Current News

Vermont Business Magazine United Way of Bennington and Rutland Counties and Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging (SVCOA) has announced that participants of the 2019 “Peanut Butter & Jam Slam” collected a total of 4,757 jars of peanut butter and jelly to benefit local food shelves.

“This was truly a heartwarming event with a tremendous outpouring of support from so many local organizations to help families in need in our area,” said Caprice Hover, executive director with United Way of Bennington and Rutland Counties. “We are so appreciative of everyone in the community for their generosity, and thankful to BROC and Vermont Farmers Food Center for serving as food drop-off sites.”

The event, in its first year in Rutland County and third year in Bennington County, challenged local businesses, schools, churches, non-profits and other organizations to collect as many jars of peanut butter and jelly as possible between March 18 and April.

Vermont Business Magazine The Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) Orthopedics Department has begun offering ultrasound-guided intra articular joint injections in the office setting. Ultrasound imaging allows improved placement of pain relieving injections. The procedure, which had previously been available only at the hospital, can now also be administered in the SVMC Orthopedics office at 332 Dewey Street in Bennington.

“Our aim is to provide the most advanced treatments to our patients as conveniently as possible,” said Ivette Guttmann, MD, a Sports Medicine specialist at SVMC Orthopedics and the one who administers the procedure. “We’re happy that we can help those with joint pain get the care they need in our familiar and comfortable office environment.”

Vermont Business Magazine Pinwheel gardens, like the one at Community Health Centers of the Rutland Region (CHCRR), are popping up around Vermont as a symbol of Child Abuse Prevention Month. Vermont Governor Phil Scott has officially proclaimed April Child Abuse Prevention month in Vermont.

Dinners with Love will host its fourth annual Comfort Food for a Cause on Sunday, April 28, 4:00-7:00 p.m. at the Middlebury Inn in Middlebury, Vermont. The evening will include live music by The Green Brothers Band, a four-course meal, and a silent auction featuring more than 30 items and experiences donated by area businesses. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Dinners with Love program, which brings meals, donated by local restaurants, to hospice patients and their families throughout the state.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and Vermont-NEA President Don Tinney today announced the winners of a statewide public service announcement (PSA) contest focused on promoting school safety and informing kids that when they see something, they should say something. The winning PSA comes from Hazen Union High School, with team leader Tivy Parchment and team members Xavier Hart Marion, Brianna Hislop, Robert Lowenthal, Raymonda Lowenthal, Jay LeCours and Elliot Kimball.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Coffee Company was recently awarded $20,000 in training funds from the Vermont Department of Economic Development’s Vermont Training Program.  Vermont Coffee Company collaborated with Addison County Economic Development Corporation (ACEDC), to navigate the process and complete the application.  The funding will primarily support vendor-led offsite/onsite employee training.  

As a small business, Vermont Coffee Company’s management team indicates that access to training funds is crucial to their growth and development.  Elaborating that this grant will allow their small company to both broaden existing employee’s skills through professional development, certification & cross-training as well as onboard new hires.

Vermont Business Magazine Stowe Theatre Guild is working to assess losses and rebuild and recover after thousands of dollars of costumes and sets were destroyed after a fire in Stowe on March 30. The community theater group has recently announced the donation matching grant from the Springer-Miller Family Foundation. The basement of the building at 638 South Main Street was the sole location for the theater group's sets, building materials and costumes. Although the fire itself did not burn in the area rented by Stowe Theatre Guild, there was extensive damage to the property stored there — due to water damage, fire-suppressant foam, smoke and debris. The building was declared a total loss.

Vermont Business Magazine A globally recognized cybersecurity expert who was educated in a one-room schoolhouse in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom was the keynote speaker at a recent event for students in Franklin County that are passionate about STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Matt Devost, a graduate of Canaan High School, addressed about 80 northwestern Vermont students, educators and business leaders during the STEM Challenge Initiative’s (SCI) Fourth Annual Recognition Night, held on Thursday, April 4, at the St. Albans Historical Museum’s Bliss Auditorium.

The SCI encourages students to enter STEM-related fields and provides grants to schools so that students can bring their STEM-related project to life — and benefit their community in the process. The two-hour STEM Recognition Night has become a fast-growing educational showcase of STEM education in Franklin and Grand Isle counties, and this year was no exception.

Vermont Business Magazine Castleton University is now accepting applications for three new undergraduate programs, including Early Childhood and Special Education; Wildlife and Forest Conservation; and Archaeology, Geography, and Applied Anthropology. The Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood and Special Education will prepare students to facilitate high-quality learning experiences for children from infancy to grade three. Students will gain experience through a collaborative, experiential learning model, working directly with children in the University's Early Childhood Lab, which will serve as both a childcare center and teacher preparation and professional development lab. Graduates of the program will be licensed Early Childhood Educators and endorsed as Early Childhood Special Educators.

Vermont Business Magazine The seventh annual Vermont’s Greenest Building Awards, hosted by the Vermont Green Building Network (VGBN), recognized three projects and design/build teams, as announced on Monday. The projects received awards for achieving the highest standard of demonstrated building energy performance for commercial buildings and documentation of green building strategies including health, transportation, water and affordability. 

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan announced Sunday that his office has reviewed the officer-involved-shooting incident that occurred on March 9, 2019, in Rockingham, Vermont. The Attorney General’s Office is declining to prosecute Vermont State Police Sergeant Eugene Duplissis for charges related to the shooting of John-Victor Wetherby. In reaching this decision, the office reviewed all the materials provided by the Vermont State Police, who conducted the investigation.

The Office of the State’s Attorney for Windham County also conducted an independent review and has declined to file criminal charges against Sgt. Duplissis.

Leonine Public Affairs A number of highly anticipated issues were in the spotlight last week. H107, the bill that would expand paid family and medical leave benefits reached the House floor. This bill along with S23, which would raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2024 are serious points of contention between the Democratically-controlled Legislature and Republican Governor Phil Scott. Governor Scott vetoed similar bills last year. In the Senate, an amendment that would protect abortion rights passed with overwhelming support. Proposal 5 was brought forward with the spectre of a conservative Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. While there was no controversy over Proposal 5, there were fireworks on the Senate floor when a bill that would regulate small-scale contractors almost met with procedural death. S.163, would require small contractors to register with the secretary of state’s office. After lengthy debate there was a motion to refer the bill to the Government Operations Committee, which could have the effect of delaying further action this year. The vote on the motion resulted in a tie, which is about as common as a sasquatch walking across the statehouse lawn, and the Lieutenant Governor had to break the tie and prevent the bill from being referred. In the committees the process of reviewing bills that met the crossover deadline began in earnest. These bills include the budget, transportation bill and capital bill as well as numerous policy bills. With six weeks left in the session, the sense of urgency to finalize bills and get them out of committee is starting to seep into the statehouse ether. The House debated for hours on Wednesday and Thursday before advancing legislation that would create a mandatory, statewide paid family and medical leave program.