Vermont news

• Then Again: Achsa Sprague’s transformation from invalid to spiritual medium

  19-08-2018 16:15 via vtdigger.org
  In the late 1800s, a West Randolph doctor and patent medicines dealer sold photographs of Spiritualist Achsa Sprague. The reverse side features a brief biography of Sprague, who died at the age of 34 in 1862, and quotes from some of her poems. Courtesy of the Vermont Historical Society
  Editor’s note: Mark Bushnell is a Vermont journalist and historian. He is the author of “Hidden History of Vermont” and “It Happened in Vermont.”Achsa Sprague’s best years, ones
  
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• Moats: All speech is not created equal

  19-08-2018 16:10 via vtdigger.org
  Students at Middlebury College turn their backs on Charles Murray, the author of the controversial book “Bell Curve.” Photo by Emily Greenberg/VTDigger
  Editor’s note: David Moats, an author and journalist who lives in Salisbury, is a regular columnist for VTDigger. He is editorial page editor emeritus of the Rutland Herald, where he won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for a series of editorials on Vermont’s civil union law.
  Long before author Charles Murray caused an uproar at Mi
  
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• Help wanted: Teachers, principals in demand in many districts

  19-08-2018 16:10 via vtdigger.org
  The Vermont Agency of Education annually surveys school districts to identify personnel shortages. Creative Commons
  In Rutland City, school administrators searched high and low for a qualified higher-level math teacher this spring.
  Coming up empty, they asked their counterparts in neighboring towns if they could recommend anyone on the market. Basically everyone responded the same way – we’re looking, too.
  “Almost every high school/7-12 setting in the southwest of Vermont was l
  
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• VTel president plans to fight animal cruelty charge in Conn.

  19-08-2018 16:04 via vtdigger.org
  Michel Guite, the president of Vermont Telephone Co., stands outside his home in Springfield in November 2014. At right is Cody, his Australian shepherd, the subject of an animal cruelty complaint that Guite is contesting. Photo by James M. Patterson/Valley News
  This story by Jordan Cuddemi was published by the Valley News on Aug. 16.
  The president of Vermont Telephone Co. is contesting the basis for an animal cruelty charge he faces in Stamford, Conn., asserting that his dog was in no dang
  
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• DIGGER DIALOGUE: A Q&A with Ed Secretary Dan French

  19-08-2018 15:56 via vtdigger.org
  Gov. Phil Scott, left, and education secretary Dan French. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  Dan French, Vermont’s new secretary of education, is a big believer in personalized learning and technology. He also thinks the state’s educational system is at a “tipping point” in terms of being able to sustain itself.
  French is a veteran superintendent -– he was named Superintendent of the Year in 2009 -– who has worked in the Northeast Kingdom and southern Verm
  
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• Turner fundraising outpaces Zuckerman in lieutenant governor race

  19-08-2018 15:11 via vtdigger.org
  David Zuckerman. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
  With no contested primaries on Tuesday, the lieutenant governor’s race has been overshadowed by those seeking the top job, but behind the scenes the two major candidates have beefed up their political warchest.The results from Tuesday’s primary had incumbent Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman with 84.6 percent of the 70,000 votes cast in the Democratic primary, while Republican Don Turner received 76.4 percent of the 37,000 Republican ballots
  
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• Mayor Miro Weinberger’s public appearance schedule for Aug. 20-24, 2018

  19-08-2018 15:00 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Mayor Miro WeinbergerAugust 17, 2018
  Contact:Jordan Redell802.881.7020
  Mayor Miro Weinberger’s public appearance schedule for August 20 – 24, 2018:
  Monday, August 20 – Tuesday, August 21
  No public appearances scheduled
  Wednesday, August 228:00 amMornings with Miro – The Bagel Café, 1127 North Avenue
  Thursday, August 23 – Friday, August 24Mayor attending Mayors InnovationRead the story on VTDigger here:Mayor Miro Weinberger’s public
  
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• State seeks to boost mental health, addiction workforce

  19-08-2018 13:37 via vtdigger.org
  Al Gobeille, secretary of the state Agency of Human Services, discusses opioid abuse last year in Rutland. Photo by Alan J. Keays/VTDiggerVermont officials are sinking $5 million into new efforts to find and retain workers to help address the state’s mental health crisis and opioid addiction epidemic.
  The initiative, included in the state’s fiscal 2019 budget, is just getting started: Human Services Secretary Al Gobeille met Wednesday with higher education administrators to begin tal
  
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• NAACP petition calls for Confederate flag ban at Rutland fair

  19-08-2018 13:07 via vtdigger.org
  A rapidly spreading petition is calling for a ban on the sale of Confederate flags at the Vermont State Fair in Rutland.
  The local branch of the NAACP is spreading an online form at Change.org, which asks the fair’s organizers to proactively stop the display and sale of an Confederate merchandise through formal policy.The petition began two days ago and had collected more than 2,100 signatures as of mid-afternoon on Friday. The fair opened on Tuesday and ran through Saturday. Fairgoers say
  
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• Jay Peak receiver and town cut tax deal

  19-08-2018 12:45 via vtdigger.org
  The Hotel Jay at Jay Peak Resort. VTDigger photo
  The man running Jay Peak Resort has reached a $173,000 settlement with the town of Jay over late property taxes, more than $100,000 less than had been owed.
  Details of the agreement between Michael Goldberg, the court-appointed receiver overseeing Jay Peak, and the Northeast Kingdom town were unveiled Friday in a court filing in the federal fraud case against the resort’s former owner Ariel Quiros.Get all of VTDigger's criminal justice news.
  
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