Current News

Vermont State Police On December 12, 2022, at approximately 6:48 PM the Grand Isle Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire at a dairy barn located on Griswold Road. A neighbor, Andrew Paradee, noticed flames coming for the north end of the dairy barn and called 911 to report the fire. After Mr. Paradee called 911, he went to the barn and worked to get some of the cows trapped inside barn out of harm’s way. When fire crews arrived, they discovered the structure was fully involved with fire. Fire fighters and residents were able to open doors which allowed a majority of the cows trapped inside the burning barn a way out. Approximately 40 cows died in the fire with another 140 escaping the flames.

The Vermont State Police is investigating the deaths of two people whose bodies were discovered inside their home in Bethel following a fire early Tuesday morning, Dec. 13, 2022. The fire was reported at 5:23 a.m. at 2937 Christian Hill Road. Upon arrival, responding fire crews found the two-story brick home with an addition on the back fully engulfed. During their efforts to battle the blaze, firefighters located the bodies of the victims, a man and a woman in their 70s.

Vermont Business Magazine National Life Group employees, directors and retirees donated over $350,000 to more than 435 organizations across the globe through the annual “Share the Good” program, in which the National Life Group Foundation matches gifts up to $2,000 during the month of November, making the overall amount given, more than $700,000. Three hundred seventy-two employees, directors and retirees made pledges this year, making this the highest number of donors and of dollars ever recorded for this initiative. Over the years, more than $4.3 million has been raised to benefit thousands of charities.

Vermont Business Magazine Rutland Regional Medical Center’s Bowse Health Trust (BHT) committee is pleased to announce that three important projects have been awarded funding for the next three years. Castleton University, The Housing Trust of Rutland County, and Social Tinkering have been awarded these funds for projects that address the priority needs identified in the 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment for the greater Rutland community. These priorities are to improve health equity in the areas of Housing, Childcare/Parenting, Mental Health, and Supporting the Aging Community.

Vermont Business Magazine US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the US District Court for the District of Vermont will welcome 30 new citizens during a naturalization ceremony Wednesday at the American Legion Post #10 in Barre. US Bankruptcy Judge Heather Z Cooper will administer the Oath of Allegiance. The 30 citizenship candidates come from the following countries: Belgium, Bhutan, Canada, China, Congo (Kinshasa), France, Germany, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Moldova, Peru, Portugal, Somalia, South Korea and Syria.

Vermont Business Magazine Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC), a member of Dartmouth Health, is celebrating its 50th anniversary on County Road in Windsor, Vermont. Individuals coming by for scheduled appointments are encouraged to view the special historic display found at the main entrance of the hospital. The informative display features various items that span the decades, such as photos, documents, newspaper clippings, and candy striper uniform.

Vermont Business Magazine A new study finds Vermont is the No. 17 healthiest state in America this holiday season. The holidays are the perfect time to eat, drink, and be merry, but also a time when Americans fall off the wagon with excessive eating, drinking and stress. Overindulging can exacerbate the holiday blues. Instead of waiting to make a New Year’s resolution, maintaining a healthy lifestyle throughout the holiday season can help make it an even more joyous time of year.

Vermont Business Magazine In an effort to attract more dentists to Northern New England, Northeast Delta Dental has provided $6 million in funding over three years to be used for dental student loan repayments. The new program will be administered by the Recruitment Center at Bi-State Primary Care Association (Bi-State) and is governed by a Steering Committee with representatives from Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Workforce vacancies across all healthcare specialties have been rising in recent years, and there is an acute shortage in Northern New England for dentists across all specialties.

Vermont Business Magazine Convenience stores in central and northwestern Vermont are taking part in the annual Light a Light for a Child Campaign to benefit the work of Prevent Child Abuse Vermont. At thirty-six Champlain Farms locations and seventeen Simon’s locations, customers can purchase a paper circle with the image of a wreath with a lit candle in the center for $1.00, or any amount they choose to donate. They can write their names or a name of someone they wish to honor, and the wreaths will be hung in the store or can be taken home. All proceeds go to support the effective child abuse prevention programs and trainings of PCAVT.

Vermont Business Magazine The tri-partisan Rural Caucus met on December 7 with more than 45 members to elect its co-chairs and clerk and begin setting priorities for the 2023 Legislative Session. The Caucus unanimously elected four officers to guide the work of the group as they continue to expand the priorities from 2022 and dive deeper into the challenges faced by rural communities. The Rural Caucus is seeking to build on the success of the first-ever Rural Economic Development Omnibus Bill (H.581) in the last biennium and to address the opportunities and challenges in rural Vermont. Following elections, the group dove into a facilitated discussion to share individual members' priorities for the upcoming session to once again make a path toward collaborative efforts and joint statement.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington School District (BSD) has filed a lawsuit in federal court, suing Monsanto for its role in manufacturing, marketing and distributing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Contamination by PCBs led to the closure of Burlington High School (BHS) and Burlington Technical Center (BTC) in 2020 after air testing found concentrations significantly exceeded health and safety standards. Among other relief, the lawsuit seeks to recover for BSD’s injuries associated with the demolition and replacement of BHS/BTC that the District has been forced to undertake to provide students and staff with a safe learning and working environment; the project is estimated to cost at least $190 million.

Vermont Business Magazine Northwestern Medical Center has hired Peter J. Wright, FACHE, as the hospital’s new Chief Executive Officer. Wright most recently served as the President of Bridgton & Rumford hospitals, two rural facilities within Central Maine Healthcare. Wright will start at NMC in January of 2023. Wright fills the position previously held by Dr Dean French. French served for less than two years before announcing last May that he would leave for a Louisville-based health system. He has served as the President and CEO of Valley Regional Healthcare in New Hampshire; the Chief Operating Officer of Littleton Regional Hospital in New Hampshire; and Senior Director of Planning, Development, and Medical Group operations at Copley Hospital in Vermont. Wright holds a Master of Health Care Delivery Science from Dartmouth College, a Master of Science in Administration from St. Michael’s College