News

Halifax won’t join regional policing initiative for now, Selectboard decides

HALIFAX—Selectboard members said ‘thanks but no thanks’ to joining a regional police initiative for towns without their own police department, excluding itself for now from a program that will have at least six participating municipalities.
At their Tuesday, July 7, meeting, board members...

Courtesy photo/Amy Myers-Delaney Amy Myers-Delaney, owner of Weeping Willow Yoga, plans to open a permanent location in Jacksonville this summer.

Yoga studio to open in Jacksonville

Weeping Willow Yoga to offer a community-centered practice
JACKSONVILLE—After five years of teaching yoga throughout Southern Vermont, Weeping Willow Yoga is taking its next step by opening a permanent studio in Jacksonville later this summer. The new space will...

"Big dreams mean big work"

Wilmington couple renovates an ancestral home
WILMINGTON—Drivers on Route 100 between Wilmington and Dover can’t fail to notice an old house that, since early June, has been raised on four nine-foot wooden piers.
The approximately 200-year-old building was...

“Because we’ve expanded our retail focus, we’ve been doing very well,” said Isabelle Alvarado, owner of the Village Roost café and gift shop.

Wilmington retailers say business is strong

As the summer season arrives, customer demand outweighs headwinds from construction and tariffs
WILMINGTON—Prices are up, the country is embroiled in conflict, and shoppers may not feel too confident about the national economy. But in Wilmington, it seems that the...

Bennington-1 Rep. Jonathan Cooper

Cooper seeks reelection to Bennington-1 district

The incumbent wants to navigate Vermont’s demographic challenges and create educational opportunities
POWNAL—Rep. Jonathan Cooper, a Democrat representing the Bennington-1 district in the Vermont House of Representatives, is seeking re-election this fall.
The...

VT repealed two parts of Act 181. Now what?

Repeal bill also aims to preserve environmental goals of Act 181
HALIFAX—In April, the Halifax Selectboard asked the state to repeal all of Act 181, which was a significant revision of Vermont’s land-use and permitting system.
Passed in 2024, Act 181 sought to...

A celebration worthy of America’s semiquincentennial

By Anita Rafael
WARDSBORO—On Saturday, July 4, Wardsboro is hosting what has become the biggest street fair and Independence Day parade that a small town, population 800-plus, can possibly create. The marvelous thing about it is that Wardsboro likely reached “peak parade” over a generation...

An informational meeting on the proposed transfer of the former school building to the town drew only about a dozen residents, but the measure passed overwhelmingly.

Readsboro voters approve town purchase of shuttered school building for $1

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that the Readsboro School District, not the Town of Readsboro, would be laible for $28,000 a year in real estate taxes on the recently shutttered Readsboro Central School building starting in April 2027 if the building is not sold by then...

Patriotic small replica of Wardsboro Town Hall designed by the Plimpton family. Photo courtesy Lee Miller

Plenty to do around the valley this Fourth of July

DEERFIELD VALLEY—Residents and visitors in the Deerfield Valley will have no shortage of opportunities to celebrate this Independence Day weekend, with fireworks, parades, live music, comedy, family activities, and community events scheduled across the area.
Festivities begin Thursday...

A plan to build the regional arts and culture economy takes its first steps

Wilmington and two other towns write a regional strategy to support the creative community
WILMINGTON—Artists and cultural institutions scattered across Windham County have the potential to generate prosperity and economic activity.
But not all is rosy for the...