Current News

Vermont State Police On Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, the Sharon Fire Department and South Royalton Rescue Squad were dispatched to a fire in a camper trailer at 4573 Vermont Route 14 in Sharon after numerous 911 callers reported seeing black smoke coming from the camper. Sharon Fire arrived, entered the camper and extinguished the fire. Sharon Fire located a man deceased inside the trailer. 

by Amanda Kuhnert If you’ve never heard the term environmental acoustics, you aren’t alone. Eddie Duncan, owner of Paxwood Acoustics in Quechee, says one of the most important parts of his job is explaining exactly what he does. In a nutshell, Duncan works to make the world a little quieter for both current and future generations. Paxwood Acoustics provides professional consulting services in acoustics and noise control engineering, with a focus on environmental permitting and compliance.

Vermont State Police On January 24, 2026, at approximately 10:41pm, Troopers from the Vermont State Police – Royalton Barracks investigated a reported Hit & Run resulting in damage to a street sign and fence at the intersection of VT Route 65 and Stone Rd in the town of Brookfield, VT (near the Float Bridge). Investigation indicates a silver/grey in color Toyota 4Runner struck a snowbank, continuing to hit a street sign, which fell and damaged a fence.

Vermont State Police On Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, the Bradford Fire Department and Upper Valley Ambulance were dispatched to a fire scene on Goshen Road in Bradford. The fire department located 65-year-old Mark Hewes in a camper on the property with burns to his arms, ears, neck and face. Hewes was transported to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, where he was listed in critical condition. He was later taken by helicopter to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. 

Vermont State Police On Thursday, the Vermont State Police responded to Tenney Pond Rd in the town of Newbury for a reported one vehicle rollover into a pond. Investigation determined Jeffrey Linsky, (69) of Wells River, VT, was driving north bound on Tenney Pond Rd in a Chevrolet Colorado when he overturned the vehicle into a body of water off the roadway. Linsky was found unresponsive and despite lifesaving efforts he was pronounced deceased.

Vermont State Police On January 24th, 2026, Troopers from the Berlin Barracks responded to a two-car motor vehicle crash located on the Waterbury Stowe Road in the Town of Waterbury. Troopers were advised of possible serious bodily injuries resulting from the crash. Troopers, Waterbury Fire and EMS responded to the scene. Preliminary investigation revealed that a white Honda CR-V operated by Paula Breining (61) was traveling south on the Waterbury Stowe Road. The Honda CR-V crossed the center line and collided with a blue Hyundai Tucson traveling north. Paula Breining (61) was pronounced deceased at the scene. The investigation into this crash is ongoing and there are no further details at this time.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued the following statement: “Enough…it’s not acceptable for American citizens to be killed by federal agents for exercising their God-given and constitutional rights to protest their government. “At best, these federal immigration operations are a complete failure of coordination of acceptable public safety and law enforcement practices, training, and leadership. At worst, it's a deliberate federal intimidation and incitement of American citizens that’s resulting in the murder of Americans."

Vermont Business Magazine Experience Shelburne, the town’s Community and Economic Development Committee, will host two public information sessions on Thursday, January 29, to share its mission, first-year progress, and plans for nurturing Shelburne’s future. The sessions offer an opportunity for residents, business owners, and potential partners to provide input and learn how they can get involved. Both sessions will be held at Pierson Library in the Community Room. The morning will start with a general community session from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. with an update on the committee’s work and future plans. A second session, tailored to local small business owners, is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to noon, with an emphasis on exploring opportunities for collaboration, co-marketing, and placemaking.

Vermont Business Magazine The 39th Annual Vermont State Scholastic Chess Championships will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2026, at Lamoille Union High School, 736 VT-15, Hyde Park, VT 05655. This is the selection tournament for Vermont's nominees to the national Denker, Haring, Barber, Ashley, and Rockefeller invitationals. This tournament is open to Vermont students in grades K-12. Participants must be VT residents or be enrolled in a VT public or private school. 

Vermont Business Magazine CallFinder, a South Burlington-based purpose-built automated quality assurance (QA) and coaching platform for contact centers, has announced a collaboration with BenchmarkPortal that will make BenchmarkPortal’s Call Center Learning Channel+ short-form training video content available to CallFinder clients. CallFinder helps contact center leaders automate manual QA and turn customer conversations into actionable insights, so teams can spend more time coaching and improving performance. BenchmarkPortal’s Learning Channel+ is a subscription-based microlearning library built for contact center agent training and coaching, featuring 50+ workplace-friendly videos in approximately five-minute lengths, to help teams maximize adoption and impact.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Bar Foundation (VBF) has launched the Vermont IOLTA Leadership Circle, a voluntary initiative designed to strengthen and stabilize funding for civil legal aid by recognizing financial institutions that demonstrate leadership through competitive interest rates on Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA). IOLTA funding plays a vital role in supporting civil legal services and justice initiatives across Vermont. Interest earned on lawyers’ trust accounts helps fund legal assistance for Vermonters facing housing instability, domestic violence, immigration challenges, and other serious legal matters. Because interest rates vary by institution, banking practices directly affect the amount of funding available to support this work.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Animation Festival will return April 17–18, 2026, for its eleventh year of celebrating creativity, innovation, and community in animation. Hosted by Vermont State University Lyndon in partnership with Catamount Arts, the festival will offer two days of screenings, workshops, and artist talks designed to inspire animators at every level. This year’s keynote speakers are Dale Hayward and Sylvie Trouvé, the husband-and-wife team behind See Creature Animation. Known for their unique approach that combines handcrafted stop-motion techniques with cutting-edge digital tools, Hayward and Trouvé have contributed to acclaimed projects such as The Little Prince (2015), Bone Mother (2018), and Les Emerveilleurs (2022). Their commercial work includes collaborations with Nike, Hot Wheels, and Tim Horton's, alongside projects for non-profit organizations.