September opened with the community talking about the recently concluded 11th annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, which featured films from across the state and the world. The five-day extravaganza broke its attendance record this year, selling 5,568 tickets to see 108 films, including its sold-out screening of “La Liga,” a documentary about a soccer league formed by immigrant dairy farmworkers, including many from Addison County.

The start of the month, and the new school year, brought changes to Middlebury College. Officials announced that the institution would end its residential graduate programs and certain online degree programs at its graduate school in Monterrey, Calif. Middlebury College faculty and students had urged administrators to close the facility, including last spring when administrators announced compensation cuts to balance the budget. The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterrey, known as MIIS, saw enrollments steadily decline following the pandemic. Faculty stated that MIIS accounted for more than $25 million a year of the college’s operating losses.

The creation of a new radio station serving the 5-town area came closer to fruition as local community members worked to set up a radio tower and raise funds for other equipment. Jonathan Corcoran of Monkton said he hoped a community radio station called WVVT would uplift local voices and bring Addison County residents together through conversation and shared experience.

Also in Bristol, six monks from the historic Gaden Shartse Monastic College in India visited the town as part of a two-year tour around the U.S. The “Sacred Earth and Healing Arts of Tibet Tour” helps raise funds for the monastery and is also aimed at sharing the Tibetan Buddhist monks’ culture and practices.

In Middlebury’s Wright Park, Tracy and Bruce Wilhelm created a Wind Phone in memory of their eldest son Luke, who had been killed in a climbing accident. The idea of a Wind Phone originated 15 years ago in Japan, when some grieving relatives wanted to talk to family member killed in an earthquake and tsunami. Similar to such devices in Japan, the Wind Phone in Wright Park is an unconnected rotary phone housed in a cedar structure. Visitors are invited to lift the receiver and “call” loved ones who have died, speaking to them through the wind.

The town of Cornwall weighed options for a new town garage, which is around 50 years old and struggling to accommodate a growing fleet of vehicles and equipment. The selectboard commissioned a very preliminary estimate on the cost of renovating and expanding the current structure, which came back in at between $1 million and $1.25 million. The town has also considered other locations that could house the town garage but noted they’re still exploring options.

Meanwhile, Porter Medical Center saw its 2026 operating budget approved by the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) following slight downsizing trimmed proposed salary increases of three-quarters of a million dollars to top administrators at the University of Vermont Health Network.  The GMCB has repeatedly expressed concern about UVMHN’s administrative costs and financial decision-making, though GMCB board member Jessica Holmes said Porter was on the right track.

Also in Middlebury, bike riders cycled through Addison County in pouring rain as part of the 20th annual Kelly Brush Ride, which raised a whopping $1.25 million to help people with spinal injuries access adaptive sports equipment.

In Vergennes, State Rep. Matt Birong drew anger from constituents following a visit to Israel alongside four other Vermont House members and 245 of their legislative counterparts in other states. The trip, known as the Fifty States–One Israel Conference, was held in Jerusalem and sponsored by the Israeli government. Some of Birong’s constituents expressed their disappointment in his presence at the conference following Israel’s war on Gaza, which at the time had killed over 65,000 Palestinians, including 18,430 children. In August, the United Nations declared a human-made famine in Gaza, and in mid-September announced that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Birong said he spent his time in Israel speaking with individuals about the conflict and sought to draw a distinction between the people in the conflict and their governments, though he acknowledged he did not visit Gaza nor did he comment on the number of Palestinians who have lost their lives.

Throughout Addison County, farms and residents continued to mitigate the impacts of an intense drought that saw the driest August on record in Vermont. Local farmers have had to take alternative steps to take care of their crops and animals, such as trucking in large amounts of water. Farmers were also concerned that the drought would leave them short on feed for their animals and place even more financial stress on their operations.

Downtown Middlebury saw a prominent change as the popular nonprofit thrift boutique Buy Again Alley ended its six-year run at 60 Main St. in Middlebury, and planned to move into a space on Washington Street. A new shop called “Cobweb Antiques” took up residence in the Main Street space.

A Bristol resident was among the founders of a new group called RATS, which stands for Rural Adult Twenty Somethings. It seeks to organize social gatherings that help connect local residents in their 20s.

Nearly 300 people of all ages participated in Sept. 22’s Annual TAM Trek. The day included a footrace around the entire 19-mile Trail Around Middlebury (popularly known as the TAM), and 5K runs for adults and kids in Middlebury’s Wright Park. The race is a major fundraiser for the Middlebury Area Land Trust, which in 1989 began building the TAM — a scenic trail spanning conserved lands in the communities of Middlebury.