Vermont news

• Rutland police panel drops interim from Matthew Prouty’s title, naming him permanent chief 

  11-02-2026 23:09 via vtdigger.org
  Rutland City’s new polie chief, Matt Prouty, in 2022. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerInterim Rutland City Police Chief Matthew Prouty will soon take over the role on a permanent basis.The Rutland City Police Commission this week agreed to name Prouty to the post, effective March 1. In selecting Prouty to become the city’s next police chief, the commission opted not to conduct a wider search.“We decided this was not the time for a long, drawn-out search,” Patricia Br
  
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• Calais, Worcester residents vote against shuttering schools

  11-02-2026 22:13 via vtdigger.org
  Doty Memorial School in Worcester. Photo courtesy of Christina Pollard/The Bridge
  Calais and Worcester residents on Tuesday voted against shuttering two community elementary schools in the Washington Central Unified Union School District.In Worcester, 212 residents voted against shuttering the Doty Memorial School, while 114 approved of plans to close. In neighboring Calais, 398 residents voted against closing the Calais Elementary School, with 249 in favor.Tuesday’s results marked a reje
  
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• Marilee Kemsley

  11-02-2026 20:42 via vtdigger.org
  Born: June 3, 1954Pewaukee, WisconsinDied: Jan. 23, 2026Colchester, VermontDetails of servicesA celebration of life will be held by the family at a later date.Please share memories, stories, and photos of Marilee at www.champlaincremation.com. Marilee Conrad Kemsley (72) went home on Jan. 23, 2026, surrounded by love. She is survived by her loving husband of 38 years, Michael, and their daughter, Mae Lin Kemsley Kirn, and her husband, Spencer, and her grandson, Graham.Marilee also had many
  
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• Robert David Hepburn

  11-02-2026 19:55 via vtdigger.org
  Born: July 9, 1963Worcester, MassachusettsDied: Jan. 27, 2026Eden, VermontDetails of servicesA public celebration of Bob’s life will be held later this year. In memory of Bob, please consider donating to North Country Animal League (NCAL) in Morrisville, or making a gift in his name to benefit students at Green Mountain Technology & Career Center at Lamoille Union High School (Attn: Karen Collier, 738 Rte 15 West, Hyde Park, VT 05655).Robert “Bob” Hepburn, 62, died of natu
  
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• Audrey Graham

  11-02-2026 19:09 via vtdigger.org
  Born: Oct. 8, 1919Brooklyn, New YorkDied: Jan. 19, 2026Bennington, VermontDetails of servicesGifts in memory of Audrey may be sent to All Saints Church, Scarborough Rd, Briarcliff Manor, NY (www.allsaintsbriarcliff.org) or Hudson Link (www.hudsonlink.org). The family will be arranging a memorial service in the spring.To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Audrey Graham, please visit our flower store.Audrey Clarissa Graham died peacefully and gracefully
  
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• From homelessness to college: how Matthew Carey found his calling

  11-02-2026 18:44 via vtdigger.org
  Matthew Carey graduated from online high school using the free public Wi-Fi at Brattleboro’s Brooks Memorial Library. The world was just emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, and he’d recently relocated to Brattleboro from Pennsylvania. He took the bus to the library every day to finish his classes. Matthew’s family life is complicated, as he puts it. He moved to Brattleboro with his father and his three siblings. The family was homeless and struggling financially. At that
  
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• Smugglers’ Notch Resort sold to new Burke Mountain owners

  11-02-2026 17:08 via vtdigger.org
  Skiers and boarders ride up the Madonna II lift at Smugglers’Notch Resort in Jeffersonville on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerSmugglers’ Notch Resort has sold.The mountain announced a “collaborative ownership transition” Wednesday that will move ownership from Bill Stritzler to Bear Den Partners, a ski resort operator that also owns Burke Mountain. The new owners will continue to honor existing season passes, and all employees are expected to
  
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• Smugglers’ Notch Resort sells

  11-02-2026 17:08 via vtdigger.org
  Skiers and boarders ride up the Madonna II lift at Smugglers’Notch Resort in Jeffersonville on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerSmugglers’ Notch Resort has sold.The mountain announced a “collaborative ownership transition” Wednesday that will move ownership from Bill Stritzler to Bear Den Partners, a ski resort operator that also owns Burke Mountain. The new owners will continue to honor existing season passes, and all employees are expected to
  
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• Vermont skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle scores Olympic silver in super-G

  11-02-2026 16:29 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle, a second-generation Alpine racer from Cochran’s Ski Area in Richmond, repeated his Olympic medal-winning feat of four years ago by scoring silver in the men’s super-G Wednesday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.“It’s an honor,” the 33-year-old Starksboro resident could be heard saying as he received his latest medal on television after a race that combined the speed of downhill with the gate-dodging turns of giant
  
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• Immigration detentions push dozens of children into foster care, including in Vermont

  11-02-2026 14:00 via vtdigger.org
  A federal agent wears a badge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the immigration court at Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York on June 9, 2025. Photo by Yuki Iwamura/APThis story was produced in partnership with NOTUS, a publication from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute. VTDigger has partnered with NOTUS to cover federal actions affecting Vermont.At least 32 children of immigrants entered foster care over the past year after their parents were detained o
  
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• Mark Treinkman: Facts matter in the Israel-Hamas debate

  11-02-2026 12:00 via vtdigger.org
  On Sept. 19, U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt. described the Israel–Hamas war using long-debunked accusations and recycled falsehoods. Since then, a cease-fire has taken effect, and Hamas has returned all the hostages, marking what would be the first genocide in history conducted on a schedule set by its alleged victims.With the end of this two-year war, we must turn our attention to how Hamas successfully spread antisemitic hate while deceiving many leaders of the free world, despite th
  
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• Vermont develops catalog of prevetted home designs for faster building

  11-02-2026 11:00 via vtdigger.org
  Chris Yuen, Essex Junction’s community development director, writes a comment under a display of one of the home designs proposed by the state for builders to use and be able to fast-track though local zoning at an informational meeting in Essex Junction on Saturday, Feb. 7. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.In order to build the housing of the future, Vermont i
  
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• Alex Herzog: Education reform must work for rural Vermont

  11-02-2026 03:03 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Alex Herzog, director of career and technical education at Lyndon Institute.When Gov. Phil Scott delivered his 2026 State of the State address, he framed education reform — now referred to as education transformation — as a prerequisite for Vermont’s long-term economic and demographic stability. His emphasis on cradle-to-career pathways, funding equity and workforce alignment reflects a growing consensus: the state’s education system must be be
  
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• ‘Challenging to track’: Officials consider solutions to spiraling IT deficit

  11-02-2026 00:30 via vtdigger.org
  Adam Greshin, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Finance and Management on Jan. 14, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerVermont’s primary annual IT operations fund went from $1 million in the black three years ago to $25 million in the red last year, according to state officials.“That’s why I’m here today,” said Adam Greshin, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Finance and Management, as he spoke with the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Commit
  
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