City tweaks plan to allow more housing

The Vergennes City Council on May 27 unanimously approved three changes to the Vergennes municipal plan, two of which are intended to pave the way for zoning changes that would allow housing in the city’s Commercial zoning district and permit shops in the city’s central Historic Neighborhood district.

Vergennes joined at least five other Vermont communities last week when the city council adopted a resolution supporting Constitutional rights — notably those of “Due Process and Equal Protection” found in the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth and 14th Amendments … (read more)

State officials are backing off from their goal of siting in Vergennes a 14-bed locked detention and counseling center for teens with law enforcement involvement. But it remains unclear what their plans are.

Robert Ludwig, will present the concert program. All are welcome to attend this free concert.

The Job Corps program had always enjoyed broad-based bipartisan support until the Trump Administration took office in January and has aggressively slashed programs, its officials claim, at times with dubious evidence, are wasteful or unnecessary.

The Vergennes Farmers Market soon will embark on an exciting new season, brimming with fresh changes and enhancements that reflect the city of Vergennes’s commitment to enriching our community experience.

The halls of Vergennes Union High/Middle School were humming on May 9, when the school’s 8th-, 7th- and 6th-graders presented their finished year-end research or service projects to family and community members.

Vergennes Boy and Cub Scout Troop 539 would be doing well if the troop just maintained its membership at the current level of 20, ranging from Tiger novices to Eagle Scouts. Those numbers are better than average for Vermont troops.

The Vergennes City Council last week backed two agreements that tie the city’s immediate — and possibly its longtime — future to the property at 20 Armory Lane now owned by the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Vergennes.

The group exhibition features works by Steve Budington, Grace Hager, David Kearns, JoAnne Lobotsky, Jennifer McCandless, and Aimée Papazian. An opening reception will be held Saturday, May 3.

In separate incidents last week, Vergennes police cited two motorists for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Vergennes officials and residents are concerned about last week’s report in Seven Days of legal issues experienced by the Sentinel Group — including charges of sexual abuse of teenage program residents by employees.

Last week Seven Days published an article detailing a significant series of alleged, and in one case proven, abuse of juveniles at residential treatment facilities operated and/or overseen by the Sentinel Group. That company  has a contract to help design … (read more)

Seven years after Dan and Rebecca Hassan first thought of expanding the 38-bed Vergennes Residential Care elderly living home in the city’s downtown into the 88-bed Vergennes Grand Senior Living complex, the first residents moved into the new facility on … (read more)

After the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Vergennes announced last week that it will go on hiatus, an at-least-short term alternative has quickly emerged to fill the afterschool void for city-area families.