Current News

Thanks to cold temperatures, the power of the world’s most extensive snowmaking system and a dedicated mountain operations staff, Killington Resort kicked off the 2010-11 ski and snowboard season today (Tuesday) at 10 am.
Killington will offer upper-mountain skiing on four trails in the North Ridge area from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The K-1 Gondola will provide uploading/downloading, while access back to the top of the K-1 Gondola from the North Ridge area will be via a 5-10 minute walk on the new Peak Walkway.
‘The new Peak Walkway accomplishes our goal of utilizing our upper mountain snowmaking resources to build early-season momentum, offer our season pass holders and dedicated guests an outstanding experience on deep base depths and remain open for the season, conditions permitting," said Chris Nyberg, Killington president and general manager.

Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS), an international communications and information technology company, was awarded a $14 million contract by the State of Vermont to deploy a statewide radio system for public safety first responders and state agencies. The system meets Vermont's specific requirements for regional and cross-border communications - connecting local, state and federal agencies within the state, and providing interoperability with agencies in neighboring states and Canada.
"Vermont's vision for our public safety communications is clearly addressed by the Harris P25 solution, which also allows us to leverage our existing infrastructure," said Chief J. Paul Duquette, Chair, Vermont Communications (VCOMM). "When completed, the VCOMM system will be a modern and reliable system for Vermont public safety agencies that meets federal mandates and will support Vermont's growing public safety communications needs well into the future."

In Vermont USDA Rural Development is investing over $228.8 million, of which $106.4 million is funding small businesses, water and wastewater infrastructure, community facilities like libraries and community centers, and housing. An additional $ 122.4 million has been awarded for broadband infrastructure to bring better service to rural communities.
USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager issued a report on October 20 about how the agency’s distribution of loan and grant funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery) has helped rural residents throughout the nation. Rural Development has awarded $21.2 billion in Recovery funds through 95,000 loans and 2,500 grants. The report estimates that millions of business owners, agricultural producers, Internet users, and thousands of homeowners will benefit, and over 300,000 jobs are being created or saved.

Vermont-SBE, Inc of Barre and Vermont HITEC have announced they will start recruitment for a new training program on November 1st, with the launch of their job recruitment website. Through a partnership with Vermont HITEC, the Vermont Department of Labor, and Central Vermont Community Action Council, SBE is now enrolling applicants into a newly developed program that provides free education and on-site training at the company’s facility in Barre, Vermont. Successful completion of the program will lead directly to full-time Process Technician positions at SBE.

Online advertised vacancies rose 113,700 in October to 4,409,800, following an increase of 59,900 in September, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLineâ ¢ (HWOL) Data Series released today. The nation's Supply/Demand rate stood at 3.44 unemployed for every advertised vacancy in September (the last available unemployment data), a figure that is down from a peak of 4.73 in October 2009. Nationally, there are 10.5 million more unemployed than advertised vacancies.
In Vermont, there is slow economic growth that mirrors that of the country. As a result of increased labor demand as a whole, the state's unemployment rate dropped slightly from 6.0 percent in August to 5.8 percent in September. The following are some more national statistics:
-- The economy has continued its moderate upward trend in labor demand with online vacancies by 1.1 million since the official end of the recession (June 2009).

The emergency sirens in Vermont Yankee’s emergency planning zone will be sounded longer than usual (three minutes) during their normal monthly testing in the first week in November in the following order:

The Vermont Agency of Transportation this morning closed Route 108 through Smugglers Notch for the season. VTrans each fall closes this narrow roadway through a high-altitude natural area, and then reopens it in the spring when weather conditions permit. The current cold snap has brought snow and ice to the Notch region, making the roadway impassible. The long-term forecast indicates no break in the cold, snowy weather, so VTrans closed the roadway for the season. All commuters should make alternate travel plans until spring.
Source: VTrans. 10.30.2010

Rock of Ages Corporation (NASDAQ: ROAC) announced today that net income for the third quarter of 2010 was $2,200,000, or $0.30 per share, which included costs and expenses associated with the exploration of strategic options and the shareholder lawsuit totaling $358,000, or $0.05 per share. For the third quarter of 2009, net income was $1,534,000, or $0.21 per share. Revenue for this year's third quarter increased 22% to $15,756,000 compared to $12,881,000 for the third quarter of 2009.
Rock of Ages has filed documents to merge into Swenson Granite of New Hampshire. The date for a shareholders meeting to approval the merger has not been set. A preliminary proxy statement is available HERE. A story about the proposed merger to its former owner can be found HERE. Most of the voting shares are closely held by Swenson representatives, including family members.

More than 250 women from throughout Vermont gathered at Sheraton in South Burlington on Thursday for the 2010 Key4Women Forum. All proceeds from the 2010 Key4Women Forum were donated to the Vermont Women’s Fund.
‘The Vermont Women’s Fund is thrilled to once again be the beneficiary of the 9th annual Key4Women Forum. The funds we have received through this event allow us to invest in programs throughout the state that promote leadership, equality, economic independence and opportunities for personal and professional growth for Vermont’s women and girls’, said Catherine Kalkstein, Vermont Women’s Fund executive director. ‘We’re so grateful to Key and to the women who support us by attending this inspiring event!’

The Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Northern VT presented 2010 Better Homes Award Winners at a gala event October 19. More than 450 construction professionals attended the 8th annual event at the Sheraton Burlington.

Below is a list of all the winners (www.vtbuilders.com):
Better Homes Awards

The new cyberinfrastructure will provide capacity that has not previously existed for sharing large data sets among the North East Cyberinfrastucture Consortium states: Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware.
Increasingly, advances in science rely on gigantic collections of data. And the analysis and sharing of these datasets rely on gigantic electronic pipelines--advanced fiber optic networks with far greater bandwidth than conventional internet services can provide -- connecting many researchers and far-flung institutions.
Which is why the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health have awarded more than $17 million to the North East Cyberinfrastucture Consortium (NECC), a coalition of universities and research institutions across five states, to build a high-speed fiber optic network.

Vermont students are not just attending the University of Vermont in near record numbers, they're staying and graduating at historically high rates, the university announced today.
Diversity enrollment also reached an historic milestone this fall, officials announced.
First-year retention -- the percentage of students who return to college after their freshman year, a widely accepted indicator of student engagement and success -- is 91 percent for in-state sophomores this fall at UVM, tying last year's all time high. In 2000 first-year retention of Vermont students was 83.8 percent.
A total of 644 Vermont students enrolled at UVM in the fall of 2009, the second highest incoming class in the last 15 years. Total Vermont enrollment is 3,277, one of the highest totals since the mid 1990's.