Vermont news

•  Forests, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Michael Snyder to step down

  02-12-2022 23:22 via vtdigger.org
  
  Michael Snyder, commissioner of the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Photo by John Herrick/VTDigger
  After a quarter-century at the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation — and a dozen years as its commissioner — Michael Snyder is stepping down at the end of the year.His departure is effective January 1, 2023: his 60th birthday. “It's been a long time,” Snyder said in an interview Friday. “Kind of extraordinarily long in a role like this
  
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• Emerson Warner Shedd

  13-06-2024 22:07 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born March 11, 1934North Ferrisburgh, VTDied June 9, 2024Berlin, VTDetails of servicesNo memorial services are planned at this time. Memorial contributions may be made to Palliative Care at CVMC, PO Box 547, Barre, VT 05641.Emerson Warner Shedd, “Warner” to all who knew and loved him, died peacefully on June 9th. He was 90 years old. He was born on March 11, 1934, to Emerson and Eleanor Shedd of North Ferrisburgh, and spent his early years on the family farm, where he learn
  
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• Officials alarmed by apparent rebuilding of manufactured home park in floodplain

  13-06-2024 21:45 via vtdigger.org
  
  Several new-looking manufactured home units were staged in a parking lot next to the Berlin Mobile Home Park on June 11, 2024. Photo by Carly Berlin/VTDigger and Vermont Public
  This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.Construction activity at a manufactured home park in Berlin that flooded catastrophically last summer is raising alarm bells among state and town officials, who have hinted at possible legal
  
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• Experience Pendeza, a Swahili name for “beautiful”

  13-06-2024 19:21 via vtdigger.org
  
  Pendeza is a new online boutique specializing in jewelry handcrafted by Maasai artisans in Kenya. Owned and operated by Burlington resident Tony Tukai and his business partner Peggy Nderi in Kenya, the spirit of Pendeza is grounded in cultural appreciation, sustainability and empowerment. Choose from our gorgeous collection of handmade bracelets, earrings and necklaces and we’ll ship your selection straight to your doorstep. Every purchase supports women artisans and their children&r
  
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• Barre man drowns in Moretown while carrying child on his back

  13-06-2024 18:16 via vtdigger.org
  
  A 34-year old Barre man drowned Wednesday evening at the Big Rock swimming hole in Moretown, according to Vermont State Police.Witnesses told police that the man, later identified as Anthony Goddard, was swimming in the Mad River around 5:25 p.m.Wednesday with his young daughter on his back. As he attempted to cross the river, he began to struggle before eventually going underwater, police said in a press release.Onlookers entered the water and were able to rescue the child, but were unable to f
  
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• Michael A. Powers: Independent schools are not responsible for out-of-control education costs

  13-06-2024 17:00 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,In her commentary, “Vermonters deserve affordability, but Gov. Scott has no ‘grand plan’,” Rep. Rebecca Holcombe repeats her claim that independent schools are one of the culprits in the huge deficit in financing education in Vermont.This is a false premise for which she offers no proof. The approximately 3,500 students served by independent schools are not responsible for the out-of-control cost of education in Vermont. It would appear that Rep. Holcombe
  
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• State police say struggle over shotgun preceded fatal police shooting in Orange

  13-06-2024 16:26 via vtdigger.org
  
  A Vermont State Police cruiser. Photo courtesy of Vermont State Police
  Vermont State Police said the trooper who shot and killed a man in Orange on Wednesday afternoon was in a struggle with the man to secure sawed-off shotgunThe name of the man who was killed is expected to be made public on Thursday following an autopsy at the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington to confirm his identity and determine his cause and manner of death, according to a press release issued lat
  
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• Matthew LeFluer: Override the veto of the Renewable Energy Standard

  13-06-2024 13:04 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Vermont State Legislature should override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of H.289, the Renewable Energy Standard. We need to act now to make sure Vermont’s electricity is clean, reliable and affordable. Investing in local renewable energy makes sense for our state economy and for generations of future Vermonters. The effects of climate change are already costing our state millions of dollars (for example, in flood cleanup). It is irresponsible not to do what we can to redu
  
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• UVM plans to nearly double its graduate student population as it nears ‘top-tier’ research designation

  13-06-2024 12:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  Ira Allen Chapel on the University of Vermont campus in Burlington on Sept. 20, 2023. File Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Holger Hoock admits his most recent job change was a “slightly unusual” move. Leaving the University of Pittsburgh, a school with the highest level of research classification and a member of the American Association of Universities, he joined the University of Vermont as its first full-time graduate college dean in June 2023.Vermont’s flagship public resea
  
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• Vermont State Police arrest suspect in Massachusetts fatal stabbing

  13-06-2024 02:55 via vtdigger.org
  
  Vermont State Police say they have arrested a suspect wanted in Massachusetts on murder and other charges related to a stabbing that occurred there on Monday. Police arrested Kevin Digregorio, 33, of Randolph, Massachusetts, on Wednesday morning in Lunenburg, Vermont, after being notified by Massachusetts State Police that Digregorio was thought to be in the area of Waterford, according to a press release issued by Vermont State Police.Authorities found Digregorio sleeping in a vehicle on U
  
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• Prospects dim for property tax compromise after sour meeting between administration and lawmakers

  13-06-2024 01:31 via vtdigger.org
  
  From left: Gov. Phil Scott, Rep. Jill Krowinski, and Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth. Photos by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  Negotiations between Gov. Phil Scott’s administration and legislative leadership soured after a Wednesday afternoon meeting to discuss the executive branch’s property tax and education finance proposal. The meeting and subsequent fallout followed Scott’s veto of the annual property tax legislation last week. If enacted, the legislation would incr
  
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• Margaret Anne Nourse

  13-06-2024 01:18 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born Feb. 9, 1944Cleveland, OhioDied April 20, 2024Richford, VermontDetails of servicesA mass of Christian Burial in Margaret’s honor will be held at Christ the King Church at 3001 Belmont Blvd, Nashville, Tennessee at 10 am on Friday, June 21.  In keeping with her wishes, smaller events to celebrate her life will be held by her daughters in California, Florida, Vermont, and Denmark in the future. Margaret Anne Nourse, (aged 80), a resident of Richford, Vermon
  
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• After more than a century, sturgeon return to Bellows Falls

  13-06-2024 00:39 via vtdigger.org
  
  A sign at Riverfront Park in Bellows Falls warns anglers to be on the lookout for sturgeon and to return them to the river if they inadvertently catch them.This story by Robert F. Smith was first published in The Commons on June 12.BELLOWS FALLS — It has taken two years since researchers first began accumulating evidence, but on June 7, scientists announced that shortnose sturgeon are living in the Connecticut River as far north as the hydroelectric dam in Bellows Falls.Sturgeon exist in
  
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• Vermont Conversation: How Rob Mermin ran away with the circus and spent a life under the Big Top

  12-06-2024 23:39 via vtdigger.org
  
  
  Rob Mermin and his new book “Circle of Sawdust: A Circus Memoir of Mud, Myth, Mirth, Mayhem and Magic.” Courtesy photos
  The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues with politicians, activists, artists, changemakers and citizens who are making a difference. Listen below, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify to hear more.
  In 1969, with the country i
  
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• Vermont Supreme Court ruling reinstates murder charge against former Orleans County man

  12-06-2024 23:09 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Vermont Supreme Court in March 2020. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
  A divided Vermont Supreme Court has reversed a lower court ruling that threw out a murder charge against a former Orleans County man whose daughter died in 2016 from what police described as complications from an intentional injury he inflicted on her as a 1-month-old in 2001.The high court’s 3-2 decision, issued Friday in the case against Jason Roberts, stems from prosecutors’ appeal of the dismissal of the m
  
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• Authorities probe death of man shot and killed by state police trooper in Orange

  12-06-2024 22:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  A Vermont State Police cruiser. Photo courtesy of Vermont State Police
  Vermont State Police say they are investigating the death of a man shot and killed Wednesday afternoon by a state trooper in Orange. Few details related to the shooting were immediately available late Wednesday afternoon, including the identity of the man who was killed. State police said in a press release that the shooting took place around 1:25 p.m. outside a home on Spencer Road, and the man was pronounced dead
  
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• What happens if Vermont school districts can’t pass budgets by July 1?

  12-06-2024 19:18 via vtdigger.org
  
  High school student Aubrey Fadden of Enosburg Falls works with third-graders at the Richford Elementary School on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMore than 100 school district budgets in the state have passed this year, but at least six still need voter approval, according to the Vermont Superintendents Association and the Vermont School Boards Association. Those half-dozen are quickly approaching a July 1 deadline, at which point districts face a slate of rarely used
  
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• VSAC helps an aspiring musician hit the right notes as he prepares for college and career

  12-06-2024 17:52 via vtdigger.org
  
  I wonder sometimes
  About the outcome
  Of a still verdictless life
  Am I living it right?-“Why Georgia” by John MayerThe song “Why Georgia” by John Mayer was a surprising choice for Blue Mountain Union senior Matt Webster to perform at his senior concert this spring. (If you don’t recognize the words of the chorus above, look it up on your streaming music service of choice; chances are, the tune will ring a bell.) Matt, who lives in Groton and has been playing guitar
  
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• Brian Searles, 2-time Vermont transportation secretary, dies at 77

  12-06-2024 17:14 via vtdigger.org
  
  Brian Searles died on June 5 in Tampa, Florida, at 77 years old. Courtesy photo
  During his nearly half-century career in Vermont, Brian Searles developed a reputation as a modest but brilliant public servant — capable of efficiently managing the wide variety of organizations he led.  Searles died on June 5 in Tampa, Florida, at 77 years old. He had been receiving treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia before his death, according to an obituary prepared by his family. Af
  
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• Marc Boglioli: UVM conference provided important context to debates over Abenaki identity

  12-06-2024 14:02 via vtdigger.org
  
  Dear Editor,It was with great interest that I read University of Vermont historian David Massell’s recent commentary in which he discusses his role in the 2022 “Beyond Borders” conference and provides historical context regarding the emergence of the Vermont state-recognized tribes.
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  I was reminded of how educational that conference had been. Despite the fact that my Ph.D. dissertation covered a fair amount of Abenaki history and I currently teach Native American studi
  
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• Graham Unangst-Rufenacht and Grace Oedel: Farmers support the pollinator protection bill

  12-06-2024 12:57 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Graham Unangst-Rufenacht, policy director at Rural Vermont, and Grace Oedel, executive director of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont.
  In May, Gov. Phil Scott had the opportunity to sign into state law a landmark bill that would restrict uses of neonicotinoid insecticides (neonics) that are harming birds, bees and other insects that sustain Vermont’s agricultural economy and environment. Modeled after New York’s Birds and Bees Protection Act,
  
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• A Vermont GOP rule bars it from backing felons. The state party chair says that’s not a problem for Trump — yet.

  12-06-2024 00:09 via vtdigger.org
  
  Vermont Republican Party Chairman Paul Dame marches in the Essex Memorial Day parade in Essex Junction on May 28, 2022. File Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  The bylaws of the Vermont Republican Party prohibit it from backing candidates who have been convicted of a felony. That could pose a problem for the party, given that its likely standard bearer, former President Donald Trump, was convicted last month of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush money paymen
  
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• David Stirling Peebles

  11-06-2024 23:39 via vtdigger.org
  
  Born 1947Died May 20, 2024.Berlin, VermontDetails of servicesPer David’s wishes, there will be no services. If you wish to celebrate David, he would love for you to send a donation to Montpelier’s Kellogg Hubbard Library, the Vermont Historical Society, in Barre, or the Outdoor Heritage Museum in Oquossoc, Maine. To send online condolences to his family and see photos of a joyful David, please visit awrfh.com.David Stirling Peebles, 77, passed away unexpectedly but peaceful
  
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• Vermont to get $3 million from nationwide settlement with Johnson & Johnson over products that may have contained asbestos

  11-06-2024 23:14 via vtdigger.org
  
  Attorney General Charity Clark discusses a settlement between Vermont and 42 other states with Johnson & Johnson during a press conference in Montpelier on Tues., June 11, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
  MONTPELIER — Attorney General Charity Clark announced Tuesday that Johnson & Johnson will pay Vermont more than $3 million to settle allegations the company long misled customers over the safety of its baby powder and body powder products that contained the mineral talc.&nbs
  
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• Pride flag goes missing at Harwood Union Middle and High School

  11-06-2024 22:21 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Pride flag flies on the flagpole at Harwood Union Middle/High School on Sat., June 8. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti/Waterbury Roundabout
  This story by Lisa Scagliotti was first published in the Waterbury Roundabout on June 11.The Pride flag flying for the past three weeks on the flagpole in front of Harwood Union Middle and High School was stolen over the weekend, school administrators announced on Tuesday.In a letter to school students, staff and families, Superintendent Mike Leichliter along w
  
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• Vermont’s brown pine trees aren’t dead. They’re just a little sick.

  11-06-2024 22:09 via vtdigger.org
  
  A tree gets rid of White Pine Needle Disease by shedding all the needles infected by fungi. Before the needles fall, they will turn shades of yellow and brown. Photo by Emma Malinak/VTDigger
  Drive around Vermont and you may notice that Eastern white pine trees have been turning shades of yellow and brown and shedding new needle growth. But the trees aren’t dying, said Savannah Ferreira, the forest health specialist for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. They&rsq
  
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• Rep. Rebecca Holcombe: Vermonters deserve affordability, but Gov. Scott has no ‘grand plan’

  11-06-2024 14:02 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Rep. Rebecca Holcombe, D-Norwich. She represents the Windsor-Orange-2 district and is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
  It’s Groundhog Day. Gov. Phil Scott vetoed the yield bill, again leaving Vermont school districts adrift. The reason: the school budgets voters approved add up to more than Gov. Scott wants them to spend.None of us like an increase. Some legislators are leaving because they can’t afford to serve. We need people to call our commun
  
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• Kate O’Neill: Prevent suffering and death, override the overdose prevention center veto

  11-06-2024 12:58 via vtdigger.org
  
  This commentary is by Kate O’Neill of Burlington. Her reported memoir about her family’s experience with addiction and the ongoing legacy of the drug war will be published next year by Knopf.
  I used to have two sisters. The youngest, Maddie, was whip-smart and hilariously funny. She was madly in love with her curly-haired son, who adored his mama in return. Her voice when she sang was like clear lake water you wanted to both dive into and float on, buoyed by the sound. She took walk
  
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• 6 bills — tackling municipal ethics, animal welfare and more — become Vermont law 

  11-06-2024 01:34 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Statehouse in Montpelier on May 3, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerGov. Phil Scott signed bills related to animal welfare, diversity in courts and addiction recovery support on Monday. He allowed bills related to cannabis, education and a municipal code of ethics to pass into law without his signature. The Republican governor signed H.626, a response to a number of animal cruelty cases across the state and the absence of a designated governmental entity to investigate and respond
  
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• 6 bills — tackling municipal ethics, animal welfare and more — become law 

  11-06-2024 01:34 via vtdigger.org
  
  The Statehouse in Montpelier on May 3, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerGov. Phil Scott signed bills related to animal welfare, diversity in courts and addiction recovery support on Monday. He allowed bills related to cannabis, education and a municipal code of ethics to pass into law without his signature. The Republican governor signed H.626, a response to a number of animal cruelty cases across the state and the absence of a designated governmental entity to investigate and respond
  
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