News

Board reorganizes, looks at the year ahead

WARDSBORO—At its first meeting following its annual meeting, the River Valleys Unified School District board reorganized and discussed the year ahead, including special education and work the board will undertake regarding efficiencies. In other matters, the Dover School is moving forward with...

Seeking economic solutions for small towns

Southern Vermont Economy Summit keynote lays out vulnerabilities facing the region WEST DOVER—Rural communities are vulnerable to a shortage of investment, and can lack the expertise that could help them attract capital to their struggling economies, a regional economic summit...

State reimbursement funds for PCB remediation at Twin Valley Elementary School helped solve Windham Southwest Supervisory Union's cashflow issues

WSWSU will start year with a deficit, despite projected end-of-year surplus

Fiscal year 2024 deficit of almost $800,000 still looms over SU finances
WILMINGTON—Windham Southwest Supervisory Union will end the fiscal year with a small surplus, which district officials are hailing as good news after several years of fiscal uncertainty.
We’re...

Alan Baker (left) and Jeff Menges, members of the Wilmington Trail Committee, toured a new section of the Hoot, Toot & Whistle Trail ahead of its official opening on May 23. Photo by Jon Hurdle

Hoot, Toot, & Whistle Trail to celebrate reopening

New walkways, bridges, and culverts are designed to attract more visitors
WILMINGTON—It’s not yet complete but work on Wilmington’s best-known walking trail is far enough along that it’s being officially reopened, with a ribbon-cutting on Saturday, May 23.
Just in...

Peyton Davis, an 11th grade student at Twin Valley Middle High School, stopped to shake hands with Matthew Muka, a clinical educator from Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Photo: Anita Rafael

Twin Valley students sample career options at annual event

Editor’s note: Pipelines and Pathways Director Christy Betit is member of the board of directors of Vermont Independent Media, owner of The Deerfield Valley News and The Commons. Some 200 students from grades 5 through 12 from Twin Valley schools met 50 employers, nonprofit volunteers, and...

Brooke Kasman

Board approves highway funds, hears Mount Snow updates

Selectboard members approved a paving bid, equipment purchases, and 1% local option tax funding for summer events at their regular board meeting Tuesday evening. The board approved a bid for the paving of town highways following the recommendation of road commissioner Travis Briggs. This year...

Windham Regional plan not related to controversial parts of Act 181, Campany says

The most controversial parts of Vermont’s Act 181 don’t apply to Windham County’s efforts to plan for town-center development, housing or the development of private land, the Windham Regional planning chief told the Wilmington Selectboard Tuesday evening. Chris Campany, executive director of...

Halifax eyes need to plan for an aging population

A draft update of the Halifax Town Plan shows the rural town’s population is aging, and has a median household income below that of most nearby towns. Town planners are now working on the draft update, the first since 2019, and expect to finalize it by November, ahead of consideration by the...

Officials at River Valleys Unified School District count votes to continue the International Baccalaureate program at The Dover School. Jon Hurdle

IB program to stay at Dover School

Dover Elementary School is keeping its International Baccalaureate program after a long-running debate over whether its benefits to students outweigh its costs and the extra work for teachers and administrators to keep it running. Voters in the River Valleys Unified School District decisively...

A male bobolink carrying food. Cathryn Abbott

Landowners urged to protect grassland birds by delaying mowing

Three declining species would be better able to raise their young if farmers stayed out of hayfields early in the season, naturalists say
Conservationists are stepping up their efforts to protect three species of grassland birds as the weather warms and more birds migrate...