Top Ten 2023: Shootings claim lives in & around county

Acts of gun violence shook the community on several occasions in 2023, as shootings claimed the lives of four in and around Addison County. 

In June, the Vermont Legislature passed a sweeping childcare bill that would invest $125 million a year of new funding into the state’s childcare sector, making it one of the most expansive systems in the nation.

The top officials in our community are called “leaders” for a reason. They aren’t just figureheads, but have actual authority to make decisions that affect our daily lives; sometimes that power is conferred in legal statutes. and sometimes it comes from t … (read more)

Local schools grappled with racist incidents directed at both students and educators and considered ways to foster more welcoming and inclusive learning communities moving forward. 

How does an esteemed educational institution continue to prepare its students for life after graduation in an ever-changing, complex world? It evolves. 

Addison County residents showed strong support for public education on Town Meeting Day, when all local school budgets passed, four out of five by large margins.

The Independent Sports section believes everyone’s efforts count. Sure, when scores are logged, times are kept, distances are measured, or performances are judged, winners are named. And here we’ll celebrate our most successful athletes.

Readers had their own opinions about what interested them most in 2023. One indication of that is what you “clicked” in 2023.

After a bad winter, we mostly learned to live with COVID over the course of the year and for most of us it became more of a constant drone in the background rather than a pounding drumbeat in our face.

A handful of Addison County towns worked tirelessly this year to keep or gain control of their local elementary schools in an effort to ensure they’d stay open amid declining enrollment and rising education costs.

Addison County’s — and Vermont’s — dearth of affordable housing has been well-chronicled during the past three decades. And 2022 added another sad chapter to a housing dilemma that began to touch all segments of the market.

Here in Addison County there was somewhat of a “blue wave” that swept Democrats into every single one of Addison County’s allotted seats in the Vermont House and Senate.

2022 saw the return of passenger rail service to Addison County with the expansion of Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express train, which now moves people between New York City and Burlington each day. 

Childcare centers have for years been waging a battle to attract and retain educators, while providing enough slots to meet the needs of Addison County households.

Despite their optimistic findings, the committee’s drafted articles of agreement sparked concerns from many community members, particularly regarding how potential school closures and consolidations would be handled in a merged district.