The Mountain Times

December 3, 2025 Thursday through Sunday, Dec. 4 to 7—WINDSOR COUNTY—The region will be ringing with laughter as the 4th annual Vermont Comedy Festival returns Dec. 4–7, bringing dozens of comedians, special events, and late-night shows to Killington, Woodstock, Bridgewater, and Ottauquechee. Founded by local comedians Collen Doyle and Matthew Vita, the festival has grown into one of…

Staff report At a special Select Board meeting, Thursday morning, July 9, the Killington Select Board voted 4-1 to place Town Manager Patrick Cushing on paid administrative leave and setting a hearing for potential disciplinary action including termination for cause. That hearing will be held at 9 a.m. on July 28.

Recently, I have taken to calling my daily adventures my lunch break. It seems to explain how I am able to play in the mountains so frequently as part of my life here. And it seems to help normal folks understand how I’m able to get outside every day. There is always time to eat lunch; I just choose to use that time quickly drinking a smoothie and wandering around the Green Mountains for a couple of hours. It’s glorious, especially when we get to summer camp season.

As I ride the Sherburner Trail, out of Gifford Woods, the climbing portion attempts to follow a consistent and relatively gentle slope up the backside of the same geologic formation that gives us Deer Leap in Sherburne Pass. It then takes advantage of the steeper sides of the mountain for its thrilling descent. The trail builder displayed an intuitive sense of slope and followed the natural geologic contours of the underlying rock formations.

The 1950s and 1960s were decades when adults read magazines and kids read comic books, both of which had paper pages to turn. There were no computers or tablets for downloading reading material. You flipped the paper pages as you read. You either went to a store to buy them or you subscribed to them and found them in your mailbox. Some of the most popular magazines from the ‘50s and ‘60s actually began long before my generation held them in their hands.

Several weeks ago, my wife announced that she wanted to watch fireworks at the beach for the Fourth of July. Given that she’s a severely patriotic person, I knew I couldn’t deny her request. The fact that this year is also our nation’s 250th anniversary made the date that much more deserving of a special celebration. My first concern was finding a suitable rental that late in the game, but by luck, a cancellation popped up in the exact area we wanted to go.

By midsummer, the deck in our backyard is lined with a profusion of tall orange flowers. Each flower is shaped like a small funnel with a curved spur and hangs from a slender arched stem. Hummingbirds zip back and forth, hovering in front of the flowers and probing them with their long beaks to sip nectar. These delicate orange flowers spotted with red-brown are known as jewelweed or spotted touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis).

Starting Monday, July 13, Trailside Drive in Killington will be reduce to one-lane traffic for two weeks. Trailside Drive is located off East Mountain Road, just past the turn off to Bear Mountain Road and before the ski bridge. Mosher Excavating is doing the road and culvert work, which is expected to last two weeks.

By Jason Batchelder Editor’s note: This commentary is by Jason Batchelder, the commissioner of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. On June 3, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department authorized the killing of a bear in Stowe that had grown dangerously comfortable seeking food around people from homes and businesses.

Editor’s note: Patrick Cushing is the town manager in Killington. There are only two certainties in life, and today we’re talking about taxes. The good news is that we have an approved budget to bring before the voters. With the budget vote scheduled for Aug. 11, this year’s property tax bills will work a little differently than they normally do. The even better news is that the tax due dates are not changing. The only difference is what will appear on the first bill.