News

In Searsburg, a ballot dominated by write-ins

By Lauren Harkawik
SEARSBURG— At the polls on Town Meeting Day, Tuesday, March 3, voters in Searsburg will need to write in their preferred candidates for two open selectboard seats, as no one submitted petitions to be on the ballot. Several other elected positions are also without a...

A municipal water supply in West Dover could take $48 million and 10-15 years

DOVER— A municipal water utility serving much of West Dover could cost up to $48 million, and take 10 to 15 years to build, according to the latest estimates from the Dover Water Task Force.
The task force held their third public informational meeting to discuss their draft public water...

Ed Metcalfe, of Vermont Distillers

Hogback distillery hosts nature presentations

MARLBORO- On a freezing January night, almost 50 people crowded into a meeting space in a building at the Hogback Mountain site of Vermont Distillers to hear a presentation on coyotes by Mike Clough, executive director of the Vermont Museum of Natural History.
The event, part of a series...

North River Bakery’s doors have closed. Jon Hurdle

Jacksonville mourns closure of popular village bakery

JACKSONVILLE—The village’s beloved bakery closed for the last time on Saturday after more than three years, as the owners decided they were working longer and harder than they wanted to at this point in their lives.
Don and Shelly Phillips left notes on the North River Bakery’s front door,...

Wilmington faces spending decisions at Town Meeting

By Jon Hurdle
WILMINGTON—Voters at this year’s Wilmington Town Meeting will be asked to approve spending on around a dozen line items for the fiscal 2027 budget that are about evenly divided between increases, decreases, and no change from last year.
The biggest increases include a...

On a potential $400k surplus, RVUSD chair says don’t celebrate

DOVER—At its regular meeting on Monday, February 2, the River Valleys Unified School District Board learned it could end the year with an approximate $400,000 surplus. In other matters, the board heard about where Dover School students are with regard to meeting educational benchmarks and how an...

Board receives mixed feedback on potential consolidation

DOVER—During a moderated discussion before its regular meeting on Monday, February 2, the River Valleys Unified School District Board heard from members of the public about consolidation concepts the board has reviewed as it prepares to build its budget for next school year. Input from the public...

Immigrant-rights groups urge readiness for any new ICE crackdown in Vermont

VERMONT—Advocates for immigrants urged supporters to prepare for an increase in activity by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers throughout Vermont after violent and deadly protests against their presence in Minnesota and Maine.
Some 1,100 people, more than five times as...

Whitingham shuffles order of Town Meeting

Will voters stay at the meeting longer?
WHITNGHAM- Town Meeting Day will be different in Whitingham this year, the first year without longtime moderator Leon Corse at the helm. Under the moderation of Seth Boyd, the order of articles tended from the floor at Town Meeting...

Sadawga ice anglers brave cold in annual derby to aid fire department

WHITINGHAM- On Whitingham’s frozen Sadawga Lake, the air temperature was about four degrees at 9 am on Saturday, January 31, but Barry Smith was having fun catching fish from holes drilled through 18 inches of ice. Smith was one of an estimated 250 to 300 people who were expected to compete in...