Valley Reporter · Warren, VT
I taught at Moretown for nearly four decades, starting as a paraeducator at Waitsfield, and both my children attended Waitsfield K–6. I worked as administrative assistant at Brookside. My husband was facilities director at Warren for nearly ten years and worked at Fayston before Warren. My mom attended a two-room schoolhouse in Warren and Waterbury High School (1940s-1950s), which is now Brookside Primary. I care about every school and have experience across the district. Preserving one school should never require diminishing another, and advocating for one community should never mean disregarding the needs of another. Let’s set the record straight about Moretown. Moretown flooded in 2011 during Tropical Storm Irene, followed by significant repairs and mitigation. The school has not experienced river flooding again, even during later storms. In 2023–24, Moretown had two groundwater flooding events.
Valley Reporter · Warren, VT
Walking down the halls of Harwood Union High School, the tragedies of the past two months are not readily apparent. There are students laughing with their friends, rushing to get to class and complaining about a test score. At first glance, there would be no way to tell that this community lost two students in two months. And while it cannot see it with an outside eye, the weight of grief after Vinny Viola and Gracie Dunbar's deaths rests is carried by the school community. Viola, 16 and Dunbar, 14, were killed in two separate car crashes in Warren on Sept. 19 and Oct. 24. "Grief is hard, it's so personal, and it varies so much," noted Harwood guidance counselor Erin Denzel in an interview on coping with loss within the school. While there are some students who can barely make it through class without crying, those who never knew Gracie or Vinny can live life relatively normally.
Valley Reporter · Waitsfield, VT
Nearby: Waitsfield, VTAbout 150 people filled the gym at Waitsfield Elementary School Monday night to hear about plans for school consolidation, with many telling their school board members why the Waitsfield school should not be one of two Valley schools to close next fall. Those reasons included the school’s access to public infrastructure, including water and wastewater, its walkable village location that’s out of the floodplain, its potential for expansion and its 3-year-old $1.1 million commercial kitchen. The meeting was part of a series of community sessions organized by the Harwood Unified School District School Board’s Outreach Committee. It followed the full board’s Nov. 4 straw poll, in which 9 of 14 members voted in favor of closing Waitsfield and Fayston schools, and keeping Moretown and Warren open next school year. Board chair Ashley Woods did not vote.
Valley Reporter · Waitsfield, VT
Nearby: Waitsfield, VTWith Thanksgiving just two weeks away, the Mad River Valley Interfaith Council is in the final stages of this year’s Thanksgiving Basket Drive. The deadline to ask for a free Thanksgiving basket is Wednesday Nov. 18. Monetary donations can be made at any time. The last day for food donations is Friday, Nov.13. Families and individuals in need living in Waitsfield, Warren, Fayston, or Moretown can sign up to receive a basket with all ingredients for a complete Thanksgiving meal. Sign up (1) on-line at: https://bit.ly/getMRVturkey; (2) through the school nurse at any Mad River Valley school; (3) with a sign up form at the Mad River Valley Community Pantry; (4) through the pastor at any local church; or (5) by emailing the MRV Community Fund: [email protected].
Valley Reporter · Moretown, VT
Nearby: Moretown, VTI’d like to offer some context to the narrative that has been circulating that public comment from Moretown families was the reason that members “changed their position” on a vote to decide which elementary schools to keep open. The Valley Reporter published several pieces from community members that made this claim, which has contributed to growing frustration from some Waitsfield families, and places the blame on Moretown families' civic engagement solely for the result of the vote. This is simply not an accurate summary of the full picture of what happened at the Nov. board meeting. I would first like to push back on the claim that there was no new information that would have changed members' votes at the meeting. There was absolutely new information including Dr. Mike Leichliter’s educational configuration of classrooms where only Moretown and Warren and Fayston and Warren were a fit for their model.
Addison County Independent · Duxbury, VT
Nearby: Duxbury, VTPOULSBO, Wash. — Richard “Dick” Earl Ashley, formerly of Middlebury, was born in Duxbury, Vt., Dec 21, 1932, and died in Poulsbo, Wash., Nov. 7, 2026. He was predeceased by his parents, Forrest and Vera (Leslie) Ashley of Waterbury, Vt., and Seminole, Fla. He married Virginia “Ginnie” A. Miles in Waterbury, Vt., July 24, 1954, who survives him. They have two children, Mark Ashley of Sequim, Wash., and Karen Ashley Barcomb of Winooski, Vt.; four grandchildren, Mike (Britany) Ashley of Poulsbo, Wash., and Sarah (Ben) Thomas of Poulsbo, Wash., Chelsea (Max) Campolo of Littleton, Colo., and Stephanie (Vinny) Gagliani of Virginia Beach, Va. He also has six great-grandchildren, Jonathan, Savannah, Joshua and Joseph Michael Thomas, and Brielle and Maverick Ashley. Dick is also survived by his sister, Eileen Ashley Chittick of Naples, Fla.
VTDigger · Montpelier, VT
Nearby: Montpelier, VTDear Reader, Today, you can support two worthy causes with one donation. Make a year-end gift to VTDigger and you will also provide 10 meals to the Vermont Foodbank. Donate and send 10 meals Last fall, when the government shutdown disrupted food assistance, I spoke with Vermonters flooding to the state’s food shelves, and watched leaders in Montpelier approve emergency funding to restore benefits. Since then, provisions in the federal budget law known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act have further tightened access to SNAP. The Vermont Foodbank says about 5,000 people in Vermont have lost their benefits since the changes took effect. VTDigger has worked this year to track the impacts of those federal changes, as well as following state-level shifts in food assistance and the struggles of local service providers. Will you make a gift today to support reporting on these issues? Every gift during VTDigger’s year-end drive will also send 10 meals to the Vermont Foodbank.
VTDigger · Montpelier, VT
Nearby: Montpelier, VTMONTPELIER — Four years after buying a 138-acre former golf course to help solve its housing crisis, Montpelier finally has its most detailed development blueprint to date for Country Club Road. Under a non-binding letter of intent approved unanimously by the Montpelier City Council, developer DEW Properties has proposed building an initial 108 housing units on roughly 20 buildable acres along the site’s lower ridge. The agreement represents the most concrete vision produced for the Country Club Road property since city voters authorized its purchase in 2022. “We were just eager to get involved if they wanted us involved,” Robert Wells, development coordinator for DEW Properties, told VTDigger Monday. “So happy that the (selection) process is done now, and we can get started.” Shovels aren’t set to hit dirt until around 2028, though, Wells said.
White River Valley Herald · Rochester, VT
Nearby: Rochester, VTTwo area libraries will receive a combined $385,000 in federal funding for major building improvements, including restoration of a deteriorating wall at the Rochester Public Library and roof replacement and insulation work at the Morrill Memorial & Harris Library in Strafford. The grants, announced October 30 by the Vermont Department of Libraries, are part of a statewide program distributing capital […] You must be an online subscriber to view this story. Please subscribe or buy this week's issue here or login below. The full version of this story will be available to all readers after 1 week. Full versions of news stories from the current week are available to online subscribers only. Access to full versions of news stories from issues older than 1 week are available to all readers for free in our archive of all issues. Forgot Password The post Rochester, Strafford Libraries Receive $385,000 in Grants first appeared on The White River Valley Herald.
Manchester journal · Randolph, VT
Nearby: Randolph, VTThe Gifford Medical Center in Randolph seen on Monday, November 2, 2026. VTDIGGER Vermont receives $190M in the second year of federal rural health awards The second installment of the five-year program aims to continue the work already in motion, which some lawmakers have raised concerns over. Olivia Gieger Olivia Gieger VTDigger Published November 12, 2026 - 11:00 a.m. Vermont is set to receive nearly $190 million in 2027 from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the second year of the federal rural healthcare transformation program. In 2026, CMS awarded Vermont $195 million, which the state has just finished awarding to more than 200 projects statewide. The second year of the five-year program is expected to look a lot like the first, according to Vermont’s Medicaid and health systems director, Jill Mazza Olson, who oversees the project in the state.
The Vermont Cynic · Charlotte, VT
Nearby: Charlotte, VTFor 25 years, Adam Hausmann has worked his own farm, Adam’s Berry Farm, a 57 acre organic operation in Charlotte, Vermont. Hausmann and Jessica Sanford, his wife, own, manage and operate the farm year-round. During peak growing season, from June to September, they are joined by both migrant and student farm workers. The farm produces primarily blueberries, strawberries and raspberries and works in collaboration with Pollen and Nectar, a flower business that Sanford owns, she said. Sanford has seen a lot of students say they want to be farmers, and feels like everyone should work on a farm a little bit. But people do not realize how much work it really is, she said. “You can’t have a 40 hour work week, your social life is nothing,” she said. Farming is not the only way to be involved in agriculture. Job fields like agricultural policy, land conservation and market development are all avenues that could help farmers, Sanford said.
White River Valley Herald · Chelsea, VT
Nearby: Chelsea, VTThe skies held in Chelsea on Wednesday morning for the town’s annual Veteran’s Day ceremony held on the 11th hour of the day. A group of roughly 30 gathered in front of the memorial by the town hall and members of the Heath-Doyle American Legion Post 61 stood before the crowd. Secretary of Post 61, Dana Peterson, welcomed those gathered […] You must be an online subscriber to view this story. Please subscribe or buy this week's issue here or login below. The full version of this story will be available to all readers after 1 week. Full versions of news stories from the current week are available to online subscribers only. Access to full versions of news stories from issues older than 1 week are available to all readers for free in our archive of all issues. Forgot Password The post Chelsea Honors Veterans first appeared on The White River Valley Herald.
White River Valley Herald · Chelsea, VT
Nearby: Chelsea, VTStudents at First Branch Middle School and Pre-School in Chelsea got a special visit Tuesday morning, Nov. 10, as one of the trademark bright orange snowplows from the Vermont Agency of Transportation fleet rolled up to the school. This particular truck bore a plaque naming it the “Red Devil,” a name, chosen by First Branch students in honor of the […] You must be an online subscriber to view this story. Please subscribe or buy this week's issue here or login below. The full version of this story will be available to all readers after 1 week. Full versions of news stories from the current week are available to online subscribers only. Access to full versions of news stories from issues older than 1 week are available to all readers for free in our archive of all issues. Forgot Password The post Snowplow Gets Warm Reception first appeared on The White River Valley Herald.