Editorial

Region must work to reverse aging trend

Vermont in general and Windham County in particular are getting older, with no change in sight. A recent newsletter sent by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation hammered home that point.
At the top of the email was a chart (see below) created by the United States Census Bureau...

We are all Americans

Last week’s story by Lauren Harkawik hopefully will make readers pause and reflect for a moment.
Harkawik wrote about two restaurant workers who are here in the valley on legal visas. The owner of the restaurant thought so highly of them as people and team members that he sponsored...

Lack of representation a reason for concern

Earlier this summer, the Vermont Legislature passed, and Gov. Phil Scott signed into law, House Bill 454. Now known as Act 73, it promises a sweeping overhaul of Vermont’s primary and secondary public education system. It’s a complex bill with a variety of goals and triggers, as we have...

Pawing around the dog days of summer

“Dog Days are approaching; you must, therefore, make both hay and haste while the Sun shines, for when old Sirius takes command of the weather, he is such an unsteady, crazy dog, there is no dependence upon him,”
Old Farmer’s Almanac Well, well, well, the dog days of summer have...

The beauty of blue

“You ought to have seen what I saw on my way
To the village, through Mortenson’s pasture to-day:
Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,
Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum
In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!
And all ripe together, not...

“For Vermonters, July 10 is starting to feel cursed”

The above headline was writer Jenn Jordan’s lead on a WeatherChannel.com report about flooding in Vermont last week. For anyone who has been in Vermont for the past three summers, it was dejá vu all over again. Heavy summer rain that dropped a significant amount of water in a short period of...

One door closes, and another one opens

That is where The Deerfield Valley News is right now, about to walk through an open door into a new era.
Two weeks ago we finalized a months-long negotiation with the folks from Vermont Independent Media to transfer ownership of the “Valley News.” (See story on front page.)
This...

Employment news a double-edged sword

A report this week by the Vermont Department of Labor shows that unemployment across the most of the state is low. While a report like that is usually cause for celebration, the low unemployment rate isn’t necessarily good news for employers around the region and across the state.
Why?...

Education bill will bring big changes to state

Well, H.454 is a done deal. The Legislature passed the sweeping, controversial education reform bill Monday evening. The only thing left is for Gov. Phil Scott to sign the bill into law, something he said he will do and we expect will happen any day now.
The bill lays out a plan that will...

Weather or not: it’s been one wet year

It seems like Vermont and the greater Northeast have been wetter than normal. If readers feel a little dark and dreary about the weather, especially rainy weekend weather, there’s a reason for that. Vermont is on track for one of its rainiest years ever.
According to a report this week...