Dear Readers, Please allow me to introduce a good friend and fellow English teacher and writer. Her words here express the spirit of Valentine’s Day better than I ever could. I hope that they might inspire you to do something special, something spectacular for the one you love, in this special season of love. G. E. Shuman My Engagement Story By Amber Fecher One moment. One sequence of moments. It wasn’t until the morning after that I was able to identify any of the emotions going through me. Love. That’s the emotion I felt strongest at that moment. I felt love. I felt loved. So much so that I felt frozen to my seat. The world seemed to stop. Time stood still. And I felt ove…

To the Editor, Have you ever been downtown and seen State Street with no cars on it? We have a beautiful and quaint downtown that tourists from all over this country and the world readily relay to us as they order a cup of tea or a glass of wine or have their computer looked at. Now imagine that many of our residents had a way to get downtown without driving and all of the cars driven by tourists and other visitors in our downtown are tucked away in a single structure, not taking away from the image of our beautiful city. This is a dream that I have… cars are not beautiful, cars should be hidden. I was disheartened today when I read another article saying the that current appeal by…

The Travel Channel has named Montpelier one of the 50 “Most Charming Small Towns in America.” The Travel Channel citing the thriving arts and music scene, rich history, natural beauty, fine restaurants, and access to outdoor recreational opportunities. The popular travel and leisure channel selected one town from each of the 50 states for its “50 of the Most Charming Small Towns in America” list. Montpelier was chosen from Vermont. The Travel Channel wrote, “It’s the smallest state capital in the U.S., but Montpelier, Vermont, has a thriving arts and music scene, and it’s rich in history and natural beauty. It’s also home to the New England Culinary Institute, so visitors come for its…

By Vermont Governor Phil Scott and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu Last month, we introduced a bi-state family and medical leave insurance program – the Twin State Paid Family Leave plan – that would build a public-private partnership to provide access to paid family and medical leave for all residents of the Granite and Green Mountain states. As the Governors of two New England states, where affordability and quality-of-life are top priorities, we strive to be innovative and fulfill the expectations of the people who have elected us. For these reasons we worked together on a program that balances the value of paid family leave, with our citizens’ ability to pay. Too many str…

Now on Netflix A Sea of Plastic: **1/2 I don’t think like a mainstream environmentalist. I view humanity’s responsibility to the planet very much like my responsibility to the apartment complex where I live. My cats scratch the carpet, they vomit on the carpet, and they even rub their butts across it sometimes. I do not feel like I’m a bad tenant. Stuff happens. I do not smoke. But if I did, I would shamelessly smoke inside my apartment until the walls were yellow. I would not feel like I’m a bad tenant. Smoke happens. I’m here to live my life and be happy, not tip toe around like I have something to feel guilty about. But if I discovered that the stuff I was bringing into…

To the Editor, It is sad that the Governor in his budget speech, that despite all the dire predictions about global heating and what it is going to mean for us in coming decades, still refuses to do anything significant about addressing the issue. Electric cars are not by themselves the answer. I drive an all-electric Leaf but I fully appreciate that it takes a huge amount of fossil fuels to make the car and its batteries and I have to drive it for a few years to offset those emissions with the renewable energy from my solar system. A real good example of a political leader leading the way is Representative Curt McCormack from Burlington who endures some challenges in not driving any c…

Vice:***1/2 I have an easy question for you: Who is the worst living Republican president? Your gut instinct is telling some of you to say Trump. I am a pacifist, though, so the decision is easy for me. President Trump recently decided to pull all US troops out of Syria, infuriating the Republican establishment. You remember the troops in Syria, right? They were sent there by Nobel Peace Prize winner Barak Obama without Congressional approval to try to clean up the mess created by the Bush Administration. If you think Arab lives matter – at all – the choice between Donald Trump and George W. Bush is clear. Just in case you were able to forget what a calamity the Bush Administrati…

To the Editor, Suicide is a national public health issue that affects communities everywhere. That’s why Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has adopted a broad public health approach with an emphasis on comprehensive, community-based engagement. All of our nation’s health systems and communities must work collectively to reduce suicide rates using the best available information and practices. Coordinated effort at the federal, state, and local level is key to preventing suicide. Each community across the country plays a role in supporting Veterans. The VA’s suicide prevention efforts are to equip communities to help Veterans get the right care, whenever and wherever they need it. T…

To the Editor, Residents and Neighbors, I hope the New Year is treating you well. We’ve already had a large snow storm, followed by rain and freezing temperatures. Thankfully, Barre City staff ensure that our Streets and Sidewalks are clear. We’ve had a busy month. Council held a Special Meeting along with Barre Town on January 2nd to receive an overview from the Aldrich Library, Barre Partnership, and Barre Area Development. Council has held three Special Meetings to address the FY20 budget, with a 4th planned on Monday, January 28th. There are several deferred maintenance and infrastructure needs that we are trying to address, in addition to maintaining current operations. We will…

Roma: ***1/2 It’s pretty ridiculous when I hear someone being accused of being racist against Mexicans. There is no conceivable way to be racist against Mexicans. Mexican is a nationality, not a race. Racism against Mexicans is as absurd as racism against Americans. This conversation underscores the awkward fact that Americans know virtually nothing about the country of Mexico. An educated American is bound to know something about the history and culture of the UK and France, and probably even a little bit about Germany and Russia. But a perfectly respectable educated American might know bupkis about our neighbor to the south. Mexico is a diverse country of 130 million people. Th…