Vermont State News

‘Your lies die here,’ murdered man’s widow tells leader of deadly plot, before forgiving his accomplice

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 23:48:10 +0000

Gregory and Melissa Davis. Photo courtesy of Melissa Davis

BURLINGTON — Melissa Davis, the widow of Gregory Davis, addressed for the first time the man who ordered her husband’s deadly hit and that man’s former friend who played a role in carrying it out.

Gregory Davis, of Danville, was killed more than seven years ago not far from his home after he was kidnapped and shot as part of a murder-for-hire plot.

“I stand here today not only as a widow, but as the mother of seven children whose lives were shattered the night Gregg was taken from us,” Melissa Davis said Thursday. She spoke during the sentencing hearing in Burlington’s federal court for Serhat Gumrukcu, the man convicted of commissioning her husband’s killing.

Gumrukcu walked into the courtroom before the hearing, dressed in a red prison uniform. Sitting a few feet away from where Melissa Davis stood in the courtroom to address him, Gumrukcu did not appear to look at her or react to her words. In the roughly 30-minute hearing, he did not address her comments.

A jury convicted Gumrukcu in April of several charges, including murder for hire and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The jury reached the verdict following a five-week trial that featured him taking the stand in his own defense and the three co-defendants testifying against him.

Melissa Davis, her voice breaking with emotion, talked Thursday about the scar the death of her 49-year-old husband left on her and her children. She was pregnant with their seventh child when Gregg was killed, but despite the devastation, she said she decided to name the baby Jubilee. “I chose to believe God would one day bring beauty, restoration, and freedom,” she said, her words interrupted by sobs.

Melissa Davis continued to describe how their oldest daughter just started college this summer and had decided to study forensic psychology and help combat crime. Their oldest son studies criminal justice and tries to fill the role of his father — a burden no boy should have, Davis said.

While Melissa Davis fought depression to be strong for her children, Gumrukcu lived a wealthy life built on lies and deception, she said.

“You thought you could silence my husband, but your lies die here in this courtroom,” she told Gumrukcu.

Gregg’s death protected future victims from Gumrukcu, and her late husband’s legacy will continue through his children, according to Melissa Davis.

Sheryl Davis, Gregg’s mother, also submitted a statement for the court. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Stendig read it for her, as she said she couldn’t bear to be face-to-face with the men who killed her son. Gregg was her only child, Sheryl Davis wrote in the statement, and he left behind four boys and three girls who can no longer count on their father. She asked the court to sentence Gumrukcu to life in prison.

Later Thursday, Berk Eratay, Gumrukcu’s former friend, was sentenced for his role in the plot. He had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to launder money.

Melissa Davis addressed Eratay, too, saying that his choices contributed to her husband’s death but also acknowledging that she saw him change during the trial. When Eratay described the sorrow he felt over the loss of his father, who died while he was incarcerated, Melissa Davis said she felt a connection with him because she had endured that kind of pain, too.

Yet, she found solace in faith and exhorted Eratay to do the same, noting that “the debt of taking a life cannot ever be repaid by human hands.”

Eratay and Melissa Davis had exchanged letters before, but this time, Davis said, she could look him in the eye and tell him, “I forgive you.” Eratay wiped away tears as he lifted his head to look at her.

Serhat Gumrukcu in 2014. Photo via Instagram

‘How do things get so far off track?’

The two sentencing hearings unfolded in different ways.

In the first one, Judge Christina Reiss has said she has no leeway in the sentence she could impose since Gumrukcu’s convictions carry a mandatory sentence of life behind bars.

However, the judge agreed Thursday to a request from Susan Marcus, Gumrukcu’s attorney, to delay the formal imposition of that sentence until November. Marcus told the judge she needed more time to consider possible challenges to information contained in a pre-sentence report prepared by a federal probation officer ahead of Thursday’s hearing.

Reiss, in granting the delay, apologized to Davis’ family members in the courtroom but said it was important that Gumrukcu had the ability to present his position as well.

Gumrukcu, 42, was arrested in May 2022 in California, where he was living at the time. A Turkish national, Gumrukcu had come to the United States more than a decade earlier and worked as an entrepreneur and biomedical researcher.

The prosecutors argued during the trial that greed motivated Gumrukcu to kill Gregory Davis, and he ordered and paid for the deadly hit.

Gumrukcu, according to prosecutors, feared that Gregory Davis was going to report him to authorities and accuse him of fraud in a failed oil deal between the two men. Gumrukcu believed that the fraud allegation could jeopardize a larger biomedical deal he had been working on, where he eventually gained tens of millions of dollars, the prosecutors told the jury.

Prosecutors told jurors that Gumrukcu brought Eratay into the plot to help carry it out with two other men — Aron Lee Ethridge and Jerry Banks — later joining in. Banks was ultimately the one who traveled to Vermont and fatally shot Gregory Davis in January 2018.

Banks and Ethridge, who have also reached plea deals with prosecutors, are set to be sentenced Friday.

Allan Sullivan, Eratay’s attorney, argued Thursday for a five-year prison sentence for his client, half of what the prosecutor was seeking. The defense attorney cited, in large part, Eratay’s cooperation with the prosecutors and that he testified over several days in Gumrukcu’s trial.

Reiss questioned Eratay during the hearing to better understand his motive. The judge said she read the 70 letters submitted by friends and relatives in his support and pointed out that they showed Eratay had always been loved and supported — unlike some of the other men involved in the murder for hire who had troubled pasts.

Yet he still ended up involved in a murder plot.

“How do things get so far off track?” she asked.

Eratay wasn’t fully able to answer that question, but his statements — and those of prosecutors — suggested Gumrukcu’s charisma along with Eratay’s loyalty and eagerness to help his friend played a central role.

“It took him some time to realize how deeply involved he was,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Pau Van de Graaf said. In contrast with the other men involved, Eratay didn’t have a personal or financial motive, the prosecutor said. He believed he was only a middleman, Van de Graaf added, but after his father passed, he probably realized how involved he had been.

Eratay, 39, also spoke, apologizing to the Davis family members in the courtroom for his actions and telling the judge he believed he fell under the influence of Gumrukcu and acted out of loyalty to his friend.

“I hope today you will give me a second chance,” Eratay said to Reiss, as his mother, who came from Turkey, and several friends sat in the court.

Reiss told Eratay she believed a five-year prison term for Eratay was too short given the seriousness of the offenses, but she didn’t impose the full 10 years the prosecution had requested.

In imposing a sentence of 110 months, or just over nine years, Reiss told Eratay she wanted him to take to heart the words delivered in the courtroom moments earlier by Melissa Davis.

“I hope you know how lucky you are that she forgives you,” the judge told him.

Read the story on VTDigger here: ‘Your lies die here,’ murdered man’s widow tells leader of deadly plot, before forgiving his accomplice.

Up in the Canadian Arctic, a team of Vermont scientists search for microbes and microplastics

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 22:32:06 +0000

VTSU Castleton student Olivia Rutkowski collects snow samples in the Canadian Arctic. Photo courtesy of DRACO Team

Madelyn Nonni is a reporter with the Community News Service, part of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.

Picture flat white snow as far as the horizon. No trees, no rolling mountains. Just an endless scene of ice and frozen earth underneath an illuminated sky with the sun high in the air, regardless of the time of day.

This is what Castleton junior Environmental Science major Olivia Rutkowski saw as she stepped off the snowmobile in Cambridge Bay, Canada, this past May.

For two weeks, Rutkowski and five others lived and worked in the Arctic, collecting cores of snow, sea ice and permafrost to uncover more about the microbes hidden beneath the surface.

The research effort is in collaboration with the Dynamic Research of Arctic Cryospheric Organisms team, or DRACO. It’s a group of professors and students researching polar environments down to the nanoscale. The project is led by associate professors Ross Lieblappen and Michelle Sama of Vermont State University Randolph.

Joining them were environmental science and chemistry professor from Castleton Andrew Vermilyea and VTSU Randolph student researchers Elizabeth Goodell and Dominic Mazzilli.

“I’ve done field work around Castleton and Poultney, but this was my first time going out of the country to do it. It was definitely a new experience,” Rutkowski said.

The first week of the trip was spent snowmobiling over seven feet of ice to locations 15 to 45 minutes away to get samples of snow by ice drilling. The group would get as many samples as the day allowed to have thorough data pulled.

Before the day could end, the group would head back to the lab to process the samples.

“For my samples, it was putting them in a bucket, putting them in an incubator, melting them down, filtering all that water, assigning it a code so that I know which site it’s from,” Rutkowski said.

Rutkowski and Vermilyea are a part of a slightly different research effort.

“We’re looking at microplastics in pristine environments like the Arctic. The ocean, when we pull sea ice samples, our global oceans are connected. As plastics just degrade, they can be transported there, and you can see them in ice and water up there. They also can end up in the atmosphere, microplastics. From burning and processing of plastic and all kinds of reasons, and then can hang around up there for a long time and be deposited with rain and snow,” Vermilyea said.

Much of the work done in the field also transfers to further research after returning home.

Vermilyea adds that looking ahead for Rutkowski and her studies, the time she is putting in back in Castleton will be focused on developing more methods to research microplastics in soils, and accurately quantify them.

“Two weeks of field work creates two years of work,” Vermilyea said.

VTSU Castleton student Olivia Rutkowski, right, and VTSU Randolph student Dominic Mazzilli study samples from the Canada trip. Photo courtesy of DRACO Team.

The second week of research consisted of collecting permafrost cores, which can be compared to solid cores of frozen soil. These extracted cores are gathered by drilling down using a corer, and on some occasions it can take multiple hours, if the corer were to stop spinning and freeze to the ground.

“Sure enough, we got the core barrels frozen in the ground, about a foot down. It’s frozen ground. You can’t yank that out, no matter how strong you are. Rather than going home for dinner, now we’re at it for four hours, chipping away at it. One person had like a pickax, one person had a chisel with a hammer, and we just took turns. We had a little bit of movement. So, one person was holding the core barrel, trying to keep it moving as much as possible to not freeze it more,” Lieblappen said.

After being awarded funding in 2023 by the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center (or ERDC), Lieblappen and his team invested in a state-of-the-art nano-CT scanner located on the Randolph campus to capture images of permafrost, snow, and sea ice down to the micron level.

The trip to Cambridge Bay was DRACO’s fourth research fieldwork trip. June 2024 brought them to Fairbanks, Alaska, and a month later, in July, they were in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. Earlier this year, between February and March, the group was in Utqiagvik, Alaska.

Their goal is to fully characterize terrain from different geographical locations, like collecting permafrost from regions that are far apart from each other.

“The idea being that these biomes that have microbes there could potentially be very distinct. So, we want to kind of have a wide sampling of regions of the Arctic that we’re grouping,” Lieblappen said.

Members of the Dynamic Research of Arctic Cryospheric Organisms team pose for a picture in the Canadian Arctic. Photo courtesy of the DRACO Team

But the work doesn’t end after the cores and samples are collected and brought back to the lab in heavily insulated core boxes full of heavy-duty ice packs or a cryoshipper, basically a freezer. These shipping containers can keep the samples frozen and cold for about 48 hours, and are constantly being temperature-watched and tracked during travel.

“If the samples thaw out on the way home, it’s all for nothing. That’s the most worrying part when you’re traveling home and you’re waiting for baggage claim,” Vermilyea said.

These fieldwork trips offer students valuable hands-on skills, professors said.

“They do everything. The students do literally everything. It’s hands-on learning at its core. Olivia was driving the snowmobile with gear. She was running the corer with a big auger engine head on it. She was in the lab processing and filtering samples, taking notes. It’s just such a learning experience, but they’re not just hanging around and observing,” Vermilyea said.

For undergraduates, having this level of responsibility is rare. Lieblappen emphasized how unique these opportunities are for students, especially at VTSU.

“Undergraduate students are the ones being able to use state-of-the-art equipment, making these discoveries, doing all the work themselves, which is something that’s really unique for a place like VTSU. I think there’s a lot of opportunity both in terms of the personal manner aspect, but also in terms of the professional development that they get, and the opportunities that they have, and the confidence that they can do groundbreaking science. They can be out there, being the ones that make these discoveries,” Lieblappen said.

Looking ahead for DRACO, a summer 2026 trip is in the early planning phases. In an effort to remain far from Cambridge Bay, the team is brainstorming locations like Ellesmere Island, Canada, or northern Greenland.

The hands-on nature of the Arctic fieldwork, combined with exposure to cutting-edge equipment, gives students like Rutkowski confidence and a tangible foundation for future research.

“It sets up a path for my career. I’ve always wanted to do cold-weather research. Having this experience puts a foot in the door to more Arctic or Antarctic experiences, more opportunities for cold-weather research. It was an amazing experience for sure,” Rutkowski said.

Lieblappen said the work was funded by the Broad Agency Announcement Program of the U.S. Army Research and Development Center and that “opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations” from it don’t necessarily reflect the views of the sponsoring agencies.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Up in the Canadian Arctic, a team of Vermont scientists search for microbes and microplastics.

EEE detected in mosquitos in three Vermont counties

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 22:07:41 +0000

A mosquito feeds at the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District in Utah on July 26, 2023. Photo by Rick Bowmer/AP

The Eastern equine encephalitis virus has recently returned to Vermont, with mosquitoes in Orleans, Addison and Franklin counties testing positive for the virus.

Health officials are urging Vermonters to protect themselves from mosquito bites, warning the virus — while rare — can be serious and deadly to humans. Last year, one Chittenden County man in his 70s died of the virus in one of two cases of serious illness in the state.

This month, mosquitoes have tested positive for the virus in Swanton and Vergeness, and a horse in Brownington is also suspected of carrying the virus.

The Vermont Department of Health strongly encouraged Vermonters to take measures to prevent mosquito bites. Officials encouraged people to wear long-sleeve shirts and pants outdoors, use bug repellant that’s effective against mosquitoes, avoid leaving standing water and limit time outside around dawn and dusk.

Mosquitoes may be more likely to carry the virus in areas where it’s been detected, said Natalie Kwit, the state’s public health veterinarian.

From June through October, technicians with the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets venture out to about 110 surveillance sites around the state, where they trap mosquitoes for testing, according to Patti Casey, who oversees environmental surveillance for the agency.

Scientists with the agency currently monitor the West Nile virus, the Jamestown Canyon virus and the Eastern equine encephalitis virus. It’s the first summer state scientists have tested for the Jamestown virus, with the first human case of the virus in Vermont confirmed earlier this month.

While it’s rare, people who do experience serious illness from EEE suffer from symptoms like fever, headache, vomiting or body aches. “The risk is low because most people don’t tend to get sick, but among those who do, it could be very dangerous,” Kwit said.

Among those with symptoms, only 5% get seriously ill, Kwit said. But one-third of people who experience serious symptoms die, she said.

Last year’s EEE surge was the first time scientists saw an uptick in the virus in Vermont since 2012, Kwit said. Then, alerts from health officials prompted organizers in Vermont’s Queen City to cancel a number of outdoor events or move them inside.

The virus typically comes to the Northeast in 8-to-10-year cycles, often ramping up for several years at a time, Casey said.

Scientists believe that pattern happens because the virus “amplifies” in an exchange between mosquitoes and bird populations — and birds’ migration patterns bring the virus across the country, Casey said.

Primary vector mosquitoes feed almost exclusively on bird populations. They transmit the disease among birds until many mosquitoes and birds are carrying the virus, Casey said. Then, bridge vector mosquitoes, which feed on birds and other animals, transfer the virus beyond birds — notably to humans and horses, Casey said.

Horses cannot transfer the virus to humans and are recommended to be annually vaccinated for the virus, Casey said. Horses who are sick with the virus tend to suffer neurological symptoms, like falling over and stumbling, she said.

This month, one horse in Brownington is suspected to have had the virus, but tests weren’t able to explicitly confirm it was infected, Casey said.

Kwit said no vaccine exists for humans, and there’s no approved treatment for people with symptoms. To protect themselves, people should follow recommendations from health officials, she said.

Read the story on VTDigger here: EEE detected in mosquitos in three Vermont counties .

Vermont’s congressional delegation says Trump should recognize a Palestinian state

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 21:26:45 +0000

From left: Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Becca Balint and Sen. Peter Welch. Photos by Glenn Russell/VTDigger

Vermont’s three members of Congress are all calling on President Donald Trump and his administration to recognize an independent Palestinian state.

U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., are among eight senators sponsoring a resolution that urges the White House “to recognize a demilitarized State of Palestine, as consistent with international law and the principles of a two-state solution, alongside a secure State of Israel.”

The resolution, which is led by Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, is the first of its kind in the Senate, Welch’s office said in a statement. Other than Sanders, all of its backers are Democrats.

Meanwhile, Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., has signed onto a letter with dozens of her House Democratic colleagues asking the same of Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The existence of the House letter, which is led by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., was first reported by The Guardian Thursday morning. A spokesperson for Balint’s office, Sophie Pollock, said later Thursday that Balint was among the signatories.

“Just as the lives of Palestinians must be immediately protected, so too must their rights as a people and nation urgently be acknowledged and upheld,” the letter says, according to The Guardian. “We encourage the governments of other countries that have yet to recognize Palestinian statehood, including the United States, to do so as well.”

The Guardian reported that Khanna plans to deliver the letter to Trump on Friday.

Welch’s and Sanders’ resolution has slim chances of advancing in the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans. It’s also unlikely that either their resolution, or the letter circulating among Democrats in the GOP-controlled House, would ultimately persuade the White House to recognize a Palestinian state.

Trump said Tuesday in remarks to the United Nations General Assembly, which is meeting in New York City this week, that recognizing Palestinian statehood amounts to “a reward” for Hamas, the group that governs Gaza and was responsible for the brutal terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Still, the U.S. legislators’ push comes as there has been growing international support in recent days for Palestinian statehood among major U.S. allies including Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. A number of other countries have also granted that recognition during this week’s General Assembly.

In all, more than 150 countries recognize Palestine as its own state, though the U.S. is not among them. Recognition of Palestinian statehood is a largely symbolic gesture, though supporters have argued it will keep pressure on global leaders to work toward finding a two-state solution to the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which also encompasses dispute over control of the West Bank, not just the Gaza Strip.

The push for greater recognition comes nearly two years into Israel’s war in Gaza that, according to the latest estimates from local health authorities, has killed about 65,000 people in the Middle Eastern enclave. Israel’s military campaign has spurred rampant hunger in the region and destroyed vast swaths of Gaza’s infrastructure.

Last week, an independent United Nations commission concluded that Israel’s military has committed acts of genocide in Gaza since the October 2023 attack. All three members of Vermont’s congressional delegation then became some of the first among their colleagues to publicly label the country’s offensive as a genocide.

The delegation’s push also comes as five members of Vermont’s Legislature — Democrats and Republicans — joined legislators from other states across the country on a trip around Israel last week that was funded by the Israeli government.

Welch said in a statement submitted for the congressional record last week that while senators could not unilaterally recognize an independent Palestine on their own, his and Sanders’ resolution “aligns with the objective of nearly 80 years of United States policy: two independent states and lasting peace in the Middle East.”

“The choice before us is clear: either we embrace the two-state solution or continue to support today’s relentless military occupation,” Welch said. “This horrible death and destruction in Gaza must stop. That is why the time for two states can be delayed no longer.”

Balint also echoed support for a two-state solution in a statement Thursday.

“This is the most viable path forward to find stability, peace and to hold all nations accountable to international law,” she said. “It’s a critical step that the US and other nations recognize Palestinian statehood now.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont’s congressional delegation says Trump should recognize a Palestinian state.

Hood plans to close dairy plant in Barre

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 20:47:33 +0000

The Booth Brothers Dairy in Barre on Thursday, Sept. 25. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger

Dairy manufacturer HP Hood has confirmed it plans to close the Booth Bros. manufacturing plant in Barre in April.

The Booth Bros. facility, which bottles different milk varieties, has been operating in Barre since 1946 and was sold to Hood in 1997. Approximately 50 employees will be affected by the closure, Hood spokesperson Lynne Bohan said in an email.

Hood decided on the closure after a review of the company’s milk operations in the Northeast, Bohan said.

“Hood carefully reviewed each of its fluid plant’s geographic locations, current production capacity, as well as rising infrastructure costs,” she said.

Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger

The company is planning to provide severance packages and outplacement assistance to the affected employees, Bohan said

She added that Hood is working to transition the manufacturing in Barre to other Hood plants. The company has 11 other plants listed on its website, located in New England, New York, Virginia and California. The company also still plans to manufacture Booth Bros.-branded products and sell them in Vermont, Bohan said.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Hood plans to close dairy plant in Barre.

Data: How many Vermont state government employees live out of state?

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 20:40:35 +0000

Starting Dec. 1, state employees will need to return to the office at least three days per week, part of a new hybrid work schedule proposed by Gov. Phil Scott. But where do they currently reside?

As part of the return-to-office process, Scott created an advisory group of state leaders to hash out the logistics of the policy change. Among the lingering questions: how to handle government employees who live out of state, a population that’s grown since the Covid-19 pandemic normalized remote work for many.

Administration officials said they have not yet figured out how to handle the hybrid schedule for out-of-state workers. Beth Fastiggi, Department of Human Resources commissioner, declined an interview request, citing the ongoing work of the advisory group.

The Vermont State Employees’ Association, the union representing state workers, opposes the hybrid back-to-office plan. What matters is that work gets done, not where it gets done, according to Steve Howard, the union’s executive director.

“We’ve been benefiting from their talent and experience, and there’s no reason to uproot them,” he said of out-of-state employees.

According to Howard, many state workers who live far from Vermont either previously worked locally and would have left state service if not for remote work, or they fill positions that are hard to recruit.

To be sure, many out-of-state employees regularly report to a Vermont job site. Of the 552 state employees who lived out of state as of September 2025, 433 lived across Vermont’s borders in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York or Quebec. But another 119 lived further afield in states like Florida or North Carolina. As of this month, state employees reside in 31 different states and one Canadian province.

Many out-of-state workers are also seasonally employed.

The number of out-of-state workers has risen significantly over the past few years. In 2019, just before the Covid pandemic began, Vermont hired 559 out-of-state employees throughout the year. Five years later, the state reported hiring 753 out-of-state workers through the course of 2024.

The top department for out-of-state employees was the Department of Corrections, followed by the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Health.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Data: How many Vermont state government employees live out of state?.

Everyone is welcome at the Community Table in Montpelier

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 22:48:04 +0000

Community Table volunteers at Trinity Church, from left: Lori Rathbone, Bobbie Sleeper, Ginny Catone, Theresa Lever, Ellen Doyle, Stephanie Krauss, Sharon Wilson, Albert Sabatini. Photo by John Lazenby

This story by Cassandra Hemenway was first published in The Bridge on Sept. 23, 2025.

Ask anyone involved with Montpelier’s community lunches and you’ll likely hear as much about community as you will about the free food. Four days a week, the lunches feature generous portions of hearty food, always with a vegetarian option. Anyone can come eat, no questions asked. Takeout is available.

Amy, a guest at Trinity Church’s Sept. 10 lunch, sat with friends and bounced a baby on her lap. Amy said she was 50 days sober and just moved into an apartment. Before that, she’d been living outdoors for three years, she said. She comes to the meals almost every day they are available.

“I just come here and get lunch and enjoy the company of the community,” she said with a smile.

In a decades-long ministry to feed the hungry, the meals have rotated among five local churches, according to organizers. But that’s changing. Four of the churches — Trinity Church, Christ Episcopal Church, Bethany Church and the Unitarian Church of Montpelier — have combined to form a new organization called the Community Table. (The fifth, St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, is still serving lunches on Fridays but has not joined the coalition.)

The aim: to open the program up to people who may not feel aligned with a church but do feel aligned with feeding neighbors, said Jay Voorhees, coordinating pastor of the Trinity Methodist Church.

Becoming a separate organization will also allow the group to apply for federal nonprofit status and to bring organizers together for “cross-pollination,” said Nancy Reid, who volunteers on the Unitarian Church’s “Monday Team.” (Reid is also president of The Bridge’s board of directors.)

How the meals are organized is changing, but the lunches themselves are not. They are served Monday through Thursday at Trinity (at 131 Main Street), where doors open around 8:30 a.m. for coffee and light breakfast. Guests are welcome to hang out there or return for lunch, which starts at 11:30 a.m. Last winter, when meals were served at Christ Church, that three-hour window turned the place into an unofficial warming space for those who had nowhere else to go in the cold. Staff members from Good Samaritan Haven joined church volunteers to help out. It’s unclear what will happen in the winter of 2025 and 2026.

The evolution of how the free weekday meals are organized started with the COVID-19 pandemic, said Theresa Lever, who coordinates Bethany Church’s “Wednesday Team.”

Before COVID-19, Lever said, Bethany had big teams of volunteers, a crowd for lunch, and donations that totaled about $100 each week. “We were serving more than 100 people” per meal, she recalled. “It was people who needed that free meal, but it was also the workers who came from downtown. … The meter person would come on her break.”

Then COVID-19 hit. “Everything went outside,” Lever recalled. They and the other churches in town, which were all still offering lunches separately, switched to pre-made takeout.

Then came the disastrous July 2023 flood, which left most of downtown Montpelier underwater and left only Christ Church with a working kitchen. But Lever says the volunteers didn’t miss a beat. All five churches started cooking meals out of Christ Church, serving meals outside at first, then moving into the church’s community room for indoor dining.

The churches kept their independence, even as they pinch-hit for each other when, say, a volunteer cook had to move on. Each church had its own shelf in Christ Church’s refrigerator and closet-sized pantry, each procured its own food through donations and purchases, and each brought its own team to cook and serve: Unitarians on Mondays, Bethany on Tuesdays, Trinity on Wednesdays, Christ Church on Thursdays, and St. Augustine’s on Fridays.

Meanwhile, Trinity’s flood repairs included an 18-month process of rewiring and moving its electrical service panel up from the basement, which made the kitchen unusable. Repairs were finished in June 2025, about the same time organizers decided to coalesce as the Community Table. Now the four churches use Trinity only, and what had been an effort of separate churches is united.

Despite a wealth of volunteer hours — Monday cook Albert Sabatini estimates it takes volunteers about 576 hours to serve 80 to 100 meals four days a week — donations help. Stephanie Krauss, coordinator of the Community Table and a Trinity member, puts the cost per meal at about $3.55, more than twice what it was five years ago, and half again what it was last year.

Some financial donations come from community members. A $965 grant — the Community Table’s first — recently came in from Hunger Mountain Co-op.

Food donations come from the Just Basics, Inc. food pantry, the Vermont Food Bank (which also charges for some of its food), and Community Harvest of Central Vermont, Krauss said. Community members also donate baked goods and desserts to supplement the nutritious meals.

The Community Table is currently accepting donations through Christ Church, which has 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, until the group gets its own nonprofit designation. (Donations to the Community Table can be made out to Christ Church with “community lunch fund” on the memo line.) That should allow it to carry forward an already solid tradition many decades into the future, welcoming guests from all walks of life and continuing to strengthen the social fabric that makes up Montpelier.

Krauss said she doesn’t want to erase the fact that the churches have been serving the meals.

“But the story, to me, is there’s a new way this is happening, which was created by the flood,” she explained. “(We are trying) to open it up to the community more. It’s not just a church thing anymore.”

Gloria Alexander, who works at Another Way, said she eats at the community lunches most days.

Amid savory smells from the kitchen and the din of people chatting, Alexander said “It’s wonderful. It’s the community which I like. I think if I was well off, I would still enjoy coming here, because it’s the community, you know. It’s the sense of family that most people don’t really have.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: Everyone is welcome at the Community Table in Montpelier.

Vermont State Police name officer who shot resident in standoff with Burlington police

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 22:09:52 +0000

Police block off Riverside Ave. in Burlington on Sunday, Sept. 21. Photo by Charlotte Oliver/VTDigger

Vermont State Police identified Brady McGee as the officer who shot a resident at the end of a daylong standoff at a Riverside Avenue apartment complex on Sunday.

Police also identified Aaron Loucks, 32, of Burlington, as the man who was injured in the incident.

Burlington police officers responded to a disturbance at the complex that morning, but Loucks “barricaded himself inside his residence,” according to a Tuesday press release from the state police. A confrontation with police began when he exited the apartment.

Officers tried non-deadly force measures that were unsuccessful before McGee “discharged his patrol rifle, shooting Loucks,” the press release stated.

Following the police shooting, Loucks remains in custody while receiving medical treatment at the University of Vermont Medical Center. He’s facing two misdemeanor charges of aggravated disorderly conduct, one for abusive obscene language and the other for threat of bodily injury or violence.

Meanwhile, McGee remains on paid administrative leave pending a Vermont State Police investigation into his use of force, according to the press release.

It isn’t the first time Loucks has faced criminal charges that raised concerns about his mental health. And it isn’t the first time McGee has been placed on leave by the police department.

Police stand behind cruiser with guns drawn on Riverside Ave. in Burlington on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 21, 2025. Photo by Charlotte Oliver/VTDigger

In 2021, Loucks faced federal charges for possession of a firearm while using drugs after he allegedly threatened to disrupt Covid-19 vaccine distribution.

“Loucks has struggled with psychological and drug addiction issues since high school,” according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney General’s Office in Vermont about the 2021 charges.

Court documents show that residents called police after Loucks was yelling death threats and racial slurs out of his apartment window.

One person reported that Loucks yelled something similar to “I am the bringer of death,” while gesturing with his hands that he was pointing an imaginary gun at them. Another person reported that Loucks was screaming the “N-word” at Black children playing outside the building and called one Black neighbor a “slave.”

When police responded to the scene, Loucks flashed a knife blade at officers from a second story window and said “I want all of you to die,” court records show.

One neighbor at the scene on Sunday afternoon told VTDigger she heard the suspect screaming and threatening police, and that the standoff had escalated throughout the day.

Following the shooting, the Burlington Police Officer’s Association issued a statement in support of McGee’s use of force.

“We at the BPOA are very proud of how our officers handled this extremely volatile, dynamic and dangerous situation,” the union wrote in its statement.

McGee joined Burlington’s police department in 2018, then left to join another department in Connecticut in 2022 before returning to Burlington’s department later that year.

During his second stint with the department, McGee was placed on paid administrative leave in December 2023 after allegedly driving his motorcycle up to 100 miles per hour alongside other police officers while off duty, according to Seven Days.

For that incident, McGee was charged with negligent operation after the incident and pleaded not guilty, Seven Days reported.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont State Police name officer who shot resident in standoff with Burlington police.

New development brings nearly 100 affordable homes to Shelburne

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 21:52:08 +0000

Champlain Housing Trust CEO Michael Monte gives U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., a tour of the Bay Ridge housing development in Shelburne on Wednesday, Sept. 24. 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.

SHELBURNE — Once the site of an Econo Lodge motel, a nondescript lot tucked off Route 7 has been transformed into this Chittenden County town’s newest neighborhood.

Called Bay Ridge, it is one of the largest affordable housing developments built in Vermont in recent memory. Nearly 100 new homes will be either rented or sold at permanently subsidized rates.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, elected officials hailed the project — a joint effort by the nonprofits Champlain Housing Trust and Evernorth — as a model for addressing the state’s housing crisis.

“We want to make more dollars available so that this kind of project can be replicated across the state,” said Vermont Senate Majority Leader Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D-Chittenden Southeast, who lives a half-mile away from the development.

All of the homes in the new neighborhood come with income-restrictions for potential tenants and buyers to qualify.

The development consists of 68 apartments, including one-bedrooms in renovated motel buildings and three- and four-bedroom units in sleek, newly-constructed buildings. Rents range widely; a three-bedroom costs $1,725 monthly, according to the housing trust. Twenty of the apartments will be set aside for people who have been unhoused.

Newly planted trees grow in front of a new apartment complex at Champlain Housing Trust’s Bay Ridge development in Shelburne on Wednesday, Sept. 24. Photo by Carly Berlin/VTDigger and Vermont Public

Twenty-six shared-equity condominiums, priced between $170,000 to $190,000 each, line a freshly paved road. Their estimated market values are more than twice that amount, according to the trust’s website.

The development will feature both on-site and off-site solar arrays to offset energy usage, and it will soon host a playground. Families have already begun to move in.

The project, which cost about $55 million, was among the largest recipients of federal Covid-era funding that Vermont poured into housing development. It also received $14 million in private equity from federal tax credits.

On average, it cost about $584,000 to build each of the new homes, according to a funding source breakdown provided by Champlain Housing Trust. That’s more than double the median cost of affordable rental housing in Vermont before the pandemic, when construction costs skyrocketed.

Champlain Housing Trust purchased the old Econo Lodge more than a decade ago as temporary housing for people experiencing homelessness. As the organization began to redevelop the site, it purchased another hotel across the street, which it continues to run as an emergency shelter.

While the pace of homebuilding in Vermont has picked up over the last few years, publicly-subsidized affordable housing – including projects like Bay Ridge – make up a modest fraction of the overall market. Recent assessments indicate that the state still needs to double or triple the number of homes produced annually to return the market to a healthy condition.

“Often when we’re here at these ribbon cuttings, people will say, you know, ‘This is great that we have this housing, but it’s a drop in the bucket in Vermont,’” said U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., at the event on Wednesday. “But we have to celebrate the successes. We have to draw attention to the fact that we are making progress.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: New development brings nearly 100 affordable homes to Shelburne.

Vermont Conversation: Former Chief Justice Jeffrey Amestoy revisits Vermont’s most notorious crime

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 21:46:52 +0000

Jeffrey Amestoy’s new book is “Winters’ Time: A Secret Pledge, a Severed Head, and the Murder That Brought America’s Most Famous Lawyer to Vermont” (Vermont Historical Society 2025). Photo by David Goodman/VTDigger

The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues. Listen below and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts.

Jeffrey Amestoy, chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1997 to 2004, is best known for authoring the 1999 decision in Baker vs. Vermont that legalized same-sex civil unions. That case laid the groundwork for the legalization of same sex marriage in Vermont a decade later and ultimately led to the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing same sex marriage in 2015.

At the age of 79, Amestoy is still a prolific writer, but in a different genre. His latest book is a true crime legal thriller that he spent years researching. Winters’ Time: A Secret Pledge, a Severed Head, and the Murder That Brought America’s Most Famous Lawyer to Vermont, is the story of when celebrity attorney Clarence Darrow came to Vermont to defend a convicted murderer before the Vermont Supreme Court. The book was just published by the Vermont Historical Society.

Winters’ Time recounts the brutal murder of Cecelia Gullivan, who was killed in her home in Windsor, Vermont in November 1926. Gullivan, a single woman, was the treasurer of the Cone Automatic Machine company in Windsor. Police quickly arrested John Winters, a machinist at her company, and he was promptly tried, convicted and sentenced to death. That’s when Clarence Darrow entered the case after the Winters family called in a favor promised by Darrow’s son.

Amestoy, who was Vermont’s attorney general from 1985 to 1997, set the scene for what would become one of Vermont’s most sensational trials. “By the 1920s you had the first real mass media with radio and newspapers racing to outdo each other in circulation wars that focused primarily on murders and then a tremendous interest in celebrities,” Amestoy said. “Darrow sort of combined two of those: he was an extraordinarily successful defense lawyer, adamantly opposed to capital punishment … And then he was famous for his ability to speak to larger social issues.”

The death penalty was among the issues at play. “There was a tremendous amount of focus on capital punishment in Vermont but not, in fact, from those opposed to it, more about making sure that Vermont had a method of execution that would work,” said Amestoy. Winters would be only the second person executed by electric chair, which had recently been installed at the Windsor prison.

Vermont executed 26 people between 1778 and 1954. The state abolished capital punishment in 1972 following a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The most sensational aspect of the trial of John Winters was the prosecution’s use of the victim’s severed head as an exhibit. “That had never happened in Vermont legal history and as far as I was able to determine, hadn’t ever happened in American legal history either,” said Amestoy.

Amestoy said that the Winters case “gave us a lens on Vermont in the 1920s in terms of gender.” Cecilia Gullivan was an “extraordinary single woman, sort of a modern woman of the time.” He noted that Gullivan was “probably the highest ranking female executive in Vermont, a tremendously capable woman who had the authority for managing the plant.” Her murder was “extraordinary because of the status of the victim, and it immediately became front page news, not only in Vermont, but in Boston and really all over the country.”

There were rumors raised at Winters’ trial that Gullivan was in a relationship with Frank Cone, the owner of the company, who some thought was a suspect in her death. Amestoy noted that women did not sit on juries at that time. Vermont in the 1920s was “not attuned to issues of gender,” said Amestoy.

Clarence Darrow succeeded in winning a retrial for John Winters, who then pleaded guilty to second degree murder on Darrow’s advice, though Winters publicly maintained his innocence. After serving 20 years in prison, Winters was pardoned in 1949 by Gov. Ernest Gibson. Clarence Darrow had saved the convict’s life.

Amestoy is no stranger to sensational cases himself. His civil unions decision, which he famously wrote “is simply a recognition of our common humanity,” changed the national conversation about same sex unions.

“I thought that opinion helped move that issue in a way that allowed Vermonters to address a social issue of extraordinary importance in a way that I think stood as an example to the country. So to have been able to play a part in that was obviously something I was thankful for.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont Conversation: Former Chief Justice Jeffrey Amestoy revisits Vermont’s most notorious crime.

Retired Northfield police chief surrenders law enforcement certification

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 21:22:51 +0000

The Northfield Police Department building on Friday, Aug. 1. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger

A retired police chief from Northfield has agreed to give up his law enforcement certification to avoid a hearing over an unprofessional conduct complaint. The complaint alleged John Helfant improperly directed a police officer from the force to investigate a death more than two years ago despite knowing that the officer was not qualified to do that task.

The Vermont Criminal Justice Council approved a stipulation during a meeting last week with Helfant in which he “voluntarily surrendered” his law certification “with no option of recertification.”

According to the stipulation, council staff received an unprofessional conduct complaint against Helfant related to an incident in January 2023 when he allegedly directed a police officer, Brian Gosselin, to continue an untimely death investigation when he was not certified to perform such an investigation.

“By this direction,” the stipulation stated, “(Helfant) knowingly directed an individual to conduct an investigation beyond their scope of practice.”

Gosselin’s training limited him to responding to alleged crimes in progress and lower-level offenses.

A hearing on Helfant’s certification could have taken place before the full council, according to Christopher Brickell, the Vermont Criminal Justice Council executive director, but did not as a result of the stipulation.

Northfield Police Chief John Helfant. Photo from Northfield Police website

“In the interest of resolving this matter,” the filing stated, “(Helfant) and the State agree to enter this Stipulation and Consent Order, in lieu of proceeding to hearing.”

Helfant, reached Wednesday, said he agreed to voluntarily surrender law enforcement certification because he had retired from law enforcement more than two years ago.

“I don’t need it anymore,” he said of his law enforcement certification.

Helfant said the incident happened more than two years ago and he had no memory of it.

Helfant said it wasn’t worth challenging the allegation.

“I don’t need my certification. I haven’t been a cop since June of 2023 and have no intention of being one again,” Helfant said.

Helfant, a former longtime member of the Vermont State Police, served roughly four years as Northfield police chief before retiring in 2023.

While Helfant was working in law enforcement, the Washington County state’s attorney at the time, Rory Thibault, wrote what are known as Brady or Giglio letters in 2019 to defense lawyers that laid out concerns he had with Helfant’s credibility stemming from his conduct during traffic stops.

In one of the cases, the prosecutor threw out a drug case in 2019 when he couldn’t reconcile information from Helfant’s affidavit with body cam footage. Helfant denied any wrongdoing.

Helfant’s retirement as Northfield police chief in 2023 came shortly after several organizations called for his removal in light of credibility issues that had been raised and Helfant’s public statements disapproving of the local school district’s policies on the rights of transgender students.

At the time, Helfant denied that he was pressured into retiring, writing on a Northfield group Facebook page, “I could stay, but a bum shoulder that has me on light duty for the foreseeable future and 33yrs in VT Law Enforcement, just makes me want to do something different. It would be nice to be my own boss and take a break from supervising and managing others.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: Retired Northfield police chief surrenders law enforcement certification.

Vermont TV station is part of a continuing Jimmy Kimmel blackout

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 21:06:30 +0000

Jimmy Kimmel appears at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards in in Los Angeles on Sept. 12, 2022. File photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

A week after ABC pulled his show off the air under pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration, the comedian Jimmy Kimmel made a return to late-night TV screens Tuesday night — but not in Vermont, among dozens of other markets nationwide.

In Vermont, Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs on the local ABC affiliate WVNY. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, a national company that earlier on Tuesday announced its local stations would continue to keep Kimmel’s show off the air.

WVNY is one of nearly 70 local stations across the country that was slated to not broadcast Kimmel’s show on Tuesday, including stations serving Albany, New Orleans and Seattle. Some of those stations are also owned by Nexstar, while others are owned by another national company, Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Vermont’s local affiliate is branded as ABC22 or MyChamplainValley.

ABC’s parent company, Disney, decided to pull Kimmel’s show off the air last week after the host made comments during a Sept. 15 monologue that seemed to link the person who shot and killed the conservative activist Charlie Kirk the week before with supporters of Trump’s Make America Great Again movement.

Brendan Carr, Trump’s chair of the Federal Communications Commission, criticized Kimmel’s remarks and threatened federal action against ABC affiliates who aired the show. The FCC has authority over the licenses that allow local stations to broadcast on public airwaves.

“Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said on a podcast last week. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action on Kimmel or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Disney changed course on Monday, however, after facing intense public backlash to a decision that was seen across the political spectrum as an infringement on constitutional speech protections with little precedent in modern U.S. history. More than 400 celebrities signed an open letter organized by the American Civil Liberties Union panning “government threats to our freedom of speech” in the wake of Kimmel’s suspension.

On Tuesday, however, Nexstar said in a statement that it stood by the initial decision to pull Kimmel’s show and would continue to forgo the program “pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.”

Nexstar noted that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would still be available on Disney-owned streaming services while, in the meantime, its TV stations “will focus on continuing to produce local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets.”

MyChamplainValley’s general manager, Tina Castano, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.

In his show Tuesday night, which is available to watch in full on YouTube, Kimmel said it was not his intention to blame any one group of people for Kirk’s killing — though said he could see how his comments would have made people upset.

He also connected the program’s muzzling to broader concerns about censorship.

“This show is not important,” Kimmel said. “What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont TV station is part of a continuing Jimmy Kimmel blackout.

Former Newport employee settles lawsuit with city over no-trespass order

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 19:38:00 +0000

Prouty Beach and Campground in Newport. Photo via the Newport Parks and Recreation website

A former Newport city employee who was barred from public property by the city has settled a lawsuit over the no-trespass order he received.

Andrew Cappello worked in Newport’s Parks and Recreation Department for more than a decade before he quit his job because of his tumultuous relationship with his bosses, according to court documents. Soon after, in August 2021, he was issued a no-trespass order while at the city’s Prouty Beach Campground.

The city’s parks director demanded Cappello leave the public property, and when Cappello refused, the lawsuit alleges, a Newport police officer arrived and issued him the order without any explanation.

In January 2023, the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont filed a lawsuit on behalf of Cappello. This week, the ACLU announced the suit had reached a settlement, dated July 11, in which Cappello received $30,000 from the city, as first reported by Newport Daily Express.

When the ACLU filed the suit, the nonprofit organization cited a pattern of Vermont cities barring citizens from public spaces and forums, including in Burlington, Montpelier and Rutland Town.

“Forbidding someone from moving freely in a public space and participating in community life is in direct conflict with our most basic constitutional freedoms,” Hillary Rich, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Vermont, said in a press release announcing the settlement this week.

The Newport City Office Building in Newport on March 18, 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger

After receiving the no-trespass order, Cappello was unable to volunteer for his kids’ T-ball teams on city property and could not fulfill all the responsibilities of his new job with the NorthWoods Stewardship Center, which required him to access a city-owned beach, according to the suit. He also was given no means of challenging the order, he alleged.

As part of the settlement, Newport Mayor Rick Ufford-Chase issued a statement expressing regret for the events that led to Cappello’s no-trespass order. The settlement also stated that the city’s police department will adopt a policy that it will not issue or enforce no-trespass orders for city property.

“I’m thrilled to be welcomed back to the City of Newport, and I’m especially pleased to learn that town officials will no longer be issuing vague trespass notices that needlessly block people from visiting parks, beaches, and other public places,” Cappello said in a statement.

Ufford-Chase, who was elected as mayor in March 2025, was not available for comment before publication.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Former Newport employee settles lawsuit with city over no-trespass order .

Vermont murder suspect arrested in Thruway speeding stop

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 18:38:46 +0000

PORTLAND, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Michigan man suspected of murder in Rutland, Vermont was arrested during a Thruway speeding stop in New York on Wednesday, according to New York State Police. Terrene Biggs, 25, faces several charges in three different locations.

At about 2:35 a.m., State Police troopers pulled over a 2024 Nissan traveling westbound on the Thruway in the town of Portland for allegedly driving over the posted speed limit. An investigation reportedly found that the driver, identified as Biggs, is wanted for second-degree murder in Rutland and out of Florida for assault.

Biggs was arrested and found to have suboxone, police said. He was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fugitive from justice.

According to authorities, the 25-year-old was taken to Chautauqua County Jail for arraignment. He will reportedly be held pending extradition to Vermont.

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Betsy Gardner

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 17:48:53 +0000

Born March 6, 1939

Newark, New Jersey

Died Sept. 20, 2025

Colchester, Vermont

Grace Elizabeth “Betsy” Patten Gardner, who made a long career helping people die well, passed away on September 20 at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester. She leaves three children, eight grandchildren, a brother, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, and many dear friends.

Born in New Jersey in 1939, her family moved to Cuttingsville when she was still an infant, and except for short periods in Connecticut and Virginia, she remained in Vermont for the rest of her life. She deeply loved Shrewsbury, where her parents, Arthur and Peggy Patten, were prominent members of the community. She and her siblings John, Judy, Joe, and Will went first to a one-room schoolhouse and then Rutland High School, where she graduated in 1957.

At age three, while in Connecticut, she contracted Polio. She lost the strength in her right leg and gained an intimate knowledge of children’s hospitals. Wearing her brace, and later using canes and a chair, she spent her life striving to not just keep up with her peers, but to surpass them.

She graduated from UVM nursing school in 1961 and went to work in various wards at the DeGoesbriand, including the Psych ward, where she became very good at Ping-Pong. She joined the Visiting Nurse Association in 1976. In 1991 she began working in the Hospice program—her favorite nursing experience—and helped in the early days of Respite House in Williston. She not only touched the lives of hundreds of families, supporting them in the care of their loved ones; she also mentored and inspired a generation of Hospice nurses, physical therapists, home health aides, and volunteers. In 1996 Dr. Jim Madison requested Betsy to be his hospice nurse, and her care and integrity inspired him, Dr. Joan Madison, and her friend Estelle Deane to create the Madison-Deane Initiative to promote hospice care and support the training of hospice nurses. In 2017 a scholarship through Madison-Deane was named in her honor.

Betsy married William Lawrence Gardner in 1962 and together they raised three children: Kate McDaniel (John), Geoff Gardner (Wendy), and Alex Gardner (Rosario) in St. George.

In 2000 her mother Peggy and her ex-husband Larry both died, and feeling the need for a break, she retired and moved to Virginia to be near her daughter and three grandchildren. But she missed Vermont too much, so she returned in 2003 and settled at the Pines on Dorset Street. She immediately became active in the community, joining the Friends of the South Burlington Library, organizing talks through EEE, writing a community newsletter, and bringing in speakers to educate her neighbors on what she enjoyed calling pre-death preparations.

She traveled the country with her elder sister Judy; visited her son Alex in Italy, China, and Tibet; traveled in England with Alex and his family, and again with her nephew Jamie and his wife Marcia. With Judy she went deep into her Brewster and Patten family archives, typing out letters from the early nineteenth century and cataloging multiple boxes of documents that will be donated to the Connecticut State Historical Society. She published a book detailing her parents’ marriage based on the weekly letters they both wrote to their families.

When she received a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer in her left pleura in December 2024, she decided to limit treatment to comfort and pain management and accepted her position on the receiving end of Hospice care. Her family and friends helped her remain independent until the end. Special thanks to Jamie and Marcia, her niece Jessie, and brother Will for visiting and running errands when her children were not in town.

She and the family are grateful for the warmth and kindness of her neighbors at the Pines, particularly Diane Coil and Jackie Mastrianni; for the kindness and attention of her nurse Hailey Duquette and the rest of the Hospice team; and to Dara Stimpson, who aided her enormously in bringing her life to a close. She died as she lived, with exceptional organization and grace, surrounded by the love of her family and friends.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Betsy Gardner.

Shelby Semmes and Drew McConville: How Vermonters can lead as Washington backslides on conservation

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 15:36:10 +0000

This commentary is by Shelby Semmes, of Warren, and Drew McConville, of Montpelier. Semmes is the vice president for the New England Region at the Trust for Public Land. McConville is a senior fellow for conservative policy at the Center for American Progress.

In the shade of towering pines, a dozen Vermonters laughed, chatted and occasionally stood in silent awe as they toured the newest public lands expansion in the Green Mountains in the spring.

Some came as interested neighbors, some as committed supporters and others — like the two of us — attended as hosts, interpreters and advocates for the important work of protecting America’s parks and forests. Surrounded by people immersed in the wonders of ancient trees and boosted by the adrenaline of a speedy hike, conservation work can feel effortless.

But in the face of strong headwinds from the White House and Congress, there’s little easy about it today.

The longstanding reality is that Americans love their public lands. Yet, right now, these treasured places are under threat. Drastic policy proposals and budget cuts mark a troubling departure from our nation’s bipartisan commitment to protecting the lands we share. This comes at a time when climate change impacts are accelerating, biodiversity is declining and too many children lack safe, easy access to nature.

Here in Vermont, we know access to nature is more than a nicety. We have a responsibility to speak out and make progress from the ground up.

Earlier this summer, Congress nearly sold off millions of acres of national forests and other public lands through the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”. The Senate version of the bill made more than 250 million acres of public lands eligible for mandated land sales — including popular trails, cultural sites and vital wildlife habitat. Only massive public outcry forced lawmakers to back down.

In the meantime, the Trump administration has fired thousands of park staff, foresters, rangers and land managers while proposing a budget that would cut $4 billion from public lands and hand off smaller national park units for states to manage.

They have also proposed cuts to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which would be especially damaging to Vermont. This successful bipartisan program has helped protect significant sections of the Green Mountain National Forest, the Green River Reservoir State Park, and countless local parks and trails like those at the Catamount Community Forest.

These actions are clearly out of step with Americans’ overwhelming support for conservation. A national survey this year found that the vast majority of Americans — Republicans and Democrats alike — oppose selling or shuttering public lands. In fact, they vote consistently to fund conservation initiatives when given the chance, like in 2024, when ballot measures passed in 11 states, generating more than $16 billion in land conservation funds.

This is especially true in Vermont and across the New England region. From the northern tip of Lake Champlain to Long Island Sound, our natural lands are the backbone of our regional identity and economy. These lands filter our drinking water, clean our air and buffer our towns from increasingly dangerous storms and floods. They fuel an outdoor recreation economy that generates $30 billion annually across New England while also supporting our physical and mental well-being.

But these benefits are not guaranteed. If current trends continue, New England could lose 1.2 million acres of forests and farmland over the next four decades. While many enjoy easy access to nature, those benefits are not equitably distributed — particularly across racial and economic lines.

Meeting this moment means speaking out against the bad ideas flowing from Washington. But it also requires proactive steps from states, communities and individuals working together to build on the strong ideas and leadership already emerging across our region.

In Vermont, state leaders have committed to conserve 30% of the state’s lands by 2030, and communities are leaning toward the goal. Recent expansions to the Green Mountain National Forest — like the 500-acre woods we walked near Wallingford in spring — are raising the tally.

So are new community forests, like the 735-acre shared backyard of the Wolcott Community Forest, which strengthens the town’s natural defenses against floods, delivers outdoor access near the town center and offers destination-worthy trails for economic development. But to meet our conservation targets on schedule, Vermont will need creative funding and financing streams, and an approach that improves daily living for Vermonters while meeting ecological and climate goals.

Across New England, similar momentum is building — but it also needs support.

Stretching across state lines, the Connecticut River Watershed Partnership is bringing together governmental and non-governmental partners to protect a landscape that delivers drinking water for nearly 5 million people. Meanwhile, our neighbors in Massachusetts are exploring a Nature for All Fund, which could dedicate a portion of an existing tax on sporting goods to parks and conservation — a funding approach at work in both Texas and Georgia.

As the first leaves of autumn turn, people will return to the forests, trails and mountaintops they treasure. These natural havens support public health and happiness, boost businesses, and strengthen climate defenses for communities large and small.

Whether it’s a town forest in the Northeast Kingdom or a remote stretch of woods in southern Vermont, these places share something in common. They’re available to everyone because, at some point, people worked to protect them.

Now, in this challenging moment, it’s up to us all to carry that legacy forward with our voices and actions.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Shelby Semmes and Drew McConville: How Vermonters can lead as Washington backslides on conservation.

New Carving Studio & Sculpture Center director ready to shape organization’s future

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 21:31:34 +0000

From left to right, Marianne Klimchuk, Carol Driscoll, Noel Sinozich, Carolyn Enz Hack and Jeff Yates cut the ribbon unveiling the new pavilion at the Carving Studio & Sculpture Center in West Rutland. Photo by Madelyn Nonni/CNS

Madelyn Nonni is a reporter with the Community News Service, part of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.

WEST RUTLAND — After stepping into his new role of executive director at West Rutland’s Carving Studio & Sculpture Center, Noel Sinozich is shaping the start of the organization next chapter with the unveiling of two new pavilions.

Following the retirement of longtime studio director Carol Driscoll, Sinozich stepped into the role earlier this summer and is taking on the responsibility of honoring the foundation Driscoll laid for the future.

With a long-time background in finance, working for companies such as Boston Globe Media and its umbrella companies as a business and financial analyst, Sinozich brings strong organizational management skills to the studio.

Sinozich’s arrival brings the organization more than just a new executive director, as the studio also welcomes new Board of Trustees President Jeff Yates and Vice President Marianne Klimchuk.

“We have a new director, we have a new president and vice president of the board. It’s a really fun reset moment. It’s really exciting that you come into this place that has all this history, and even now you’ll see alumni who have been coming here for 20 years,” Sinozich said.

One of Sinozich’s and the board’s goals for their new initiatives at the studio is to strengthen community outreach and connect with the surrounding neighborhoods more.

Two projects that already achieve this are the Downtown Rutland Sculpture Trail, featuring multiple artists creating marble monuments for notable Rutland figures; and the Stone Bench Project, bringing together local teens to work with limestone to create benches for neighboring towns.

“The board brought me on to grow the offerings of the studio. They want to do more for the local community of Rutland and West Rutland, neighboring Castleton, all the other towns as well. Do more stone programs, do more metal programs, bring in new mediums, get new equipment — you know, just be able for the studio to really kind of put itself in a place where it is at the forefront of, if you want to learn a really high barrier to entry form of sculpture, this is where you come,” Sinozich said.

Marble sculptures outside the Carving Studio & Sculpture Center in West Rutland. Photo by Madelyn Nonni/CNS

Sinozich explained he sees these programs as just the beginning of wider efforts to engage the local community and make the studio a resource for people across Rutland County.

“I think our biggest thing is we want to make sure that people in this community, in West Rutland, know that this is a resource for them, too,” Yates said. “If we can reach out to the community, that’s what I would want to do. I feel like they’re right down there. I want to bring them up here. When I say to people, ‘Oh, I’m the president of a carving studio,’ and they go, ‘There’s a carving studio?’ And I go, ‘Yes! You should look it up, you should come here.’”

Yates and Sinozich are not the only two passionate about being a larger resource for the surrounding community.

“We feel like we’re an underutilized asset for the community, said longtime Board Member Carolyn Enz Hack. “We hope to see more people who live in the area come and visit us, come to our parties, come to walk in the sculpture garden.”

Other plans now in place since Sinozich has taken control of the studio include more winter programs and preparing the studio for working during the colder months.

“The key thing for me right now is to provide more programming year-round. Right now, a lot of the programming is really clustered from June to September. We have some programming before that in May, and after that in October, but I’ve been working on making sure that the insulation and heating systems are in place, and all that, so we can do some stuff in the winter,” Sinozich said.

Sinozich also discussed doing more partnerships with universities’ sculpture programs, both locally and nationally, to focus on stone. Stone is often hard for universities to let their students work on due to its weight, and many programs don’t have access to it. Sinozich said he is already in talks with professors to reach this goal.

In a symbolic passing of the torch, the studio unveiled two new 800-square-foot timber-framed pavilions last Friday. Originally planned and mostly constructed under Driscoll’s direction, Sinozich saw the pavilions to completion.

“We used to always be underneath these little plastic tents. They leak, they really don’t keep you cool in the summer. As the sun came in, you tried to hide somewhere in the shade. Everybody tries to get to one side because the sun slants in one way,” Yates said.

In addition to shielding artists from outdoor conditions, the new pavilions are also equipped fully for convenience.

The new outdoor pavilion provides a workspace for artists. Photo by Madelyn Nonni/CNS

“Stone carvers use a lot of power, so each of the posts of the pavilions has its own dedicated circuit and air, and each of the pavilions has an underground air feed that powers their pneumatic tools, air chisels, and just makes the work so much faster. Being able to get everybody the right amount of air and power in a place that’s right by their workspace, so they’re not tripping on hoses and stuff like that, provides not only just a more pleasant experience, but a safer one,” Sinozich said.

The second pavilion, placed behind the studio, is geared toward the welding and metal workshop. Those outlets allow for more heavy-duty metal wielding and power tool usage. This allows for a seamless environment for students and teachers during programs and classes.

“People come here, and then they really just love the community. I mean, really come back for the community as much as the classes, but that really helps, you know, if you can get more people at a time, because we’ll run courses with whatever number,” Driscoll said.

With new programs and ideas on the horizon, and new leadership with Sinozich, the studio is hoping to continue gathering the community together and serving as a hub for aspiring and longtime artists. Trustee Klimchuk said she is looking forward to Sinozich’s approach and attitude for the future.

“He’s a visionary, he’s got great finance skills. He sees the great potential of this organization that we’ve all seen. He can really take it to the next level. He’s got such a can-do attitude,” Klimchuk said.

Klimchuk’s optimism in Sinozich’s leadership reflects the feeling throughout the entire studio, from staff to board members, that the studio is set on a good path for their future endeavors.

“We’re really excited about what the future brings, and broadly speaking, it’s just the kind of energy that begets energy. It’s an exciting time,” Sinozich said.

Read the story on VTDigger here: New Carving Studio & Sculpture Center director ready to shape organization’s future.

A Chittenden County family court program to help parents with substance use will end as federal funding dries up

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 21:07:16 +0000

Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Reiber speaks during a hearing in Montpelier on Jan. 25, 2023. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger

A special Chittenden County program that convenes addiction recovery resources in family court will shutter at the end of the year due to a lack of federal funding.

Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Reiber announced the family treatment docket’s end in a Sept. 10 letter.

In 2018, spurred by the state Supreme Court, the Vermont Judicial Commission on Family Treatment Dockets began studying ways for the legal system to address the burgeoning opioid epidemic and its impact on children. At the time, abuse and neglect cases in family court were skyrocketing, up 68% between fiscal years 2013 and 2018, according to the commission’s report.

The commission’s work helped launch the Chittenden County family treatment docket in 2021, the only program of its kind in Vermont currently, though the model is used across the country. Other special treatment dockets exist in Chittenden, Rutland, Washington and Windsor counties, according to the state judiciary’s website, but those programs aren’t operated within family court and tend to involve people who have already pleaded guilty to certain crimes.

The family treatment docket seeks to steer eligible family court cases toward treatment and services. Parents in the program have often, through legal intervention, lost full custody of their children. In order for a case to be referred to the program, all parties need to agree that the goal would be to reunify the parent with their children if not for substance use standing in the way.

The docket’s mission is to “improve the safety and well-being of children who have experienced abuse, neglect, or have been placed at risk of harm due to a caregiver with a substance use disorder,” according to Reiber’s letter. Toward that end, the special docket helps lead participants to substance use and mental health treatment, housing assistance and parenting coaching.

The program is funded solely through a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, according to the letter, a source the court expects will dry up by the end of the year. Vermont received a nearly $900,000 grant to fund the docket, which had annual operating costs around $300,000, according to Teri Corsones, Vermont’s state court administrator, who added that one court position hired specifically for the program would end.

“Under past experience we anticipated that DOJ would have issued a new round of solicitations for federal funding by now, but to date there has not been one,” Reiber wrote.

“We want to be clear: the decision to suspend the program if there is no funding is not a reflection of the program’s value or effectiveness,” he wrote. “It is a reflection of the financial reality we face.”

The docket has seen relatively sparse use — there are currently six participants, according to Corsones. As of April, 33 parents had participated in the docket, incorporating a total of 55 children, since its creation, according to a report conducted by the public policy organization Children and Family Futures.

The report noted that children who reunified with their parents after their parents’ participation in the program spent less time in out-of-home settings than children who were ultimately adopted and not reunified with their parents. As of April, just more than 20% of participants successfully graduated from the docket, and 30% remained active participants, according to the report’s findings, while just under 49% of parents did not complete the program.

The Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office is “devastated” that the docket is ending, Sarah George, the county’s top prosecutor, wrote in an email.

William Gardella, a Chittenden County deputy state’s attorney who primarily handles the county’s child-in-need-of-supervision cases, or CHINS, said the family treatment docket empowered the court to do something rare.

“The court is actually trying to solve a problem and repair a relationship,” he said.

Rather than ordering treatment, which might occur in a regular family court case, the family treatment court brings peer advocates into the process from the addiction recovery nonprofit Turning Point Center of Chittenden County and staff from the Howard Center, a social services organization.

“All the service providers that DCF wants you to work with, they’re bringing them to you,” Gardella said, explaining how the docket cut through road blocks to accessing treatment.

Gardella said the program has been operating at full capacity over the last year or so. Participants, service providers and court officials meet regularly — weekly, every other week or monthly depending on the case, according to Gardella. Peer support is central to the process as well.

“We’ve heard about hiking groups starting out of this program,” he said, “ongoing connections that people were going to build to look out for people in the community.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: A Chittenden County family court program to help parents with substance use will end as federal funding dries up.

Upper Valley farmers celebrate fall harvest with fermented foods

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 20:04:23 +0000

Tucker Gallagher, 10, center, of Piermont, NH, fills a sample cup with sauerkraut as his father Shannon Gallagher looks on during a fermentation celebration at Root 5 Farm in Fairlee on Saturday, Sept. 20. “I want 20 of those jars,” Tucker said of the farm’s Pickle Kraut. Photo by Alex Driehaus/Valley News

This story by Nicola Smith was first published in the Valley News on Sept. 22, 2025.

FAIRLEE — In the last week, the dewy layer of morning frost on the fields has signaled that the Upper Valley’s growing season is winding down. But the warm days and cool nights benefit root vegetables such as carrots and turnips, and above-ground vegetables such as kale, brussel sprouts and cabbage, which are at their peak in the fall.

Cabbage is one of the staple crops at Root 5 Farm, which is on high ground overlooking the Connecticut River in Fairlee.

Owners Danielle Allen and Ben Dana operate a vegetable CSA and use the cabbage they grow in their homemade sauerkraut, or PowerKraut, which is made through natural fermentation. They also make kimchi, the Korean dish that blends cabbage, spices, garlic and ginger.

Over the weekend, Allen and Dana staged their second annual Fermentation Celebration. People throughout the Upper Valley and beyond came to listen to bread bakers, and makers of beer, mead and kombucha, talk about their natural production methods, all of which involve fermentation. The one-day event also showcased Root 5’s own produce.

“We eat everything we grow and ferment,” Allen said.

Allen and Dana started farming in the Burlington’s Intervale 20 years ago but decided to relocate to the Upper Valley after the Winooski River flooded their farm during Tropical Storm Irene. They bought the property, which was already an existing farm, in 2014.

Jars of sauerkraut, kimchi and fermented hot sauces are available to sample during a fermentation celebration at Root 5 Farm in Fairlee on Saturday, Sept. 20. The farm uses late-season cabbage that is harvested after a frost to make their fermented products, which lends an additional sweetness. “It’s something unique we can do in this region,” said farm owner Danielle Allen. Photo by Alex Driehaus/Valley News

Last year the farm, under the direction of chef and chief fermenter Cindy Ross, made 8,000 pounds of sauerkraut and 3,000 pounds of kimchi, Allen said. The PowerKraut and kimchi are sold both on the farm and at stores throughout the Upper Valley.

Ross, who was at Fermentation Celebration overseeing a demonstration of sauerkraut making, said that the farm’s sauerkraut ferments in the natural brine created by the cabbage, salt and spices. She does not use vinegar.

Despite the attention paid to the health benefits of the fermentation method over the past 20 years, partially due to the writing of fermentation guru Sandor Katz, many people still don’t know much about it. “This is why we have today — for educational purposes,” Ross said.

Introducing people to foods that are made through fermentation is part of the Root 5 mission.

Joe Mitchell, right, of North Haverhill, N.H., sells his Yeoman Brewing Company kombucha during a fermentation celebration at Root 5 Farm in Fairlee on Saturday, Sept. 20. Mitchell gave a demonstration earlier in the day, explaining to attendees how to care for a scoby and what factors impact kombucha brewing. Photo by Alex Driehaus/Valley News

“We’re trying to be that first good experience, for people eating fermented foods,” Dana said. “Our sauerkraut is alive, not pasteurized. I love the living part of it, which is supposed to be probiotic.”

Probiotics are live microorganisms in such foods as yogurt, some cheeses, kefir and sauerkraut that are said to be beneficial in digestion, and in supporting the health of the immune system.

Not least, fermentation is a “way to explore the world’s foods,” Dana added.

Craft beer makers Billy and Brooke Martin, who are taking over Brocklebank Brewery in Tunbridge, described the yeast-based fermentation for their pilsners and IPAs as “doing all the work. We’re preparing a very tasty snack for yeast.” The beer makers impart subtle flavors to their beer with the addition of dandelions, red clover and currants.

Cindy Ross, who calls herself a “fermentista,” fills a container with kimchi during a fermentation celebration at Root 5 Farm in Fairlee on Saturday, Sept. 20. Attendees were able to bring their own containers to purchase kimchi and sauerkraut in bulk. Photo by Alex Driehaus/Valley News

Some in attendance at the event were attracted by the health benefits of fermented foods. Researchers at Stanford School of Medicine found in a controlled study in 2021 that a diet “rich in fermented foods enhances the diversity of gut microbes and decreases molecular signs of inflammation,” the School reported.

“I’m definitely sold on the idea of healthy bacteria for your gut,” said Connor Lawless, an Orford resident attending the celebration.

Others came to fermentation as a way to showcase area ingredients.

A variety of fermentation cookbooks are available to browse through during a fermentation celebration at Root 5 Farm in Fairlee on Saturday, Sept. 20. Photo by Alex Driehaus/Valley News

Alexandre Apfel, who owns Golden Rule Mead in Middlebury started the business six years ago, after he became interested in making natural wines. Calling himself a fermenter, Apfel uses fruit, herbs, honey and maple syrup in the production of the alcoholic mead.

“It matters what we’re making this stuff out of. I believe strongly in local food systems,” said Apfel, who works with beekeepers and gardeners in the Middlebury area. “I’m making a product that reflects the world around me.”

At the event, Suzanne Hawley, of Hanover, explored the products on sale and leafed through books on display. She is particularly interested in sourdough bread, which she makes at home using her own carefully-cultivated sourdough starter, which she named Zeke (short for Ezekiel).

Like Apfel, Hawley is drawn to the naturally occurring microcosmos of fermentation, in which the food or drink, in some ways, makes itself.

“It’s a living thing,” she said.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Upper Valley farmers celebrate fall harvest with fermented foods.

VTDigger Fall Member Drive a success

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 20:01:43 +0000

VTDigger Dirt Road News at trivia night at Babe’s Bar in Bethel on Thursday, August 21, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger

Dear Reader,

Thanks to more than 1,180 supporting members, we reached our Fall Member Drive goal! Reader donations power independent reporting that holds leaders accountable, explains complex issues and connects neighbors with facts they can trust.

With your support, VTDigger will provide Vermont with:

More watchdog reporting from the Statehouse and across the state
Clear, accessible coverage of schools, health care, housing, the environment and more
Fast, reliable breaking news when our communities need it most
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From our whole team, thank you for standing with local, nonprofit journalism. We don’t answer to shareholders or political interests — we answer to you.

Here’s what some of you shared with us alongside your donations:

I value your independent reporting and am very concerned for the future of an independent Press.

“Your investigative reporting is so good and important, and I am sure it’s expensive to dedicate staff time to something that may not come to fruition for weeks or months. You are my main source of Vermont news!”

I want to support news that’s accurate and timely, and to enable VTDigger to remain as free as possible from external pressure to shade the truth.

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Thank you again for your contributions and words of support.

We’re putting your support to work right away. If you have ideas or feedback, you can reach out to contact@vtdigger.org. We read every email.

With gratitude,

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Read the story on VTDigger here: VTDigger Fall Member Drive a success.

From deep seas to far space: UVM Medical School alum chosen as one of NASA’s next astronauts

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 19:33:44 +0000

Imelda Muller was selected by NASA to join the 2025 astronaut candidate class. She reported for duty in Sept. 2025. Photo courtesy of Bill Stafford/NASA

UVM Larner College of Medicine alum Imelda Muller is one of NASA’s 10 new astronaut candidates, out of a pool of 8,000, the space agency announced Monday.

“With upcoming exploration missions, we are pushing the boundaries of human performance. The lessons that we learn, the knowledge that we gain, all of these things are going to help us excel not just in space but in areas of human health here on Earth. The future of medicine is now, and I’m incredibly honored to be here with this team, Muller said during NASA’s announcement at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Muller, an anesthesiologist, graduated from the medical school in 2017 and then worked as an undersea medical officer following training at the Naval Undersea Medical Institute, in Connecticut. She studied in the Naval Medical Center in San Diego and became a naval lieutenant. She did her residency in anesthesia and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

“That experience gave me the opportunity to work with multidisciplinary teams in experimental and saturation diving, and I developed a passion for learning about the way the body adapts in extreme environments,” Muller said at the announcement event. “This led me to pursue medical residency training in anesthesia, where I deepened that understanding of how our body responds when it’s under stress. I am incredibly excited to be here alongside this team and to build on that foundation.”

Before coming to UVM, Muller studied behavioral neuroscience as an undergraduate at Northeastern University.

Now, she and the other nine candidates will go through two years of NASA training to become eligible for flight assignments. The program will include spacewalk simulations and survival training.

Muller is one of two in the astronaut training class with a medical background and, at 34, is one of the youngest on the team.

“The UVM community is thrilled to see Dr. Imelda Muller joining NASA’s newest cadre of astronaut candidates,” UVM President Marlene Tromp said in the university’s press release. She also attended the announcement event at the Johnson Space Center.

UVM is part of the Vermont Space Grant Consortium, a NASA partner program that connects those interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics projects with opportunities to work with the space agency. Many Larner students have participated in a four-week Aerospace Medicine Clerkship at the Johnson Space Center.

Read the story on VTDigger here: From deep seas to far space: UVM Medical School alum chosen as one of NASA’s next astronauts .

Matt Wormser: An open letter to Gov. Phil Scott about Burlington

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 14:00:02 +0000

Dear Gov. Phil Scott,

I rode into my office in Burlington in late August, enjoying the new bike paths along the Champlain Parkway and Pine Street along the way. Church Street was alive with the return of students, and the waterfront was similarly vibrant with walkers, bikers and people out enjoying the glory days of late summer.

I noticed that the new Burlington Square building was looking great, and the painfully slow infrastructure improvements along Main Street and beyond were likewise starting to reveal their final form.

Also evident in my midday walk through City Hall Park were the well-documented substance use and homelessness issues facing Burlington. These were issues that you discussed briefly in your Aug. 20 press conference, resulting in some “he said-she said” back and forth press with Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak. If I could summarize your comments during your conference, they were that your administration was certainly willing to help but that you were in effect waiting for the phone to ring.

During your conference, you also took issue with the characterization of Burlington as the “economic engine” of the state. To that I respectfully disagree.

Chittenden County — with Burlington as our epicenter — represents 26% of Vermont’s population but generates 37% of Vermont’s gross domestic product and 35% of its income taxes. Vermonters likewise continue to vote with their feet — 61% of Vermont’s population growth since the year 2000 went Chittenden County — presumably drawn to higher-paying jobs, a vibrant civic life and other opportunities.

The future of our state is inextricably linked to the future of its largest city.

Scott, I’ll note that I have voted for you on multiple occasions, but if there’s been a critique of your leadership, I have too often heard it’s that you show up long enough to veto the bill without sufficient engagement in crafting it along the way. Whether that’s fair or not, Burlington — and Vermont, by extension — needs your more active involvement to address challenges that fall disproportionately on Burlington that are not the fault of city policy.

Whatever policy differences I might have with Burlington Progressives — and there are many — I don’t believe they convinced the Sackler family to get a generation of Americans hooked on opioids. I don’t think they caused the nationwide housing shortage and resulting homelessness epidemic. I don’t think they contributed to our insufficient mental health support system, among other issues.

While the Burlington City Council has belatedly responded to community requests for increased enforcement — especially in City Hall Park — fixing the city’s problems is going to require your administration’s active engagement and in building solutions well beyond recommendations for more enforcement.

What are opportunities for increased administration involvement? Let’s start with proactive outreach to Mulvaney-Stanak — along with city leaders suffering similar issues in Rutland, Brattleboro and beyond.

This would help to not only to coordinate statewide policy solutions, but also to increase Vermont State Police’s focus on combatting drug trafficking throughout the state, propose a viable replacement to the motel program, address judiciary and prosecutor shortages, move the police academy to Chittenden County where a majority of recent graduates can more easily attend, or implement similar measures to reduce our policing shortages, among a range of other items.

Most importantly, however, simply showing up to demonstrate your renewed commitment to supporting the — yes — economic engine of Vermont through your words and actions.

For many years Chittenden County tax dollars have disproportionately subsidized small schools and provided policing in rural parts of the state, disproportionately funded health care and housing for needy Vermonters, and likewise disproportionately helped with road-building and recovery efforts when the floodwaters rise in Burke, Barre, Ludlow and beyond.

Well, the floodwaters have risen in Burlington with the trifecta of housing shortages, a national opioid crisis and inadequate mental health services, and Vermont needs your active leadership to help solve it.

For the good of our state, please step it up.

Matt Wormser, vice chair of the Shelburne Selectboard

Shelburne

Read the story on VTDigger here: Matt Wormser: An open letter to Gov. Phil Scott about Burlington.

Burlington musician Kevin Bloom launches early bid for Chittenden County sheriff

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 13:50:27 +0000

Musician Kevin Bloom of Burlington is running for Chittenden County Sheriff. Seen on Friday, September 19, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger

Longtime Burlington musician Kevin Bloom is trying their hand at politics, announcing their early bid for Chittenden County sheriff on Sept. 9. After landing on the ballot for the 2026 race, Bloom has carried on collecting signatures across the county as means of getting the word out about their campaign.

As of Monday, Bloom, 31, has garnered 168 signatures from 14 of the 18 municipalities in the county: Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski, Williston, Colchester, Essex, Essex Junction, St. George, Huntington, Shelburne, Richmond, Jericho, Hinesburg and Charlotte.

“It’s been amazing. I’ve been going around to different towns and just talking to people,” Bloom said. “I’ve talked to a bunch of landlords. I’ve talked to tenants. I’ve talked to young people. Older people. People my age. People who have lived here for a while. People who just moved here. Immigrants to America. People whose families have been here for a while.”

Bloom’s main platform as a Democratic candidate for Chittenden County sheriff is to end the blanket enforcement of evictions, which they called “a radical investment in our community, that would have some pretty profound results.” Bloom said they would like to cultivate relationships with tenants, landlords, housing developers and community organizations, and connect people with resources to prevent them from losing housing.

“What’s affecting everyone in the county is the housing crisis, and so people who I have talked to on all ends of the political spectrum have agreed that this is a pretty serious problem that’s affecting people in our community in immeasurably negative ways,” Bloom said. “A common theme has been a real resonance with the idea that we should address the problem and stop throwing people out into the street, especially families and especially children.”

Bloom said they did not support people withholding rent, and acknowledged there are some uncommon circumstances where eviction may be necessary.

But Bloom said eviction could be avoided in the vast majority of cases if people were connected with new housing options, job support or other resources. In the usual situation where an eviction is necessary, Bloom said that there should be more of an effort to connect people with help rather than letting them slip through the cracks.

Along with addressing the “omnipresent” housing issue in Chittenden County, Bloom said they would like to be a resource to community members facing wage theft, hate crimes, racial profiling, and violence against the unhoused, helping connect people to the right entities to report crimes and gain justice.

“These are small or large acts of violence against a community that people just in power seem to not really care about,” Bloom said.

Bloom said they would not assist federal Immigration, Customs and Enforcement officials’ actions in the county if requested. Bloom also said they want to serve as a mechanism of police oversight to provide accountability to address cases like Burlington police officers being accused of using excessive force this year and in previous years.

Acknowledging the fear many may feel around law enforcement, Bloom said they want to change the relationship between the community and the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Office, if elected, by listening to residents’ needs.

Musician Kevin Bloom of Burlington is running for Chittenden County Sheriff. Seen on Friday, September 19, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger

Bloom also heads the Burlington-based experimental, psych-rock band The Dead Shakers, which released their sixth album, “Now That’s What I Call Missiles & Bombs 4 Kidz!,” on Sept. 19. With songs titled “To Conflate Jewishness With Zionism Is Itself A Profoundly Anti-Semetic Act, And I Question The Motives of Those Who Do Things Like This“ and “Silence is Violence,” Bloom said they worked to ensure their songs were “unco-optible into anything other than political statements.”

But Bloom said they view their music and creative expression about global issues — like what Bloom and the Vermont congressional delegation recognize as a genocide in Gaza — as important but separate from the everyday work of a sheriff candidate doing local outreach.

Bloom takes issue with the current direction of the sheriff’s office led by Daniel Gamelin, who has increasingly offered private businesses security services for hire, racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars for the department in 2024, according to Seven Days reporting.

“The difference between a sheriff’s deputy and a private security guard is that the sheriff’s deputy is allowed to shoot someone if they deem it necessary, and I just don’t think that’s a service that should be offered by the state,” Bloom said.

In the past election cycle, Gamelin was uncontested for the role in both the primary and general election, so Bloom said they are offering the county an alternative.

Gamelin wrote in an email Friday that he intends on running as an incumbent in 2026 but did not immediately respond to VTDigger for more information on his platform.

“I want to continue the proud tradition of the Chittenden County Sheriff Office,” Gamelin wrote. “I have a great team here in Burlington and want to continue to build on that.”

Bloom is not collecting campaign donations, believing word of mouth is powerful enough to spread their message. Bloom said the funds would be “better spent buying a meal for someone living on the street and handing it to them.”

“That would have a much bigger impact immediately,” Bloom said.

Until Election Day in 2026, Bloom said their goal is to talk with constituents to generate ideas on how to help individuals and the county thrive.

“I think community interaction is a huge component that they’re just not doing right now,” Bloom said. “The Sheriff’s Department could be such a resource for the community.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: Burlington musician Kevin Bloom launches early bid for Chittenden County sheriff.

New skate park opens in downtown Bennington

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 00:19:26 +0000

BENNINGTON, Vt. (NEWS10) -- A new 16,000 sq. ft. skate park has opened in downtown Bennington. It features tons of different ramps, hills and railings.

There's also improved lighting to increase security as well as benches and picnic tables for community gatherings.

Read the latest from NEWS10:

NEWS10 is the Capital Region's local news leader!

A Norwich car theft leads to a party invitation

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 23:56:46 +0000

Shelagh Harvard, farm store sales and marketing manager, stands in the driveway in front of her on-farm residence where her car is usually parked at Sweetland Farm in Norwich on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. Photo by Alex Driehaus/Valley News

This story by John Lippman was first published by the Valley News on Sept. 21.

NORWICH — The mystery of a car that was stolen in the dead of the night from a farm in Norwich and then vanished has been solved. Now the car’s owner has invited the thief to a dessert party because of the bond they share.

The safe and happy outcome on Thursday began with an unsettling scene caught by surveillance cameras early the previous Sunday morning. Footage showed an older man in pajamas shuffling about Sweetland Farm before driving off in a red 2017 Honda HR-V, which had been parked behind the farm store and belonged to one of the farm’s employees.

Shelagh Harvard, a Sweetland Farm employee who lives in a house behind the farm store, said she happened to be awake reading in bed in the early Sunday morning hours when she heard “revving in the driveway” from outside her window.

She said it was not unusual for her to leave the keys in her car. “It’s a farm, you know,” Harvard said.

At first, Harvard told the Valley News in an interview Thursday morning, she thought the motor sound might be coming from a vehicle belonging to guests who had been attending a wedding party down the road and were using Sweetland Farm’s store lot for parking.

“But then I thought a few minutes later, OK, what if it’s not and I got up to look out and my car was gone,” Harvard said. Although it was past 3 a.m., she immediately called 911 to report that her car had just been stolen.

Harvard, who has managed Sweetland Farm’s farm store for three years, has only owned the bright red 2017 Honda H-RV for a few months.

The farm store has outdoor surveillance cameras, and when Harvard and police reviewed the video footage, it showed images of an older man dressed in what appeared to be pajamas and carrying what looked like a blanket or clothing in one arm and wandering about the property.

Camera footage also captured the man struggling to maneuver Harvard’s vehicle with him “reversing the wrong way … he had a heck of a time just getting out of my driveway, like five minutes just to get to the road” before heading south on Route 132 and vanishing out of the camera’s range, Harvard related.

Vermont State Police, in a news release asking for the public’s help in locating Harvard’s stolen vehicle, said it was last observed “traveling into Hanover.”

Hanover Police Capt. Michael Schibuola said police had received a “be on the lookout” alert for the red Honda H-RV and a “possible vehicle matching the description was seen on a camera going south” on South Main Street toward Lebanon. The information was passed along to Lebanon and Hartford police.

After that, Harvard’s car appeared to vanish into thin air with no further sightings.

But Harvard said what she saw on the surveillance video did not strike her as a typical car theft. For one, the video showed that the trespasser was on the property for about two hours, opening the doors of other vehicles parked in the lot and seeming not to be in any hurry.

“You wouldn’t take a couple hours to do that,” Harvard said. A real thief “would be in-and-out.”

Shelagh Harvard’s red 2017 Honda HR-V, which was stolen from Sweetland Farm in Norwich early Sunday morning. Photo courtesy of Shelagh Harvard via the Valley News

Harvard said what she saw on the surveillance appeared to be the behavior of person who might be suffering from something of which she is familiar — dementia.

Harvard is the niece of Andy Harvard, a world-class mountaineer who ran the Dartmouth Outing Club. He died at age 69 in 2019 after being diagnosed with early onset of Alzheimer’s 10 years earlier.

In 2008, claiming performance issues, Dartmouth fired Andy Harvard, an alum, from his post as director of the outdoors program. Nine months later, he was diagnosed with the uncommon form of dementia that strikes people younger than 65.

He and his wife, Kathy Harvard, battled Dartmouth for years to get the college to recognize that his disease was at the root of the reasons for his dismissal, but they were not able to reach a settlement.

“My fear was that it was an elderly man who lives alone and nobody’s reported missing and therefore he is not missed and is in trouble,” Shelagh Harvard said.

Shelagh Harvard contacted Norwich Community Nurse Mary Stevens to ask whether she knew anyone who fit the description of the man in the surveillance video.

She also posted notices on the Hanover, Thetford and Stafford Listservs, asking people to “please help find my car” and noting camera footage shows “an individual that police say may be an elderly male allegedly involved in the theft.”

Stevens said when she watched the video of the shadowy figure shuffling about her reaction “knowing what I know about what people with dementia look like” was that it depicted “someone who was confused and looking for something.”

Stevens in turn shared the video with the community nursing group’s board chair, the town’s former community nurse and Norwich’s fire chief to ask if the man in the video could be anyone they might be familiar with.

“None of them recognized him,” Stevens said, which only increased worries that the man “must be somebody who lives alone. Where did he go? It’s concerning.”

Stevens said she even took it upon herself to drive roads nearby Sweetland Farm, such as Academy Road and Kerwin Hill Road, to look for a red Honda H-RV perhaps parked in a driveway.

But without any trace of Shelagh Harvard’s car, the unidentified man “could have driven it into the river for all we know,” Stevens said.

Shelagh Harvard’s decision to post a plea on online bulletin boards turned out to be a smart move.

On Thursday afternoon, Shelagh Harvard said she was contacted by a woman who lives near Sweetland Farm to report that Harvard’s car was at her ex-husband’s apartment at his senior living residence in West Lebanon.

The woman said her 81-year-old former husband, for whom she has been caring while his dementia worsens, was staying at her Norwich residence on Saturday and unknown to her had wandered off in the middle of the night. The next day the woman received a call from people at her former husband’s senior living complex reporting that he was walking around and “appeared confused,” Shelagh Harvard said the woman told her.

Shelagh Harvard said she does not know how the woman realized that her former husband had driven back to his residence with her car. But in any case the woman made the connection to Shelagh Harvard’s car and the red Honda H-RV at her former husband’s residence when she read a post on one of the online bulletin boards.

“She was apologizing a bunch and I said, ‘You know what? I totally understand and I’m so glad he’s OK and nobody else is hurt,’” Shelagh Harvard said, telling the caller that she is very familiar with dementia due to the experience of her uncle, Andy Harvard.

By happenstance, Shelagh Harvard added, she informed the caller that on Oct. 4 she plans to host her Third Annual Dessert Night Alzheimer’s Walk Benefit at her aunt, Kathy Harvard’s, home in Hanover.

Shelagh Harvard organizes the dessert party annually to raise awareness and funds for dementia research in advance of the Oct. 26 Alzheimer’s walk in Hanover.

“She said, ‘That would so wonderful. This is so isolating. It would just be so nice to be with people who understand what I’m going through,” Shelagh Harvard said.

On Friday afternoon, after Shelagh Harvard had gone to West Lebanon to retrieve her car, she confirmed that the woman would be attending the Oct. 4 dessert party for Alzheimer’s research with a plus one: her former husband.

Read the story on VTDigger here: A Norwich car theft leads to a party invitation.

‘It couldn’t come at a worse time’: Vermont grapples with the potential end of Covid-era federal subsidies for marketplace health insurance

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 22:58:57 +0000

Almost 30,000 Vermonters are covered by health insurance purchased on the individual market of the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace. Many can afford that coverage because of federal subsidies offered through the Affordable Care Act, which were then expanded during the Covid-19 pandemic.

But those enhanced subsidies are set to expire at the end of this year, and with it, those insured Vermonters stand to lose a collective $65 million if Congress does not extend those expanded tax credits soon.

“There would be the immediate and devastating impact on the families who rely on the Affordable Care Act, (and) there would be a ripple impact of higher rates with the cost shift on the rest of the insurance market,” Vermont Sen. Peter Welch said in an interview with VTDigger. “And it would come at a time when we in Vermont are absolutely overwhelmed with the price spikes in the cost of health care. It couldn’t come at a worse time.”

In Washington, Welch is sounding the alarm on the end of these credits: As he and his fellow Senate Democrats negotiate over a bill that would continue to fund the federal government past Sept. 30, the potential extension of the tax credits has taken a central role. Republicans need seven additional ‘yes’ votes to push the budget measure through and avert a government shutdown. Welch and his fellow Senate Democrats have positioned a permanent extension of expiring federal tax credits for health insurance as a central bargaining chip in these negotiations. Its passage could preserve access to health insurance for thousands of Vermonters.

Understanding the Tax Credits

When the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, it included tax credits to subsidize the costs for people who earn up to 400% of the federal poverty limit, when they purchased individual health insurance plans on the health care marketplace. In Vermont, that’s Vermont Health Connect, where Blue Cross Blue Shield and MVP sell plans.

In 2021, as part of the American Rescue Plan, Congress expanded these tax credits. The so-called enhanced credits both increased the amount subsidized for people already eligible and also expanded the population of people eligible to those making more than 400% of the federal poverty line. Under that expansion, the purpose was to cap a household’s health care premium expense at 8.5% of its income. Both expansions of the tax credits were extended as part of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.

Now, these enhanced tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025.

More than 24 million people across the U.S. are enrolled in the marketplace, a participation that exploded from the 11.4 million participants in 2020 after the enhanced credits’ passage. Nearly all of those 24.3 million participants (92%) receive some amount of premium tax credit.

Vermont is no exception to those trends: The broadened credits made marketplace insurance affordable for thousands more Vermonters, and led to a boom in enrollment in the plans. As of this January, 95% of Vermonters who buy their insurance on the marketplace receive federal premium tax credits, according to data from the Department of Vermont Health Access.

Consultants working for the department estimated that expanded subsidies equaled roughly $65 million in support for Vermont individuals and families, according to a 2024 report submitted to the Legislature. The amount that households in the state receive in enhanced subsidies is roughly one-fifth of the overall amount received through the federal Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.

Open enrollment for 2026 health insurance plans begins on Nov. 1, which is when all of the purchasers who have been benefiting from the enhanced tax credits will face the prospect of higher out-of-pocket premiums next year for the same coverage they’ve been receiving.

On average, that net premium for the entire subsidized population will more than double, said Adaline Strumolo, the department’s deputy commissioner overseeing Vermont Health Connect.

Estimating the impact

Beyond an average, it’s hard to generalize the impact of the enhanced tax credits’ end, since each subsidy is individualized, based on household size and income. Households making less than 200% of the federal poverty level and those making more than 400% will see the biggest impact from the loss of the credits; they can expect to see the largest percentage of their income go toward their insurance.

KFF, a nonprofit that provides health policy analysis and news, has created a calculator to help people determine how much they can expect their premiums to increase. VTDigger tried out some scenarios that illustrate what the loss might look like for Vermont families who buy insurance on the marketplace:

A single person in Windsor County who makes 150% the federal poverty limit ($23,475 annually) would go from paying nothing for a silver plan each month to $82 a month, or $984 per year.

A family of four who earn $112,525 a year — 350% above the federal poverty limit — would go from paying $680 per month in premiums for all four members to get insurance on the marketplace, to $934 each month in premiums. That’s an increase of $3,048 for the year.

But the people who stand to lose the most support are those whose income is just above the line of 400% of the federal poverty limit — that is the population who will lose eligibility for the federal subsidies entirely, when the enhanced tax credits end. A single person making $63,000 a year (403% above the federal poverty line) would go from paying $446 a month for a silver plan’s premium on the marketplace to $1,277 a month; for a bronze plan, they would go from paying nothing each month to $808. For either plan, the expense totals almost an additional $10,000 annually.

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For a family plan, the change becomes even more extreme: a household with two parents and two children earning 403% of the federal poverty limit would go from paying $918 a month to $3,587 a month in premiums for the silver plan. That is an increase from $11,013 per year in cost to $43,045 a year. That $32,000 increase amounts to a shift from 8.5% of their income to 33.2%.

There are about 6,000 Vermonters who make above 400% of the federal poverty limit and receive these enhanced ACA subsidies, according to Strumolo. This population can expect to see the most drastic loss of federal support in total dollars.

“There is a practical reality that the price pressure is going to cause some people to go without coverage. That’s the thing we’re really concerned about,” she said.

When people forgo health insurance entirely, it’s usually younger, healthier people, who make the financial gamble that being uninsured represents. When that happens, insurers generally raise premium prices for those remaining in the insurance pool — who are generally older or less healthy. In August, Vermont’s state regulator approved low premium increases for plans sold on the individual and small group marketplaces in the coming year, which included a price increase to account for the anticipated shift in behavior.

Strumolo stressed that while the end of the enhanced tax credits stands to be a massive loss for all those who benefit from it, the original subsidies will still exist for those making less than 400% of the federal poverty level — albeit in smaller amounts. She expects that the loss of the enhanced credits may also mean many people opt for a lower-tier plan.

“For the people who are still under 400%, there are a lot of options that are quite affordable at the bronze level, but even at the gold level,” she said.

‘No state can cover the full gap’

The state also has its own version of its own tax credits called Vermont Premium Assistance, which is available to households making 300% of the poverty level or less. Right now, around 11,000 people rely on both subsidies, but many do not even need to dip into the state assistance, since the federal credits cover the entire cost of their plans. Strumolo says that she expects the end of the enhanced subsidies to mean that more people will need the state subsidy. As of January 2025, the state premium assistance totaled around $4.3 million of support annually.

Still, it’s nowhere near enough: The state does not have the $65 million it would take to use Vermont Premium Assistance to fill the entire gap left by the enhanced federal tax credits, Strumolo said, citing her department’s 2024 legislative report.

“That is not something we’re able to do on the state level. No state can cover the full gap,” Strumolo said. “That value is not one that a state budget can typically backfill.”

If the federal credits do expire at the end of the year, she expects that her department will look for “creative solutions” in the state budget during the coming legislative session, to try to soften the drop-off for those right over 400% of the poverty line. Still, those changes would not likely come before people start to enroll in 2026 marketplace plans.

Yet Strumolo has not totally lost hope that the federal government could pull through with an extension of the subsidies.

Senate Democrats are currently planning to withhold the votes needed to pass a bill to avert a shutdown of the federal government. A permanent extension of the enhanced tax credits is one of their primary requirements for their support.

Sen. Bernie Sanders also said he is prepared to vote on a federal budget if Republicans agree to expand these tax credits as part of the resolution. “When you talk about raising the premiums for people on the Affordable Care Act very very high, which means that people simply aren’t going to be able to go to the doctor, that ain’t making America healthy,” he told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

The continuing resolution that is currently funding the federal government ends at midnight on Sept. 30.

Strumolo hopes that at least people will know whether they will be able to rely on the enhanced tax credits before open enrollment begins. But if not, and an extension of the enhanced subsidies occurs after enrollment opens on Nov. 1, “a lot of damage will be done,” she said. “People will see what they’re facing for 2026 and make coverage decisions” that they might then want to rethink if subsidies are extended.

Yet, she said that in that scenario her department would “bend over backwards” to make sure people can get enrolled at that point.

What happens next?

In Washington, Welch and Sanders both have repeatedly called their colleagues’ attention to the immense costs this will incur for all their constituents, as has Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt. Welch believes that for a permanent extension of the enhanced premium tax credits to really get traction, President Donald Trump needs to weigh in.

“I’ve heard a number of my Republican colleagues say that they want to do it, but they won’t do it unless President Trump says, ‘Okay,’” Welch said, adding that for now Trump is insisting on no negotiations with Democrats. “We believe that extending premium support should absolutely be a bipartisan priority — everything that’s going to happen to Vermonters is going to happen to folks in West Virginia or Wyoming.”

He worries about what it will mean in a state with an already extremely strained health care system. “We have this enormous pressure on the private insurance market in Vermont, where we’ve seen very, very high premium increases. We pay among the highest insurance rates anywhere,” he said. “What happens when the providers don’t get reimbursement from the government or from Medicaid, Medicare or the Affordable Care Act?”

On Capitol Hill, legislators are gearing up for a week where this question will be at the center of the negotiations surrounding whether Democrats will vote on a federal budget resolution. Welch hopes that back at home, Vermonters will not need to learn the answer the hard way.

Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of the graphic that accompanies this story presented the labels incorrectly.

Read the story on VTDigger here: ‘It couldn’t come at a worse time’: Vermont grapples with the potential end of Covid-era federal subsidies for marketplace health insurance.

Martha Stewart adopts two local rescue horses

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 22:46:53 +0000

DORSET, VT (NEWS10) -- Two horses have gone from rags to riches in the best way possible. Stuart and Ulysses were rescued by the Dorset Equine Rescue in Dorset, Vermont, and they are now taking up residence with a very famous face.

Dorset Equine Rescue is a non-profit organization on a small, 5-acre farm. They have helped rescue over 500 horses since being founded in 2012. 10-year-old Stuart and 3-year-old Ulysses are two of the horses rescued from an ongoing animal cruelty case.

"It's pretty cool seeing them, you know, the state that they often come in here and then what they turn into and they're pretty beautiful, magnificent creatures and deserve the best. So, it's cool to be a part of." said Tiffany Vittum, Barn Manager at Dorset Equine Rescue.

Stuart and Ulysses future looks bright – with the rescue receiving an unexpected call from lifestyle guru Martha Stewart. "Martha was great. We're so grateful that she stepped forward to give Stuart and Ulysses a forever home. It was nice to be able to go down there and hand-deliver them to her on her property in New York." said Vittum.

The rescue plans to expand with a new 178-acre farm — giving them space to care for up to 100 horses. With their current space, they can only house about 14 or 15. The 178-acres of land is still undeveloped, but the goal is to transform it into a fully operational facility. Vittum added, "We've got a long way to go. There's nothing permanent there yet. So we still need to build the barn and we're in desperate need of funding to help make that happen."

To learn more about how you can support the Dorset Equine Rescue mission, head to their website.

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Receiver plans to dole out $183,322 to each Burke Mountain EB-5 investor from sale and settlement

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 20:49:51 +0000

Burke Mountain Ski Resort. Photo by Patrick McCaffrey via Wikimedia Commons

More than 120 people who invested in the redevelopment of Burke Mountain, then were defrauded in a high-profile scandal that rocked Vermont, are set to receive some of their money back.

The foreign investors will get about one-third of their investment from the recent sale of the resort and a previous settlement with a financial institution.

Michael Goldberg, the lawyer overseeing the Northeast Kingdom’s resort receivership for more than 10 years, gained approval last week from a federal judge to distribute $183,322 to each of the 121 EB-5 investors in the Burke Mountain ski area.

Each of those investors put up at least $500,000 through the federal visa program in hopes of obtaining permanent U.S. residency, or green cards. To receive that, their investment in the resort would have had to meet certain job creation requirements.

The resort eventually fell into receivership when the developers were accused by regulators of misusing funds they obtained from EB-5 investors for not only the Burke Mountain development, but upgrades and expansion at nearby Jay Peak ski resort and projects in Newport.

Jay Peak resort had previously sold for $76 million with EB-5 investors who put money into projects at that ski area also receiving pay outs from proceeds of that sale.

In April, Goldberg, a court-appointed receiver, reached a deal earlier this year to sell the Burke Mountain resort for $11.5 million to Bear Den Partners LLC, a group of entities with longstanding ties to the ski area.

Goldberg late last week received approval to distribute the proceeds from that sale to the foreign investors as well as another roughly $10 million from a larger settlement he had reached with the financial firm Raymond James. Raymond James had handled transactions for one of the resort’s developers: Ariel Quiros, who owned both Jay Peak and Burke Mountain ski areas at the time.

All totaled, the receiver wrote in his court filing last week, he had roughly $22 million to distribute equally to the 121 foreign investors in Burke Mountain, or $183,322 each, representing about 36% of the $500,000 they each contributed.

That resolution, Goldberg added, “treats all Burke investors equitably based on their original investments.”

The EB-5 development projects in northern Vermont were led by Quiros as well as former Jay Peak resort president and CEO Bill Stenger and attorney William Kelly, a close adviser to Quiros.

All three were indicted on federal criminal charges in 2019 and later sentenced to prison, specifically for their roles in one of the EB-5 financed projects in Newport that never came to fruition, the construction of a $110 million biomedical research facility.

Goldberg has served as the receiver overseeing the properties at the center of the financial scandal since 2016. That’s when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission first brought a civil enforcement action in connection with the developments and the misuse of the funds.

Regulators brought that action in federal court in Miami, which was where Quiros resided in 2016 and where many of his other business entities were located.

Judge Darrin P. Gayles, who presides in federal court in Miami and oversees Goldberg’s receivership, on Friday approved Goldberg’s fund distribution plan to the Burke Mountain EB-5 investors.

Goldberg could not be reached Monday for comment.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Receiver plans to dole out $183,322 to each Burke Mountain EB-5 investor from sale and settlement.

From island heat to Vermont snow: How VSAC’s GEAR UP helped OJ find his future

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 20:46:40 +0000

“I’ve always been interested in videos and editing,” OJ Daring says. “In high school, I used to edit all kinds of things, making shorts just for fun. That’s when I started thinking maybe I could actually do this as a career.”

His curiosity led him to enroll in Burlington Technical Center, where he was able to explore film a little more. “Being at the tech center gave me space to get better and enjoy it. I was surrounded by people who were into the same things—making projects, learning the equipment, working on technical assignments. It felt like the right fit.”

Now a senior at Champlain College, OJ is double majoring in film and finance. “Film was always my main focus. Finance came in because money is always in the back of my mind. If I want to start a business or just understand how things work, that’s going to help me.”

From Jamaica to Vermont

OJ came to Vermont from Jamaica when he was eight years old to live with his dad. “I moved here in the summer, and it was so mild. Then winter came,” he says, laughing. “The first year you see the snow, you get the eggnog. You’re amazed. Three years into it, the shine starts to wear off. Snowstorms, all the layers—and I was still cold even with all the gear! That’s when I got into cozy culture. My favorite thing to do is watch Christmas movies.”

High school was where OJ started testing out his interests. “I was in leadership programs and ran track. At the tech center, I worked on short projects, learned how to use the equipment, and really got into storytelling through film. My advisor Jason talked to me about different paths—traditional college programs or the independent route, like making music videos or filming for businesses. I ended up going the traditional route with my education, but I still do independent projects on the side.”

Those side projects turned into real work experience. “I’ve filmed campaign videos, events, and projects for individuals and businesses. I’ve worked for Champlain’s marketing department. Right now, I’m interning with a real estate company doing video tours of their listings.”

Early College through Community College of Vermont also gave him a boost. “I graduated during COVID, but I already had more than 25 college credits. That made it easier to double major at Champlain, since a lot transferred.”

Support from GEAR UP

OJ’s family was very supportive of his dreams. “In the Caribbean, you take school seriously,” he says. “My mom is a nurse with a master’s degree, and she was very focused on me doing well. She always told me I needed to figure out what I was going to do and where I was going to study. My dad didn’t go to college—he works for the City of Winooski—but he wanted me to do something. He wasn’t going to tell me what, but he wanted me to do something.”

Yet, OJ didn’t exactly know where to start and took things one step at a time. He took part in VSAC’s GEAR UP program, and that’s where his VSAC counselor came in. “GEAR UP was one of the biggest supports for me,” he says. “Starting in eighth grade, I had an advisor who talked to me about loans, tuition sticker price, internships, study abroad, all of that. They put me in the right mindset and helped me stay on track. If I was doing it on my own, I might have figured some of it out, but I wouldn’t have come as far. They supported me so much.”

GEAR UP, short for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, places counselors in schools to help students—especially in underserved communities—prepare for education and training after high school. VSAC has run the program in Vermont for decades.

OJ describes the GEAR UP workshops as especially helpful. “We did workshops on financial literacy, college applications, FAFSA—everything. FAFSA has a handful of questions that don’t feel super direct, and GEAR UP helped me figure them out. They made it easy to fill it all out and feel confident. They also had dedicated FAFSA nights where you could get help right on the spot.”

The support continues even now. “GEAR UP still helps me review my financial aid package every year. And they help with other things too, like paying for books. This semester, my book list was really expensive, and GEAR UP stepped in. It really makes a difference,” he says.

Champlain College ticked all the boxes

When it came time to choose a college, OJ relied on the network of support he had built. “They helped me understand loans, the whole Early College process so I could earn credits while in high school, and what to look for in a college.”

He toured colleges in Vermont, Boston, and Syracuse—some with the help of VSAC. “If I didn’t have that support, I would have had way more questions, and I would have been a lot more stressed. The hardest part was just waiting for responses. But when Champlain came back with an offer, it ticked all the boxes—study abroad, internships, and the programs I wanted. I still think it was the best decision.”

One of the highlights of OJ’s college experience was his recent study abroad opportunity in New Zealand. “I’m jealous of myself three months ago,” he says. “It was a totally different environment than I’m used to. I took a media and perspectives class from a New Zealand point of view, and a business class where I got to see what was similar and different compared to Burlington. It gave me a new perspective on film and business, but also on life in general.”

Study abroad opportunities were a priority for OJ when he applied to college and the experience he had with Champlain exceeded his expectations.

Aiming his lens to the world

Now in his final year at Champlain, OJ is open to where his path will take him. “I have a lot of different ideas. Hollywood has always been the dream, but I could also see myself going the niche route—working in marketing for a company, or starting a business of my own. I want to be able to support myself, and I’ll see where I am at the end of next year.”

In the meantime, he’s staying active on campus as a member of the GEAR UP alumni committee.

Looking back, OJ says the support made all the difference. “The process was smooth for me because of VSAC and GEAR UP. If I didn’t have that, I would have had a harder time. They helped me through the confusion, answered my questions, and made me feel confident.”

The Vermont Student Assistance Corp. was created by the Vermont Legislature in 1965 as a public nonprofit agency. We advocate for Vermont students and their families to ensure that they have the tools they need to achieve their education and training goals. We create opportunities for all Vermont students, but particularly for those—of any age—who believe that the doors to education are closed to them. Growing families save for education with VT529, Vermont’s official 529 savings program. To help Vermonters plan and pay for college or job training, our counselors work with students in nearly every Vermont middle school and high school, and are also available to work with adults. Our grant, scholarship, and workforce development programs create opportunity, help students re-skill or learn new skills, and grow the economy. VSAC’s loan and loan forgiveness programs provide competitive education financing to students and families. Find us at www.vsac.org or visit Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

Read the story on VTDigger here: From island heat to Vermont snow: How VSAC’s GEAR UP helped OJ find his future.

Nicholas Monsarrat

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 20:04:37 +0000

Born Dec. 26, 1941

Westport, Connecticut

Died Sept. 11, 2025

Charlotte, Vermont

Nicholas (Nick) Monsarrat of Charlotte, longtime veteran of the Vermont news scene, has died at the age of 83. During his 40-plus year career he worked for all the major newspapers in the state, as a Statehouse reporter, then Editorial Page Editor and subsequently Managing Editor of the Times Argus; Managing Editor of The Rutland Herald; and Editorial Page Editor at the Burlington Free Press. He also appeared regularly on Vermont This Week, helped found VT Digger with originator Anne Galloway and was one of its early Board Members. He is featured in the 2010 Vermont Public Television documentary “Headline Vermont,” which details the history of Vermont Newspapers. He served in the Air Force in the Philippines when he was drafted in the 60s right before Vietnam, writing for the Stars and Stripes, and was an Adjunct Professor of Journalism at St. Michael’s College. In 1983 he co-chaired an unprecedented exchange of Russian and American journalists, who met in both Russia and Vermont. Nick also served on the Board of Directors of the New England Press Association.

Anne Galloway has written glowingly of Nick during Digger’s founding: “I am grateful for the constancy of Nick Monsarrat, my editor. Nick’s advice and editing expertise have been invaluable. He smooths the rough patches in my writing, translates arcane legislative argot, keeps the facts straight….I owe hm a debt of gratitude.”

He will be sorely missed by his wife of 30 years, Barbara Ann Curcio, also a reporter, with whom he partnered in various ventures–both writing and editing one another’s work. He is the cousin of famed novelist Nicholas Monsarrat (“The Cruel Sea”), and later penned two novels of his own–“The Sharpstown Boys” and “United States.” Barbara and Nick also rode together and cared for their total of seven horses in both Vermont and Florida. In between, Nick endured too many health problems to list over the years, starting with a quadruple bypass at the tender age of 51.

Strikingly handsome and always brave, he endured health challenge after challenge with his wife by his side through hospitalizations, surgeries and finally extended stays in rehab facilities, until he was no longer mobile enough to remain at home. Through it all he showed tremendous courage and resilience, battling often grim prognoses to recover time and time again. He died at home on hospice care in the room where he and Barbara were married next to the grand piano three decades ago.

No doubt he was greeted in heaven by four of his horses–Silver the quarter horse and herd leader, Scout the opinionated paint, Jester the faithful Palomino and Red, Pony Club Veteran and sometime-stinker. Also there to meet him were his three dogs–Macbeth and Macduff the Scottish sheep dogs and Truffles, a bearded collie mix. No doubt his parents, John and Margaret Monsarrat were on hand, along with his in-laws Ann and Dominic Curcio.

He will be remembered by all–his memory a blessing. No doubt he will do his best to promulgate Free Speech and Freedom of the Press in heaven and on earth, encouraged by his three remaining horses, Bailey the Irish pony, and Splash and Thunder, the Wild and Crazy Paint horses.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Nicholas Monsarrat.

5 Vermont legislators travel to Israel as scrutiny grows over Gaza war

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 18:35:10 +0000

Clockwise from top left: Rep. Sarah “Sarita” Austin, Rep. James Gregoire, Rep. Matt Birong, Rep. Will Greer and Rep. Gina Galfetti

Updated at 7:04 p.m.

A bipartisan group of Vermont House members and hundreds of their counterparts from other states visited Israel last week on a trip sponsored by the Israeli government. The visit comes as the Middle Eastern country is facing mounting international scrutiny over its war in Gaza.

Rep. Sarita Austin, D-Colchester; Rep. Matt Birong, D-Vergennes; Rep. Gina Galfetti, R-Barre Town; Rep. Will Greer, D-Bennington; and Rep. James Gregoire, R-Fairfield, took part in the visit, which was called “50 States, One Israel,” according to interviews and social media posts. The trip’s itinerary, which was organized by Israeli officials, ran from Monday, Sept. 15 to Thursday, Sept. 18.

Four of the five legislators were initially invited on the trip by Israel’s foreign ministry, while one, Gregoire, was invited to join later on. In all, 250 legislators from all 50 states attended the event, which Israeli leaders described as the largest-ever gathering of U.S. lawmakers in their country.

Several of the Vermont lawmakers said Monday that they joined the trip because they wanted to learn more about the impacts of the war in Gaza firsthand and wanted to take advantage of an opportunity to interact directly with top Israeli officials.

The visit took place nearly two years into the military campaign that Israel launched following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on the country by Hamas, which governs Gaza. About 1,200 people were killed in the attack and 250 were taken hostage. Since then, Israel’s ground and air offensive has killed more than 60,000 people in Gaza, with nearly a third of the dead under the age of 18, according to local health authorities.

In August, the United Nations declared a famine in Gaza, saying more than half a million people were facing “starvation, destitution and death” as a result. The UN and other international organizations have repeatedly accused Israel of curtailing the amount of food aid that is able to be brought into the Gaza enclave.

Just a day into the legislators’ visit, Israeli forces further escalated the war with a ground offensive into Gaza City, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said is aimed at rooting out Hamas. But the offensive has already killed women and children and is expected to exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe in the population hub.

Vast numbers of buildings in the city, and throughout the Gaza Strip, have been destroyed by Israeli strikes since the start of the war.

Also last week, an independent United Nations commission released a report finding that Israel has committed four “genocidal acts” in Gaza since October 2023. Shortly after, all three members of Vermont’s congressional delegation — Democrats U.S. Rep. Becca Balint and Sen. Peter Welch and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders — became some of the first members of Congress to publicly call Israel’s war a “genocide.”

According to an Instagram post from Israel’s government, the state legislators on the trip “witnessed the magnitude of the October 7 tragedy, experienced Israel’s innovation and cutting-edge technology, tasted our incredible cuisine, and met with Israel’s leaders — including the Prime Minister, the President, the Foreign Minister, and many others.”

During a stop in Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar urged the legislators, specifically, to pass laws in their states that would hinder the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, according to The Jerusalem Post. The international movement aims to use economic pressure to force Israel’s government to change its policies.

“We are witnessing a coordinated global effort against Israel today,” Sa’ar said.

The Jerusalem Post also reported that Amir Ohana, speaker of the Knesset, which is Israel’s parliament, spoke to the legislators as well before giving a musical performance that Ohana said was dedicated to the slain American conservative pundit Charlie Kirk.

The itinerary also included stops in Tel Aviv as well as visits to several Israeli settlements, known as kibbutzim, that are located close to the Gaza border, according to materials viewed by VTDigger. Legislators visited the site, also near Gaza, where Hamas fighters in 2023 killed hundreds of people at the Nova music festival. They also planted trees, one per state, in remembrance of Israelis killed in that day’s attack.

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Several of the Vermont legislators who attended last week’s trip said that they got to speak with Israeli citizens, in addition to the country’s political leaders, during their visit. They acknowledged, however, that the trip — funded and overseen by Israel — did not offer them an objective analysis of the conflict or its history.

Some of the members of the group have leadership roles in the Statehouse. Birong is the chair of the House Government Operations and Military Affairs Committee, while Gregoire is vice chair of the House Corrections and Institutions Committee.

Four of the five sponsored a bill this year aimed at creating a new curriculum for Vermont students, and new training for Vermont teachers, focused on “the evolving nature of antisemitism” in the U.S., among other measures. The legislation, H.310, did not advance after being introduced at the start of this year’s legislative session, though it could still be taken up when legislators return for the 2026 session in January.

Gregoire, a Republican, said in an email Monday that he and the other Vermont legislators “spoke to the concerns of food distribution” in Gaza during the trip. He said he observed a divide between what many Israeli citizens want, which is “just to live in peace,” and what Netanyahu and some members of the Israeli government want.

However, he said it was clear to him that Hamas was standing in the way of a peaceful solution, as well.

“The reality is Hamas created this disaster and that cannot be ignored because they will never allow a lasting peace,” he wrote. He and the other legislators “could’ve sat at home and had no voice,” Gregoire continued, but by traveling to Israel, they “took a risk because ending the conflict in Gaza in a way that leads to lasting peace for the human beings on both sides is that important.”

He added that the trip gave him an opportunity to talk with legislators from other states about topics unrelated to the conflict as well — such as impending cuts to federal funding for Medicaid and nutritional benefits — contending that he likely wouldn’t have had the opportunity to have such conversations otherwise.

Galfetti, one of Gregoire’s GOP colleagues, said in an email Monday that “Hamas has the power to end this conflict and the suffering of the Palestinian people right now by releasin

Shelburne town manager is a dancing star

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 16:36:26 +0000

Shelburne town manager Matt Lawless performed in Dancing with the Burlington Stars, a fundraiser for Vermont Association for the Blind and Vision Impaired. Courtesy photo via the Shelburne News

This story by Briana Brady was first published by the Shelburne News on Sept. 14.

Town managers have a lot of skills when it comes to dealing with town budgets or supporting the selectboard — financial acuity, communication, fluency in local and state laws and, often, patience.

On Saturday, Sept. 13, Shelburne’s town manager, Matt Lawless, got up on stage at the Flynn Theater in Burlington to display a different kind of skill: a willingness to boogie.

Lawless was one of six “local celebrities” in Dancing with the Burlington Stars, an annual fundraiser for the Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The event pairs each local star with a professional, mostly instructors at local dance schools, to put together a routine and compete in front of a panel of judges.

This year, along with Lawless, the local celebrities included a local pediatrician, an elementary school principal and a TV meteorologist. Spoiler alert: Lawless didn’t end up winning —the title went to Dr. Becca Bell — but he did have a lot of fun.

“It’s nice to be in public in a different kind of way. There’s aspects of performance to being in public service, but you only ever see certain parts of people. It’s a nice reminder that people are complicated and have lots of different interests. I’m happy to show a different side of myself,” Lawless said.

Lawless, who has a background in theater, recalled one memorable community theater role in which he played Satan’s jester, a large cat, gamely hissing on stage and climbing up the walls.

He was paired at the Saturday event with Elizabeth Seyler, also known as Dr. Tango, a dance scholar and instructor who specializes in the Argentine tango. He said the two of them spent a lot of time just listening to music and talking about what kind of story they wanted to tell.

The piece Lawless and Seyler performed was equally theatrical, with Lawless playing a bumbling sous chef to Seyler’s exacting chef de cuisine. The two chased each other around the stage, at one point enacting a kind of swordfight using a rolling pin and a wooden spoon. Eventually, they made up, learning to dance together.

The performances from the rest of the celebrities were equally full of joy. It was easy to see why the fundraising has grown. This year, the Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired sold over 800 tickets, with the proceeds going to support its programs.

Lawless said it reminded him how much he loved that kind of creative expression. He plans on finding more ways to dance, maybe with a dance improv group or one of Vermont’s social swing clubs. He might even get back into community theater.

“It’s a really fun, creative way to express yourself and think differently, move differently, that I had been missing,” he said.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Shelburne town manager is a dancing star.

Standoff on Riverside Avenue in Burlington Sunday ends in police shooting

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 16:20:58 +0000

Police block off Riverside Ave. in Burlington on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. Photo by Charlotte Oliver/VTDigger

BURLINGTON — A Burlington police officer shot at a suspect on Sunday evening after a standoff with police on Riverside Avenue escalated throughout the day. Vermont State Police are currently investigating the shooting, according to a press release.

While police said in the release that the suspect is currently in custody and receiving medical care for sustained injuries, they did not explicitly say that the man was injured by the officer. The officer who fired at the man remains unidentified and has been placed on paid administrative leave by the department.

The Burlington Police Department responded to a disturbance at the man’s apartment building at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, then announced in a later press release that there was an active incident on the road involving a person in crisis.

By early afternoon, police had blocked off the street between Intervale Avenue and Bright Street. Police officers could be seen standing in the building’s parking lot, crouched over a police cruiser with their guns drawn and pointing toward the back of the building.

Police stand behind cruiser with guns drawn on Riverside Ave. in Burlington on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 21, 2025. Photo by Charlotte Oliver/VTDigger

Kenna Dwinell, who lives in the apartment complex, heard the suspect “yelling and screaming and threatening the police all day,” she said.

The confrontation started that morning when Dwinell said she woke up to police presence outside the building. She was asked to leave around 11:30 a.m. noting that since then the situation had clearly escalated, she said on Sunday afternoon. Dwinell was part of a small group of residents and community members who stood across the street and watched as police and first responders swarmed the site.

Dwinell said she contacted police about the same man on Friday after he appeared to be in a mental health crisis and was destroying her outside Halloween decorations. Before that incident, the man seemed quiet, and she had never heard any complaints from other residents about him, she said.

The road remained blocked off into the night on Sunday. Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit is investigating the incident, Vermont State Police said in their release.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Standoff on Riverside Avenue in Burlington Sunday ends in police shooting.

Pickle festival coming to Bennington

Sun, 14 Sep 2025 18:53:15 +0000

BENNINGTON, Vt. (NEWS10) -- It's a big "dill" for pickle lovers in Bennington. The Apple Barn, located on US Route 7, will be hosting its annual Pickle Festival on September 20.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the bakery will roll in the harvest season with pickle-themed treats, pickle slushies and a pickle mascot named Sir Pickleton. The event will also hold a "Big Dill" Pickle Competition, where pickle makers will square off in one of three categories -- traditional, eccentric and fermented -- for the title of Best Pickle.

There will also be a variety of other activities for non-pickle fanatics, including a scavenger hunt, an archery range, Vermont-made goods, live music and pumpkin painting. There will also be a Mini Cider Donut Eating Contest at 3 p.m.

The Apple Barn Pickle Festival will take place at 604 U.S. Route 7 South. Those interested in participating in the "Big Dill" Pickle Contest can enter their pickles and entry form until 12 p.m. the day of the festival. Judging will begin at 2 p.m. and winners will be announced at 4 p.m.

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Dunkin' and Make-A-Wish team up for fundraising campaign

Sun, 14 Sep 2025 14:56:54 +0000

CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Dunkin' and Make-A-Wish Vermont & Northeast New York are coming together to raise money for the nonprofit. Guests at participating Dunkin' locations who donate $1 or more to Make-A-Wish will receive a free specialty donut.

The campaign runs from Sept. 12 to Sept. 21. The specialty donut will be given out while supplies last. The money raised will go toward granting wishes for local children.

“Dunkin’ is proud to continue our partnership with Make-A-Wish Vermont & Northeast New York, an organization that does so much for children in our community,” said upstate New York Dunkin’ franchisee Tom Santurri. “Each year, our specialty donuts -- topped with white icing and blue sprinkles in honor of Make-A-Wish -- bring joy to our guests, and we’re honored to help make wishes come true for kids across the Capital Region.”

This is the second year the partnership has taken place in the Capital Region. The Make-A-Wish Donut campaign raised $21,249 in 2024 for the local chapter.

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Bennington woman cited after rollover crash in Pownal

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 14:15:43 +0000

POWNAL, Vt. (NEWS10)-- A Bennington woman was issued a citation for allegedly giving minors alcohol, which caused a serious accident in Pownal back in June. According to Vermont State Police, Alexis Pecor, 27, is accused of furnishing alcohol to minors resulting in serious bodily injury.

According to troopers, on June 3 around 7:45 p.m., Bennington Police and Vermont State Police responded to a roll-over crash with multiple life-threatening injuries. A preliminary investigation determined a 2004 Nissan Pathfinder left the roadway, for an unknown reason, and rolled.

The driver, an 18-year-old, and two passengers were found in serious condition and were all airlifted to Albany Medical Center for emergency treatment.

According to state police, the driver and the passengers were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. Vermont State Police said a follow-up investigation determined the alcohol was provided to the underage occupants by Pecor.

Troopers said Pecor was issued a citation to appear in Vermont Superior Court, Bennington Criminal Division on November 24 at 8:15 a.m.

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Two arrested in connection to deadly Burlington assault

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 14:23:37 +0000

BURLINGTON, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) - Two individuals were arrested in relation to the August assault that lead to Scott Kastner's death.

The 42-year-old victim died days after a he was attacked by multiple people near Burlington's City Hall August 11, local police report. An autopsy performed last week reveals that Kastner died from "complications due to blunt force trauma", and his cause of death was ruled a homicide.

Officers identified two suspects, one an underage individual and the other 26-year-old Isaiah Argro, of Queens, NY. BPD officially obtained warrants, charging the pair with second-degree murder on August 28.

Police say that Argro was arrested by detectives August 29 after he was found at a Shelburne residence. The 16-year-old was later arrested at a South Burlington nightclub August 30, after a reportedly "brief struggle".

Both are being held without bail, and are set to be arraigned at the Chittenden County
Superior Court, Criminal Division this Tuesday, September 2.

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Overdose Awareness community event in Bennington

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 08:46:04 +0000

BENNINGTON, Vt. (NEWS10) -- The Bennington community came together Sunday afternoon in recognition of International Overdose Awareness Day, a crisis that has impacted families across the region. The event was organized by the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, and it aimed to honor those lost, while providing resources for anyone who may be struggling.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that in 2022, about 300 Americans lost their lives to drug overdoses each day. Non-profit group, the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, is looking to change that, one community event at a time.

The event featured hot dogs, popcorn, face painting, and live music — turning a difficult topic into a space for support, healing, and hope. It also hosted guest speakers, many of whom shared personal stories of loved ones lost to overdose.

Naloxone, also known as Narcan, can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. It was given away for free alongside first aid kits and information for anyone who may be struggling with addiction. Event staff also demonstrated how to correctly administer the Naloxone.

According to the organizers, an important part of the event was remembering those who have been lost to the disease. A memorial table was set up next to the stage, giving families a place to reflect and honor their loved ones. Lama Naomh Tomas, Board Member of the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, lost his son to an overdose on Father's Day in 2018.

Tomas spoke about how he spent 47 years in active addiction, and the last 15 years practicing sobriety. In speaking about the loss of his son, he said, "It made me want to do everything I could to keep another family from going through what my family did, watching his mother and my 4 other children deal with the grief that that came with his death. And the suddenness of it."

Organizers hope that the event reminds people that healing is possible, and that it starts with community. The AIDS Project of Southern Vermont plans to keep bringing the community together with more events, including an upcoming pop-up HIV testing clinic.

You can find more information about the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont on their website or Facebook page.

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Burlington community weighs in as Champlain Parkway project enters final stage

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 03:23:21 +0000

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - The Champlain Parkway project is entering its final stage. Community members, curious and concerned about construction, faced Burlington’s Department of Public Works today.

Abby O’Donnell lives in downtown Burlington and is worried for the safety of cyclists. After navigating construction on her street almost all summer, she’s seeing the final plans and is feeling frustrated.

“It’s a little too late in the process to make any changes. That’s how [these things are], they’re so long and drawn out,” said O’Donnell.

It’s a concern shared with many of the two dozen people in attendance at the Parkway Open House at the King Street Center in Burlington on Wednesday. They say construction is taking too long and disturbing daily life.

“I worry about my safety every time I cross the street,” said South End resident Lena Greenberg.

Officials explained that the project is entering a new phase: neighborhood restoration of Pine Street between Kilburn Street and Main Street and throughout the surrounding neighborhoods.

“New curbs, replacing the sidewalks, and then the big upgrade is the signalized intersections that are going in at Maple and King,” said Corey Mims, an engineer with the Burlington Department of Public Works.

The city is asking contractors to bid on the restoration project, and for the other part of the ‘final contract’, the connection between I-189 and the Champlain Parkway. They’re alerting the community of the next phase before the parkway is complete.

“It still has line striping that needs to be completed, some signal, signage that needs to be installed, and there’s some punch list items the contractor needs to complete in advance of it being capable to be taking of traffic,” said Mims.

Mims says in about a month, the parkway will be ready for a 30-day trial, the last step before it opens.

For now, neighbors will wait for the city to approve a contractor, arrange logistics, and hopefully start construction in the fall.

“I’m really excited for most of this project, though, again I’m not the most excited about the area closest to downtown, but, we’ll see,” said O’Donnell.

So until 2026, when the city expects the completion of the final phase, look out for detours on Pine Street.

WATCH: Democratic candidates for Vt. lieutenant governor debate on WCAX

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 03:18:48 +0000

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - The Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor of Vermont faced off in a debate on WCAX Wednesday.

Incumbent Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman and challenger Thomas Renner are both seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

Watch the debate:

Originally from Massachusetts, Zuckerman attended the University of Vermont and was inspired by Bernie Sanders before serving in the Statehouse. He’s currently in his second stint as lieutenant governor after an unsuccessful run for governor four years ago.

The Progressive-Democrat says he wants another term in office to amplify the voices of Vermonters and focus on housing, climate change mitigation, and issues of intellectual freedom typified by book bans.

His opponent is Winooski Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner. Renner has worked for Congresswoman Becca Balint and former Senator Patrick Leahy, and is the more moderate of the two candidates.

He says change is needed in Montpelier and his top priority is building more housing of all types so the next generation of Vermonters can stay in the state.

Watch our Primary Preview coverage of the two candidates in the player below.

The debate between Zuckerman and Renner was the second of the WCAX News primary debates this election season, and the second of three debates planned for this week on WCAX.

On Monday, the Republican candidates for lieutenant governor faced off.

There is still another debate to come this week. The Democrats for governor will debate on WCAX on Thursday.

The primary is on Aug. 13 and more information on voting can be obtained from the Vermont secretary of state’s website or your local town clerk.

WCAX's Gary Sadowsky honored with Seven Daysies award

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 23:18:49 +0000

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Seven Days readers made their pick for Best Local TV Personality, and it’s our very own Gary Sadowsky!

This is Gary’s first Seven Daysies win in his 33-year career at WCAX-TV.

He beat out four others for the honor, including our own Darren Perron.

Gary thanks Seven Days readers for their votes!

How can Vermont communities prepare for surprise storms?

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 23:10:37 +0000

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (WCAX) - Towns in the Northeast Kingdom still reeling from this week’s destructive flash flooding are preparing for another round of potentially damaging storms.

St. Johnsbury saw a historic amount of rain, more than 8 inches in just a few hours. Some parts of town saw big washouts and damage to culverts and infrastructure.

The cleanup is now underway, but the record rainfall that brought on these floods was not expected, and it leaves a question of how Vermont can prepare for storms we can’t see coming.

The Northeast Kingdom is once again cleaning up from a damaging deluge.

“I heard the rain but I thought it would be similar to the last storm where there wasn’t much damage around here. I was surprised in the morning,” said one Lyndonville man.

Two days on, we’re beginning to get preliminary damage estimates from the floods, but no cost estimate yet.

So far, there are closures on six state highways, two wastewater plants took damage and 50 homes were damaged or destroyed.

“It’s simply demoralizing,” Gov. Phil Scott, R-Vermont, said at a news briefing on Wednesday.

Unlike last summer’s floods or the storms earlier this month, the torrential rains that caused the flooding popped up and caught the state by surprise. So with storms becoming more damaging and more common, how can Vermonters prepare for storms we can’t predict? State leaders don’t have that answer, but say they are ready to respond quickly.

“It’s because we have dedicated volunteers and career people in these communities that are ready to go the moment they hear the word that the water is rising,” Vt. Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison said.

Top law enforcement tells us they rely on local first responders getting eyes on the situation and relaying the message to specialized state resources, like swift-water rescue teams, that then spring into action.

But local officials say this storm caught them by surprise, too.

“This was never a troubled area, this area through here has never overly flooded. We are doing what we can to track it and support our people,” Lyndonville Police Chief Jack Harris said.

But paying for surprise damages remains an open question. Towns hit earlier this month are still waiting on FEMA to reimburse emergency repairs. With state dollars limited and FEMA taking time to reimburse towns, Vermont Chief Recovery Officer Doug Farnham says towns will need more reimbursements.

“It will be important as we go into the legislative session that it’s a serious part of the discussion of how we adapt in the long run,” Farnham said.

And an update on the floods from three weeks ago-- FEMA has finished assessing the state, and while they haven’t yet made a determination, the governor says there’s a strong possibility the state will be eligible for both public and individual assistance. There’s no timeline yet on when a major disaster declaration would be issued, though.

Vt. police say man purposely drove wrong way on interstate

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 22:31:51 +0000

WILLISTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Police say a man intentionally drove the wrong way on Interstate 89 on Tuesday.

Vermont State Police say troopers responded to what was believed to be a two-car crash on the highway in Williston at about 3:15 p.m.

They say there was no crash, but they say James Welles, 55, of Middlebury, drove through the median into oncoming traffic. Police say he did it on purpose and that mental health may have been a factor.

Welles was cited for negligent operation and is due in court in September.

Scott calls latest flooding ‘demoralizing’ but says Vermonters can’t give up

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 22:30:18 +0000

BERLIN, Vt. (WCAX) - As Vermonters work to recover from yet another round of devastating flooding, the governor and other state officials gave a news briefing on Wednesday detailing the state’s ongoing response.

Gov. Phil Scott called this latest round of devastating flooding in the state demoralizing but said Vermonters can’t give up.

“This time, it’s especially bad after workers spent the past three weeks working furiously to recover from the last flooding,” said Scott, R-Vermont. “It feels much worse than a punch or a kick. It’s simply demoralizing. But we can’t give up. We’ve got to stick together and fight back against the feeling of defeat.”

The latest flooding hit hardest in the Northeast Kingdom, washing out roads and prompting evacuations after some communities got as much as 8 inches of rain, breaking all previous records. The National Weather Service called it a one-in-1,000-year event.

It came just three weeks after the last round of flooding ripped through our region, and just over a year after the previous flooding.

State officials reported that swift-water rescue teams were out until 9 p.m. Tuesday helping people. Altogether, they performed 12 rescues and 15 home evacuations.

Officials say they don’t have official numbers yet, but preliminary data indicates 50 or more homes were completely destroyed or have major damage. However, they say some residences are still inaccessible to assess the damage.

“I get more apprehensive with every storm. All of us are watching the weather,” Scott said. With already-saturated soils and already-damaged infrastructure, “this just adds insult to injury.”

State officials on Wednesday again urged Vermonters to report all damage to their homes and businesses to 211-- from both this latest flooding and the floods earlier this month-- in an effort to help the state trigger the release of funds from FEMA.

MORE RAIN ON THE WAY

With more rain and possibly heavy rain in the forecast Wednesday, Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison urged all communities to clear culverts, storm drains and any other place water may flow. Click here for the latest forecast.

State officials also stressed that the public should be wary of landslides. They say already saturated land with more rain can cause potentially dangerous slides.

FEMA FINISHES DAMAGE ASSESSMENT OF PREVIOUS FLOODING

Meanwhile, as people start to tally up the damage from this week’s storm, state officials say FEMA finished its assessment from flooding earlier this month.

Officials from FEMA are now determining whether the damage meets the threshold for public and individual assistance.

We’re told nearly 2,500 reports have been made about damage to homes and 270 businesses reported damage.

Gov. Phil Scott expects a disaster declaration is warranted and plans to make the formal request this week.

To those affected by both rounds of flooding this month, the governor urges Vermonters to stay strong.

“I know this may seem never-ending. But we’ll get through it, continue to build back, increase our resiliency and put ourselves in better position to withstand future storms,” Scott said.

ROAD CLOSURES

The only road still closed from the flooding three weeks ago is Route 5 in Barnet.

There are numerous new road closures now, though, primarily in the Northeast Kingdom. For the latest updates, you can visit New England 511. Keep in mind that 511 only lists state road closures, there may be other local road closures.

Share your photos and videos with us, but please don’t put your safety at risk to get them.

OFFICIALS URGE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

Vermont officials are urging those in flood-impacted areas to take basic safety precautions.

That includes turning off electrical power when there is standing water or fallen power lines. Don’t attempt to walk or drive through water, even if it seems safe. Move to higher ground as soon as you see water rising near your house. Dial 211 to find a shelter near you. And after water levels go down, make sure to test your water for contamination.

Click here for a list of state flood resources.

Click here for information on how you can help.

FEMA finishes damage assessment of previous round of flooding

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 22:27:54 +0000

BERLIN, Vt. (WCAX) - While people tally up the damage from this week’s storm, state officials say FEMA finished its assessment from flooding earlier this month.

Officials from FEMA are now determining whether the damage meets the threshold for public and individual assistance.

We’re told nearly 2,500 reports have been made about damage to homes and 270 businesses reported damage.

Gov. Phil Scott expects a disaster declaration is warranted and plans to make the formal request this week.

To those affected by both rounds of flooding this month, the governor urges Vermonters to stay strong.

“I know this may seem never-ending. But we’ll get through it, continue to build back, increase our resiliency and put ourselves in a better position to withstand future storms,” said Gov. Phil Scott, R-Vermont.

The only road still closed from the flooding three weeks ago is Route 5 in Barnet.

Green Mountain Care Board talks hospital sustainability amid Vt. health care system struggles

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 21:53:17 +0000

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. (WCAX) - Time is running out to keep Vermont hospitals afloat. That’s according to research presented in a community hospital transformation meeting in Middlebury on Tuesday.

Since Springfield Hospital declared bankruptcy in 2019, the Green Mountain Care Board has been looking into hospital sustainability. Now, with nine of Vermont’s 14 hospitals in the red, there’s even more concern.

“I do not think it is an exaggeration to say we are at a true inflection point,” said Owen Foster, the chair of the Green Mountain Care Board.

Community members were squeezing in to make room for their neighbors in the Isley Library in Middlebury. Everyone was there for an answer to how Vermont will save its impoverished hospital system.

“Their reserves are reaching levels that are alarmingly low,” said Dr. Bruce Hamory, a health care reform consultant.

It was one of 14 community meetings that took place this summer throughout the state. They derive from a 2022 law attempting to find a way to reform Vermont’s health care system. Residents listened to a presentation and offered their own suggestions and concerns.

The Green Mountain Care Board and the Agency of Human Services, in conjunction with Hamory, spoke in depth about a myriad of parasitic problems facing Vermont’s health care system-- highlighting Vermont’s changing demographics, housing crisis and health care accessibility and affordability.

“Primary care is one of the most important things we can improve in this state,” said Foster.

Reducing costs for primary care medical students, modernizing technology, increasing telehealth usage alongside primary care hours, and reducing administrative positions are just some of the solutions offered.

“We need to address it and fix it now, there’s not time to do anything else,” said Foster.

After the meetings, the Green Mountain Care Board and Agency of Human Services can suggest changes. While the health care reform law dictates a necessity for change, it has no requirement for hospitals to listen to those suggestions.

“The way the statute was set up is that it will be local boards and local hospitals making decisions,” said Foster.

A final meeting will be online and virtual on Monday, and a complete report of findings from almost 2,000 Vermonters and over 100 organizations will be released this fall.

Flooding wreaks havoc on Kingdom Trails during peak tourism season

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 21:48:52 +0000

BURKE, Vt. (WCAX) - One of Vermont’s biggest tourism spots has taken a big hit again. The heavy rain and flooding forced closures at Kingdom Trails, a major economic driver in the Northeast Kingdom. And it hit during peak season.

The small town of Burke was hit once again with flooding, wiping out the community’s largest economic driver.

“We have experienced complete trail washout. We have had culverts rise up out of the ground, bridges disappear,” said Abby Long, the executive director of Kingdom Trails.

Long says they have never been hit with flooding like this before. The organization spent more than $20,000 following the flooding three weeks ago, and now, officials expect to spend double that in recovery over the next few weeks.

“We also see the loss. On a day like today, there would be trail users swarming us with bikes and runners, people getting ice cream across the street, getting their lunch at the market. That is not the case today,” Long said.

Bikers who haven’t left the area who had plans to explore the Kingdom on the trails have been forced to spend their time on the gravel roads. Like Deborah Leedale Brown of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, who came all the way from Philadelphia just to be rained out.

“Monday was a great day, we did some skills in the morning. We all got out on the trails in the afternoon. Then, obviously, the storms came. And yesterday, was, yeah, it was tragic. This was an area that was hit so hard,” Leedale Brown said.

Officials with Kingdom Trails say more than 100 miles of the trail network have been affected, and it has a huge trickle effect on businesses in Burke.

“I think the Kingdom Trails being shut down is probably affecting us more. By not having some people in town, with the trails being affected, getting the tourism dollars in here. I mean, that’s how we pay our bills, from Kingdom Trails,” said Burton Hinton of the East Burke Market.

The Kingdom Trails network should be opening slowly over this week. Officials say they hope to have full trail access by the weekend.

Vt. man charged with shooting Palestinian college students wants new lawyer

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 21:44:55 +0000

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - The man accused of shooting three college students of Palestinian descent in Burlington wants a new lawyer.

Jason Eaton has been in jail for the last eight months after police say he shot three young men as they walked on the sidewalk by his apartment. The crime took place just after the start of the war in Gaza. All three survived, but one was seriously injured.

Eaton is not facing a hate crime charge right now, but he is facing attempted murder charges. And now, he wants a new lawyer.

Derek Brouwer wrote the story for Seven Days this week. He told our Darren Perron what he learned about the case. Watch the video to see their full conversation.

Click here to read Derek Brouwer’s story in Seven Days.

Sanders working with FEMA to get aid for Vermont flood victims

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 21:18:48 +0000

WASHINGTON (WCAX) - As people begin to tally up the damage from this latest round of flooding, officials say there have been 105 residential damage reports and six business damage reports to Vermont 211.

If you haven’t reported your damage, state leaders say you should so Vermont can be considered for more federal aid.

Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders says his office is working with FEMA to get as much assistance as possible to Vermont communities hit by flooding.

He says climate change is making these weather events more devastating and more frequent.

To my fellow Vermonters, on the devastating floods that have hit our communities this week, this month, and last year: pic.twitter.com/ejXgLZG5tE
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 31, 2024

“I wish from the bottom of my heart that I could tell you that this type of extreme weather is not going to happen again. But I can’t. It could happen tomorrow, next month, or five years from now. That is a somber reality we’ve got to address,” said Sanders, I-Vermont.

Vermont Community Foundation offering flood relief

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 20:50:53 +0000

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - The Vermont Community Foundation is working to help those hit hardest by yet another round of devastating flooding.

The Vermont Flood Response & Recovery Fund was established following last year’s floods. They continue to work with nonprofit organizations and the state to identify how to help.

Right now, they are assessing areas with the most acute needs, such as destroyed homes, people in need of food and shelter, and disrupted businesses.

“It’s figuring out how people are going to get from place to place at some of the remote, most remote corners of our state. I think the challenge of this set of flooding is that it is really affecting people on the furthest reaches, and so we have to work really hard to make sure that those experiences don’t go away, so many other experiences in rural Vermont have remained invisible,” said Dan Smith, the CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation.

They ask anyone who needs help to call 211 and encourage Vermonters to look out for one another and give where they can. Click here to find out how you can help.

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