County News, a new column in the Vermont Daily Chronicle, features headlines and excerpts of news stories from all 14 counties sourced from Vermont’s outstanding community newspapers, as well as online media. County News will appear (more or less) weekly. VDC encourages readers to check out other news stories posted on the websites of the local newspapers featured here.

Addison

Bristol resident and business owner Steve Heffernan running as Republican for Vermont Senate, reports the twice-weekly community newspaper, the Addison Independent.

Bennington

Manchester municipal (non-school) tax rate to climb 12.4%, despite growth in town’s grand list, reports the weekly Manchester Journal.

Caledonia

Groton grapples with road damage – The town of Groton in Caledonia County continues to grapple with significant road closures and damage in the aftermath of last week’s floods, with recovery efforts expected to last for weeks, NBC5 reports.

Dump trucks filled with material continue to pour into Groton to fix major state arteries, and locals are still trying to come to terms with their second major flood in just a year.

Chittenden

Peak event spurs Burlington utility to ask consumers to use less power – Concerned about a ‘peak event’ from 5-7 PM Tuesday July 16, Burlington Electric is asking customers to use less electricity.

Says the BED Facebook page: “Calling all Burlingtonians! Tuesday, July 16 from 5-7 PM is looking to be a peak event for electricity usage. SAFELY reducing our energy use during peaks helps keep costs low, protects the environment, and supports local nonprofits. If we meet our goal, we’ll donate a portion of the savings to Cathedral Square, who work hard every day to create healthy environments where Vermonters have access to affordable homes and the health and service supports they need.”

BED is billing the request as a cost-saving, rate-reducing action. “Energy prices for the year are set based on how much energy we use on the hottest days. If we use less energy on those high-demand days, costs go down.”

Essex/Orleans

Privately-owned mountain bought by State – Vermont’s Willoughby State Forest has expanded by 118.6 acres with the acquisition of land along Wheeler Mountain Road in Sutton, state officials announced Monday July 8, the Newport Dispatch reports.

The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation (FPR) purchased the property, which includes Wheeler Mountain’s ridgeline, cliffs, and summit, from private owner John Krieble. The acquisition secures public access to popular hiking trails and rock climbing areas. Funding for the purchase came from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s Habitat Stamp program.

The property offers scenic views of the surrounding glacial landscape and provides habitat for Peregrine falcons. It also lies within a significant wildlife corridor stretching from the Worcester Range to the Northeast Kingdom.

Rock climbing on Wheeler Mountain dates back to at least 1947. The area will now be managed as part of Willoughby State Forest, with access available from the Wheeler Mountain parking area off Wheeler Mountain Road in Sutton.

Franklin

Popular Fairfax diner closes – Erica’s Diner on Rte. 104A in Fairfax will close on Friday, July 19, unless a sale can be negotiated, owners said on a recent Facebook post.  Explains the diner’s FB Page: “After almost 9 years of business and almost 9 years of having all intentions (with multiple attempts) to purchase the building they have finally been given the option to purchase. However they’ve been asked to pay almost a quarter million more than the appraised value. In MY opinion they are being asked to purchase a business, a very successful business that THEY built. The building is completely falling apart and needs hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs. Ron and Linda [Frey] put over $200,000 into the building over the 9 years.”

Grand Isle

Trial for Franklin County Sheriff Grismore starts this month – Grand Isle Sheriff goes into the community to find more local residents to help fill the jury box after running out of people. (VDC)

Lamoille

Smuggs child drowning investigation reopened – A second investigation by the Department for Children and Families into the drowning death of a 3-year-old at Smugglers’ Notch resort concluded after finding one minor violation, the weekly News & Citizen reports. 

Orange

Rodeo comes to Bradford – Journal-Opinion photographer Richard Swenson captured many rodeo photos at a rodeo at Bear Ridge Speedway. The accompanying news story by Susan Gyorky in the Orange County community newspaper sets up the story for one photo: “As her final trick, [Riley] Minteer rode on her 16-year-old mustang, Amazing Grace, standing up while holding the American flag high into the air with a huge sparkler spitting like fireworks as her mare jumped through a hoop of fire.”

Rutland

Preston Bristow, former planner and zoning administrator in Killington, received the Green Mountain Club’s President’s Award at its June 15 annual meeting. He has been a key player in acquisition of land crossed by the Long Trail, the Quebec-to-Massachusetts hiking path overseen by the GMC. Bristow became a GMC board member, then treasurer, vice-president and, ultimately, president. He has also been fundraising committee chair, the Mountain Times, the community newspaper for Rutland County, reports. 

Washington

Act 250 bill slows Montpelier housing project – As reported by the Montpelier Bridge, the community newspaper for the state capitol, a long-plannned housing development on Country Club Road may be delayed for two years due to H.687, the Act 250 law passed by the Legislature this year. Although the intent of the bill purportedly was to spur urban housing development, the bill freezes growth centers the way they are until January, 2026, pending development of regulations to enact the new law. 

Windham

Koch brothers fighting Clean Heat Standard, lawmaker says – Rep. Laura Sibilia (Dover) says the Koch Bros. PAC, Americans for Prosperity, is weighing in on Vermont’s Clean Heat Standard. Source: The Commons, community newspaper for Windham County. 

Windsor

Woodstock and surrounding Windsor County towns are already planning for the traffic jams expected during the foliage season. Historically, the area is among the most popular leaf-peeping destinations, especially for New Yorkers.

The July 11 Vermont Standard reports that in Pomfret, the selectboard is deciding whether to implement the same road closures they implemented for the first time last year, which shut down Cloudland Road to all non-residential motor vehicles. The Vermont Standard, an award-winning weekly newspaper published in Woodstock, reports:

“It looks like we will probably close the road again this year, although no decisions have been made yet,” said Benjamin Brickner, a member of the Pomfret Selectboard. “The nature of the closure will likely be basically the same as was executed last year, with a couple of changes to the dates, signage, and patrol times.”

In Woodstock, the Village Trustees are beginning to discuss how they will prepare for the upcoming tourist surge, particularly in regard to supplementing Woodstock’s food options and bathroom availability. “We saw a massive increase in visitors last year, so the Trustees have taken it upon themselves to start talking about this much sooner and to come up with plans to make sure that we can accommodate the increased flow of people.” Eric Duffy, Woodstock’s municipal manager, told the Standard this week.