zonay approved Barnett’s plea agreement to the […]

Mine Cleanup Weeks From Finished

EPA Project Took 22 Years

After 22 years, the Elizabeth Mine Superfund cleanup is almost complete. The project, originally estimated to cost $15 million, will end with a price tag of approximately $90 million dollars, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s remedial project manager Ed Hathaway, who has lead the cleanup since it began. The bridge deck off Tyson Road is expected to be complete […]

Artisan Restores WRV Historic Places

Fishburn Gives New Life To Old Buildings

On a given day this summer, Sally Fishburn might be found in the attic of the Braintree Meeting House, meticulously drilling holes through the lathe and re-adhering the plaster of the building’s ceiling. Fishburn, a Danville resident, has worked on about 90 buildings throughout the region—and been consulted on another 27. As the only person who currently works in Vermont […]

Randolph Center Lab Shapes Vermont Sciences

Air, Water Quality Testing Only Tip Of the Carefully Calibrated Iceberg

In Randolph Center, a stone’s skip away from Vermont Technical College, a large, boxy building is being watched over by a frog. The building, the Vermont Agriculture and Environmental Laboratory (VAEL), was completed two years ago and has since played host to Vermont’s cadre of biologists and chemists who monitor everything from air and water quality, to Vermont’s tick population, […]

How Flowers Get Their Colors

The Outside Story

To quote the French dramatist Jean Giradoux, “The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life.” Flowering plants fill our summer fields and gardens, bring bright spots of color to our woods, and—since their arrival on the scene some 130 million years ago—have evolved along with animal life to become an essential […]

Local Births

Monday, June 28: A son, Jack Hideo Houston, was born to Erica Fae Schulman Houston and John O.S. Houston of Tunbridge. Thursday, July 1: A son, Thatcher Allen Roy Wheeler, was born to Hannah Wheeler of Williamstown; a daughter, Anna Ruth Groberg, was born to Mary Margaret and Dan Groberg of Montpelier. Saturday, July 3: A son, Lane Ambrose Whooley, […]

Good Weather Prompts Flea Market Flourish

Return of Chelsea Event Draws Scores Of Bargain Hunters And Bookworms

After being cancelled last year for the first time in its 49-year history, the annual Chelsea Flea Market returned with vigor on Saturday, drawing vendors and shoppers alike from across New England. The event, which had always been held on the second Saturday in July since 1972— until being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year—is among the first […]