Editorial

New year, new me

Monday is the first day of 2024, and with the start of a new year comes the time-honored tradition of people making their resolutions for the coming year.
We’re guessing that every reader has made a resolution at one time or another. They vary, of course, from losing weight or eating...

The mountain is more than just skiing

In the not so distant past, weekend skiers often divided time between work, home, and a weekend life in the mountains. This was before the pandemic. This was before Vail and Aspen bought much of the ski world. Skiing was a different kind of mountain escape. The mountains were, well, a “third...

Dubious record of destructive disasters

“Tell me why?
I don’t like Mondays
I want to shoot
The whole day down”
Bob Geldof, The Boomtown Rats
Mondays have been a tough day for Vermonters in 2023. Two Mondays in particular, July 10 and December 18. Both of those days saw torrential rain which caused...

Legislature would be savvy to look at survey

The Campaign for Vermont has some interesting survey results, asking Vermonters what they think about how the state is governed. CFV describes itself as “a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to the vision of a more prosperous Vermont and a growing middle class.” They say they...

Painful story to tell

Last week’s report of sexual abuse that occurred half a century ago at a local football camp was a painful story to tell. The lawsuit levels serious accusations of a child abuse cover up at one of the country’s most beloved sports figure, Joe Namath. It wasn’t Namath who is accused of the abuse...

“Advantage” goes to saving companies money

Moving only 21 miles west of the Deerfield Valley seems to have catapulted me into a whole new television news environment. I have also been switched from Direct TV to the dreaded Comcast Xfinity with its infinity of complications. In this brave new world, I am getting besieged with Medicare “...

Forever chemicals are sadly living up to name

“Better living through chemistry” is an advertising slogan coined in the 1930s that held out the promise of modern science as way to make life better and easier for people. The original phrase, “Better things for better living, through chemistry,” was used by DuPont Corporation to market...

This holiday season, give back to the community

It’s Thanksgiving, and we encourage everyone to take the time this weekend to consider the things they have to be thankful about. Those things may be big or small, but it is important to find the meaning in them. Regardless of everything going on in the world, we all have something to be thankful...

Surprising statistics

A press release sent out last week by the state treasurer’s office had some interesting statistics in it. According to recent census bureau numbers, distilled by the treasurer’s staff, Vermont gained more than 17,000 new residents in 2021 and 2022. That was a bigger influx of new residents...

Veterans Day mirrors changing US history

Saturday is Veterans Day. We thank all the men and women for their service the country. It is because of their service and sacrifices, and of their families in support of them, that the United States continues to shine as a beacon of freedom and democracy around the world. However imperfect this...