Barn Opera offers holiday concerts online

SALISBURY/BRANDON — In a holiday season full of creative ways to share good tidings despite the pandemic, Brandon Opera is no exception. The nonprofit is using the power of video to share its holiday productions this year. The goal of Barn Opera has always been to bring opera to a wider audience, which has been a labor of love for founder and operatic tenor Josh Collier. But throw a global pandemic in the mix and suddenly recording is the way to share songs and performance. This holiday season, Collier had … (read more)

BRANDON — Rutland Northeast Superintendent Jeanne Collins has contracted COVID-19 and is in quarantine with her family. On Tuesday Collins was reporting COVID symptoms and her voice sounded hoarse, but she was well enough to continue working and is still … (read more)

BRANDON/PITTSFORD/SUDBURY — Incumbent state Reps. Stephanie Jerome and Butch Shaw won re-election to their House seats in three-way race Tuesday, setting the stage for another two years serving Brandon, Pittsford and Sudbury. Jerome, a Democrat from Brand … (read more)

BRANDON — Sometimes, if they’re lucky, when two people come together the gifts they each bring complement and strengthen the bond they form. At a time when race and activism are socio-cultural touchstones in the United States, Jennifer Herrera Condry and … (read more)

RUTLAND TOWN — After more than 100 years in the milk business, Thomas Dairy is closing its doors.  The venerable dairy on Route 7 in Rutland town had begun scaling back production in July, saying that such tweaks were just part of doing business, particul … (read more)

LEICESTER — Having a runaway dog is a heartbreaking experience for any pet owner. The first few days of frantic searching, the Facebook posts asking for help, the constant vigilance scanning the fields and walking, calling your dog’s name. If you’re lucky … (read more)

ADDISON COUNTY AND BRANDON — Anger over the precipitous decline in the quality of mail delivery from the U.S. Postal Service showed itself this past Saturday when protests popped up in front of at least three local post offices. Slogans on placards and po … (read more)

BRANDON — The fact that the Brandon Inn is for sale is not news. The venerable and historic Park Street Inn, the anchor of downtown Brandon since it was built in 1786, has been for sale for several years.  What is news is that owners Sarah and Louis Patti … (read more)

BRANDON — Brandon has become the first town in Rutland County to form a communications district in an effort to improve its internet service. Thanks to an initiative from the Department of Public Service, the Rutland Regional Planning Commission has been … (read more)

My favorite teacher died last week. William Yachymiak was 73, and when I read his obituary, I never realized that when I was a 17-year-old junior in his creative writing class, he was just 36. Prematurely balding, Mr. Yach wore his straight brown hair in … (read more)

It’s been decades since Brandon had its own movie theater, but that’s about to change. The Paramount Theatre has partnered with the town of Brandon and the McKernon Group to build a drive-in movie theater screen in Estabrook Field on the north end of town … (read more)

Brandon Town Hall has not given up on its 2020 season just yet, but more volunteers could help pull it off despite the coronavirus. Trying to schedule public performances during a pandemic has been challenging to say the least, but Friends of the Brandon … (read more)

BENSON/BRANDON — It’s been exactly five months since police seized more than 400 animals at a farm on Kimball Road in Brandon. So, what happened to them?  The answer lies at Kinder Way Sanctuary in Benson, where the animals are thriving, but the cost of t … (read more)

There is nothing new under the sun, the saying goes. It’s all been done before. In the case of racial inequality in the United States, the death of a Black man in police custody has happened so many times that people became apathetic — until George Floyd. … (read more)

BRANDON — It’s amazing what we can get used to.  For decades each June, graduating seniors and their families, teachers and school officials packed Otter Valley’s gymnasium for the area’s biggest coming-of-age event of the year, high school graduation. It … (read more)