Michael Drake, a longtime Vermont restaurant owner and property manager, has purchased the building at 3 Elm Street in Woodstock Village, with plans to revitalize the space. 

The first-floor restaurant, formerly Dr. Coburn’s Tonic – and before that, Bentleys – will open this month as Positive Pie. The plan is to serve up traditional New York-style pizza and drinks. Drake told the Standard, “We have three other Positive Pie locations across the state. The first shop opened in 1999 in Plainfield, our second in Montpelier in 2004, our third in Hardwick in 2012, and now our fourth location will open on October 16…with a tentative soft opening.”

Positive Pie will serve alcoholic drinks once its liquor license is obtained, and will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., with extended hours on Fridays and Saturdays until 11 p.m.

In addition to the restaurant opening, Drake has plans for the entire 3 Elm Building, which has been on the market for over a year. The sale is expected to close this December. The building, comprising 14,000 square feet, consists of 11 units, including second-floor law offices, real estate offices, and offices for the restaurant located below. These spaces are expected to become updated apartment units, as Drake hopes to counteract some of the housing crisis experienced in Woodstock Village. He told the Standard, “Subject to town approval and permitting, we are hoping that into next year the entire façade of the building will be updated, beautifying the exterior with new paint and other aesthetic changes. The plan ultimately will be to put in some residential apartments on the second and third floors.” 

For more on this, please see our October 9 edition of the Vermont Standard.

An oft-delayed bond vote to fund renovations to the Woodstock wastewater treatment facility will now be kicked into the new year.

This week, the Woodstock Town Selectboard deferred a decision on a new date for the public to weigh in on the bond until the town governing body holds a scheduled joint meeting with the Village Trustees next Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 5:30 p.m. at Town Hall. Two dates in 2026 are under consideration for the wastewater plant bond vote: the annual Town Meeting Day on Tuesday, March 3, and the statewide primary election day on Tuesday, Aug. 11. Holding the vote on one of those two established election dates would maximize the use of town staff resources, which would be stretched if a special vote were to be slated on a different date next year.

Originally set for November 2024, the Woodstock selectboard first rescheduled the wastewater plant bond vote to Town Meeting Day in March of this year to prioritize other capital projects, including the acquisition of the Woodstock Aqueduct Company (WAC), the municipal water utility, which was finalized on April 30. The anticipated vote on Town Meeting Day was subsequently pushed to this fall to enable the engineering firm for the wastewater project, Hoyle Tanner, extra time to further flesh out the design phase of the project.

At a special meeting of the Woodstock selectboard on Monday afternoon, convened to discuss the proposed bond vote, municipal manager Eric Duffy said the engineering firm’s work on the plan for the plant’s extensive renovation is “close” to completion, with both the plant designers and public officials now looking toward a wide-reaching public education campaign to sell the bond to the voters. “What [Hoyle Tanner] is really looking for is the social media campaign – the tours, the pamphlets, the public education process,” Duffy told the selectboard. A public outreach effort of that sort was part of the effort to gain public approval of the WAC acquisition at a pair of public votes late last year.

For more on this, please see our October 9 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

By Tom Ayres, Senior Staff Writer

The Mountain Views Supervisory Union (MVSU) has agreed to work with the Hartford School District (HSD) and the Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union (WSSU) to explore the advantages of creating “a single, larger, more efficient and equitable school district,” MVSU board chair Keri Bristow said in a statement sent to the Standard last week, following her participation in a meeting of the state’s school redistricting task force on Monday, Sept. 29.

Bristow elaborated on the perspective of MVSU administrators in the statement, citing a letter signed by all three boards, stemming from the resolve to work together following a consensus that the three school governing bodies share similar educational goals, a regional career and technical center in White River Junction, and a geographical alignment that will support the formation of an effective regional unit.

Representatives of the MVSU, HSD, and WSSU, including Bristow, presented the state redistricting task force with the letter, that termed merging the three school governing entities into a larger unit in compliance with the state’s recently enacted education transformation legislation, Act 73, “a practical and effective path to meeting the state’s goals while protecting our communities and ensuring the long-term sustainability of our schools.”

Speaking directly to task force members at the Sept. 29 gathering, Bristow told them that “almost all Vermont communities both embrace their schools and hope to keep them open,” adding that, “School closures have the negative effect of erasing our communities’ identities.” This has been a central concern of school leaders and rural educators in Vermont, especially in smaller, more pastoral communities in the state, ever since discussions surrounding Act 73 heated up in the last legislative session at the State House in Montpelier over the past two legislative sessions.

“Closing schools and reducing the numbers of staff and teachers is the most realistic way to achieve [Act 73’s] scope of efficiencies, which has its own implications and will be highly unpopular,” Bristow said in speaking before the state redistricting panel last week. “No financial model has been presented to convince communities that this reform process is worth losing their schools and community identities,” the MVSU board chair added.

In the face of such possible issues, according to the statement distributed following the statewide meeting on Sept. 29, Bristow noted that she warned the task force members about “the near-certain economic impacts that could result when residents of towns where schools no longer exist choose to sell their homes – many to out-of-state, second home buyers with little interest in advancing Vermont’s education system in the future.”

At the regular monthly school board meeting this past Monday evening, MVSU officials reiterated that they are continuing to explore both supervisory district and supervisory union structures to determine the most efficient operating procedures for any newly reconstituted educational and geographic entity in the region. An MVSU board representative from Barnard, Carin Park, who helped draft the Sept. 29 letter from the three area school unions and districts to the redistricting body, is helping to lead ongoing local board discussions about the best possible template for school governance in the new world of education transformation outlined in Act 73.

During last week’s Woodstock Selectboard and Village Board of Trustees joint meeting on September 29, municipal manager Eric Duffy proposed that the two boards consider a potential merger. 

In a presentation he made to highlight the goals and objectives of the selectboard and trustees as they look toward 2026, Duffy said, “I think what’s stopping us from being more effective and more efficient as a governing body, what’s stopping us from taking the next step, is not merging. I ask this board to discuss your goals and objectives, and if this is a priority, urge my staff to investigate and prepare for a merger vote in the next year.” 

As his presentation continued, Duffy said, “[A merger would mean] less financial work, which [would mean] less opportunities for mistakes. We can devote more time to grants, more time to extra revenue, and more time to do high-level things that push Woodstock forward. It would decrease the number of boards, decrease overtime, decrease employee earnings, and increase our ability to provide better services to our residents. I believe a merger will streamline ordinances and procedures; I believe a merger is required to move this community forward.” 

Jeffrey Kahn, the vice chair of the trustees says this conversation requires years, not months, of deliberation before a decision can be reached and put to a vote.

Woodstock Selectboard chairman Ray Bourgeois also weighed in on a potential merger, telling the Standard, “I’m in favor [of a merger] mainly because it would consolidate the workload of the office staff. There are multiple accounts that have to be charged and budgeted and so forth, all of which would be simplified through merging.” 

Regarding a potential timeline, Bourgeois added, “This is in the very early stages. We have to decide the wastewater treatment plan, which will take priority. But I am in favor of a merger and hope to have some of these questions answered soon.” 

One challenge brought up repeatedly is how to navigate the village charter. Selectboard member Laura Powell said that this conversation has been so prevalent in our state that the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) has created a guide on how to merge successfully for towns in similar situations. “Essex Junction’s merger and subsequent divorce from the Town of Essex is something to be studied and considered in Woodstock,” Powell added. 

According to the VLCT Handbook for Vermont Municipal Clerks, if an unchartered town and a chartered village in Vermont merge, the most straightforward legal path is for the village to dissolve its charter and fold into the town, leaving the town as the sole government. 

Alternatively, both entities could form a new merged chartered municipality, which would require voter approval and legislative ratification.

For more on this, please see our October 9 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Woodstock Town Selectboard member Greg Fullerton has been hired as the new public works director for the municipality.

Municipal manager Eric Duffy announced the selection of Fullerton as the town’s new public works leader at the outset of a special selectboard meeting on Monday afternoon. Fullerton will replace former director Chris Barr, who succumbed to a brief, hard-fought battle with cancer in July.

“Everyone knows we’ve been without a public works director since Chris Barr unfortunately passed away this summer,” Duffy told selectboard members Monday, with Fullerton seated in his customary spot at the selectboard table. “We were very cautious about who we were going to choose to fulfill that role,” Duffy added. “I’m very happy to announce that Greg Fullerton is going to start as the new public works director, ideally [on] November 1 [or] around that time period. He has agreed to come on board as our next employee — the employment contract is signed, and we’re excited to welcome Greg to the other side of the table going forward.”

For more on this, please see our October 9 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

From Thursday, Oct. 16, through Sunday, Oct. 19, the Hopkins Center for the Arts in Hanover – known affectionately and with distinction nationwide as “the Hop”-  will host a star-studded grand opening of its newly completed $123.8 million expansion and reinvention, offering live music and dance, master classes, and multiple performances in its sumptuous new spaces.

The arrival of the newly reimagined Hop on the region’s cultural stage is a poignant and powerful rejoinder to the dark turn the country has taken in terms of the import and impact of the arts on the worldview of its diverse citizenry.

“This space is more necessary than ever,” Hopkins Center executive director Mary Lou Aleskie said last Thursday as she led a small group of visitors on a tour of the extensive new wing and the revitalized old facilities at the historic Hop in the center of downtown Hanover. “We’ve had many challenges along the way that could have disrupted it, but you know, there’s always hope. No matter what, the arts are the place where you find hope always. I think this building is emblematic of that. It is also emblematic of the resilience and the determination of the people who love this place. It’s not just Dartmouth, it’s the community too,” Aleskie continued.

Construction of the new Hop, boldly reenvisioned by the internationally acclaimed design firm Snohetta, began in the winter of 2022 and is wrapping up this week with the final touches being applied to the 15,000 square-foot expansion dubbed the Daryl and Steven Roth Wing and the transformation of an additional 55,000 square feet of existing space in the monumental Upper Valley arts center that first opened its doors in 1962.

The new Daryl Roth Studio Theater is at the heart of the extended arts complex at the Hop. Arts center communications staff members describe it as “a versatile space for experimentation and new modes of performance and audience interaction” in a primer about the new wing. The seating capacity of the Roth Studio Theater tops out at about 275, depending upon how the space is configured for any given performance, be it music, theater, or dance, Aleskie noted. 

The Jack and Mac Morris Recital Hall is another stunning space in the new Hop wing, both visually and sonically. An intimate space with unmatched acoustics and a sculpted wood and glass design, it is ideally suited for musical performances for both academic and community audiences. 

The first-ever dance studio in the Hop – the Hodgson Family Dance Studio in the new Roth Wing – is already meeting the needs of Dartmouth students and faculty members and will also be a significant enhancement for visiting dance artists and for performance-related master classes open to the community. 

A new outdoor gathering and performance space – the Hop Plaza & Forum – is located just outside and below the Morris Recital Hall.

Apart from the expansive and well-thought-out new wing, revitalized spaces in the original Hop building are also a central part of the nearly $124 million renovation and expansion project, the vast majority of which was financed by private philanthropy.

For more on this, please see our October 9 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

After undergoing some much-needed repairs, the Horizons Observatory at Prosper Valley School in South Pomfret is preparing to reopen its doors to the public in late October. The observatory — an extraordinary resource for any elementary school — will again offer the larger public various events, including astrophotography and night-sky tours.

This week, the recently retired Prosper Valley sixth-grade teacher and current co-director of Horizons, Rob Hanson, told the Standard the story of the observatory and shared his excitement about its imminent reopening. Back in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, he recalled, a parent of a child at the school, Mundy Wilson Piper, approached him with an offer. “Her father passed away, and he was an amateur astronomer, and he had this telescope,” said Hanson. “She goes, ‘Robbie, I know you’re interested in astronomy. Are you interested in a telescope?’ I said, ‘Sure, I’ll take a telescope — that’d be great to use.’” 

What Hanson hadn’t anticipated, though, was the kind of telescope being offered. “So I go up to the house, and not only is there a ‘scope, but it’s in an observatory. It’s a really large research-grade, 14-inch telescope.” Hanson was able to haul the telescope back to the school, but the question remained of how such a massive, powerful telescope could be best utilized in an elementary school. A friend of Hanson’s who taught physics at the local high school gave him an idea. “He said, ‘You know, Rob, we cannot lug this thing out every night. We need a home for it.’ And that [meant] to create a home. We let the community know we were thinking about building a small observatory,” said Hanson.

Hanson organized a fundraising campaign in which the school would accept donations from $5 to $100 and upwards in order to fund the observatory — but then came a major windfall. Sarah Spitzer, daughter of renowned astrophysicist Lyman Spitzer, who first conceived of putting a telescope in outer space, attended a presentation Hanson and a colleague gave on the telescope and their hopes for an observatory. After the presentation, she offered to use her family’s foundation to fully fund the project. That financial boon shortly led to construction: first the decking, by school parent Scott Holston; and then the observatory was purchased and housed there, opening in 2003.

Now that the on-the-ground business of the observatory repairs is finished, students as well as the public will soon be able to once again turn their eyes upward – to the sky, where the telescope aims its view. Prosper Valley students have already begun this school year eating their lunches again on the Horizons Observatory deck. “It was great to see them out there again,” said Wood. Soon, the public will be invited to appreciate the new observatory themselves, and to witness the magnificence of much of what spins and swirls above us.

Readers can keep an eye out for upcoming events via the Horizons Observatory blog, horizonsobservatory.org, as well as by signing up for the mailing list on the site’s blog page.

For more on this, please see our October 9 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Joel Sternfeld, American visual artist, writer, and educator, will be speaking at the Hall Art Foundation in Reading this Saturday, October 11. He’ll discuss his decades of creative endeavors that sent him across this country in search of beauty, juxtaposed landscapes, and the essential thread that connects us all.

Beginning with his acclaimed collection, “American Prospects,” first published in 1987, Sternfeld spoke to the Standard about the cross-country creative journey that created this collection, and how it expanded not only his photography skills but also established his ethos as an artist. “I had so many things I was trying to say all at once,” Sternfeld began. “The nature of my life during this era consisted of traveling in a Volkswagen camper, keeping diaries, and dedicating time from the hours of 2-4 a.m. to writing ferociously about the world I was experiencing. Some of these diaries are filled with simple observations about the standard happenings of 1970s and early 80s America — the old industrial core of America was declining; a brand-new world of technology was arising. Modernity was rearing its ugly head; postmodern thought was cropping up more in photography, and I was there in the middle of the country trying to grapple and capture it all.”

Part of Sternfeld’s cross-country renaissance was born out of his work with color photography. Finding a way to capture the emotionality he was experiencing, Sternfeld discovered a form that diverged from the standard black and white pictures being taken by artists of that era. “There was no sense of naturalism to the color that was being used in photography at that time, but nonetheless, I felt committed to it after trying black and white and realizing only color could capture the seasonal effect I was chasing.”

“When working with color,” Sternfeld explained, “The artist is faced with the question — what do I do with this color? Should I clobber the audience with it? Should I exaggerate it? Understate it? How do I operate with this device?” For Sternfeld, the answer came one dreary August day in 1975, on the shores of Rockaway Beach in New York. He told the Standard, “I had returned to New York after receiving some devastating family news. One day I went to the beach, and instead of turning to the right, where the landscape was pretty and pleasing to the eye, I turned left and went down Rockaway Beach towards a group of rundown apartment houses. I’m phobic about large buildings by the sea. The wind was blowing, and it was one of those August days that just made my skin crawl — summer was over, and the air felt raw and abrasive. In the midst of this terrible feeling, I began to cry for my family, for how lost I feel in the world. Suddenly, the scene looked beautiful to me. I made a picture and then put the thought away.”

It was not until a year and a half later, when sifting through work for his Guggenheim Fellowship, that Sternfeld came across the photo again. 

From haunting cityscapes to constructions of landscape simultaneously containing both sprawling nature and industrialized America, Sternfeld has dedicated the last sixty years of his life to capturing the world as it is — complicated, beautiful, ominous, and absolute. An artist that comes around once in a generation, Sternfeld will share his knowledge and artistic insight with those of the Upper Valley this Saturday, Oct. 11 at 4 p.m. at the Hall Art Foundation. Tickets can be found at www.hallartfoundation.org.

For those unable to attend, twenty of Sternfeld’s large-scale color photographs from his celebrated collections – “American Prospects” and “Walking the High Line” are currently on display and will remain at the Hall Art Foundation through November 30.

For more on this, please see our October 9 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

By Tyler Maheu, Staff Sportswriter

On a night of celebration for the Woodstock seniors, it was a pair of freshmen from Hartford who stole the show to give the visitors a 1-0 victory. 

Prior to the matchup, the Woodstock seniors and their families each took the field to share one last home-field memory and take pictures. Honored on Monday were seniors Jessica Baumann, Sadie Boulbol, Sierra Bystrak, Anna Fink, Bonnie Kranz, Gabriella Lockhart, Sophia Rosenbach, Maeva Roylance, and Maya Sluka. “I’ve been watching them come through since freshman year, and I’m glad I extended my coaching to have the opportunity to be here for this game and this season,” said Woodstock head coach Greg Labella when reflecting on this group of seniors. “I’ve known them for a long time, some from elementary school and spring soccer.” 

Assistant coach Stacey Forest echoed similar sentiments. “For me, it came full circle. I had a lot of these girls when they were at a younger age, and to see them play in their senior year was amazing,” she said through teary eyes. “I watched them when they were little in third or fourth grade, and now they’re high school seniors. To see their skill and how they’ve gotten year after year, and to be able to coach them in their last year was amazing.” Forest concluded, “Those girls bring so much joy to my life. They keep me smiling, they keep me young, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Following the festivities, there was a game to be played. Woodstock began with the ball, passing it to Lockhart. The senior, who was in a protective brace due to a leg injury, got to touch the ball one last time as a Wasp, then kicked it out of bounds so she could be subbed out of the game as her teammates cheered. 

When regular action began, the Hurricanes struck fast. Hartford freshman Lucy Crowley took the ball and bolted up the right side of the pitch before launching a strike off her foot and over the head of Baumann (8/9 saves) into the goal to put her team in the lead 1-0 only two minutes into the game. The first half saw Hartford playing a very physical brand of soccer, controlling the ball in the offensive end and near midfield. “We were getting beat to the ball in the first half,” said Labella.

With 25 minutes remaining, Woodstock began to pick up the offensive pressure. Boulbol was able to get a shot off in the midst of a crowd, but Hartford’s freshman goalkeeper Dakarai Jones made a great save. With four minutes left in the half, the two would find themselves in a similar situation, with the Hurricane again making a stop. The final ten minutes saw momentum swing wildly between the two sides, but the mad dash ended with no change in score.

Going into the second half, Labella said that his team needed to perform a “gut check” to get themselves back in the game. The Wasps dominated time of possession throughout the half, routinely having the ball deep in enemy territory. A shot off the foot of Kranz with 38 minutes remaining in the half was turned away. Neither team could manage another shot on goal until 19 minutes later, when Hartford’s Crowley made a crossing pass to junior Kathryn Summarsell. Baumann whiffed on the save attempt, but a teammate dove in to stop the Wasps’ deficit from growing. 

From there, the action was fast and furious, with both teams getting great looks on goal, but both goalies held strong. Woodstock had several attempts at goal, but the ever-aggressive Jones (10/10 saves) was up to the test every time. Despite a final offensive push with under 30 seconds remaining, Hartford was able to hold on for the 1-0 victory. 

“I’m really proud of the way they turned it around in the second half,” said Labella postgame. “They did a gut check at halftime and that’s all you can ask.” The loss drops the Wasps to 3-7 on the year, but Labella was able to see the bigger picture on Senior Night. “What’s more important about this game isn’t the win or the loss but the experience, that’s what lasts,” he said. “The loss will fade.”

By Tyler Maheu, Staff Sportswriter

“Football’s all about momentum,” said Woodstock football head coach Ramsey Worrell following Friday night’s contest against Mill River. After a close first quarter, the Wasps rode a wave of momentum all the way to the finish line to trounce the opposing Minutemen, 43-13.

The Wasps started the game with a bang, as Asher Emery received the opening kickoff and raced 84 yards to the house for a touchdown. Later in the quarter, Woodstock’s Max Carey reeled in a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Aksel Oates (3/7 passing, 137 yards, two touchdowns). “He’s always been able to do this,” said Worrell, praising his skilled senior quarterback. “Aksel throws a very good, catchable ball, and we have a lot of talented receivers to catch them.”

Carey’s touchdown was his first of the year, as on Friday morning, he had a cast removed following a broken arm.

Woodstock took a 14-6 lead into the second quarter, which is where their tidal wave of momentum overwhelmed Mill River. A bad punt from the Minutemen set Woodstock up at midfield, and a 49-yard catch by Brody McGaffigan put the ball at the one. Riley O’Neal (11 carries, 80 yards, two touchdowns) was then able to punch it in to put the Wasps up 21-6 following the extra point.

On the ensuing Mill River drive, Jake Lambert’s run attack proved tough for the Wasps to defend. It routinely took three or four defenders to drag him down as he slowly marched his team to the five-yard line. However, McGaffigan was able to make an amazing read on a slant pass on fourth and goal, as he jumped the route and knocked the ball to the turf for the turnover on downs. “Every game we have a game plan for what we think they’re gonna do, and you make adjustments from there,” said Worrell on how they planned to attack and defend the visitors. “I thought we anticipated some things well and the kids adjusted.”

Woodstock followed up this defensive excellence with a 72-yard touchdown pass from Oates to Jake Blackburn. On the play, Oates rolled out wide and hit Blackburn in stride. The receiver then broke a tackle and ran unhindered the rest of the way into the end zone to make it 27-6. He then ran in the two-point try to make it 29-6. 

An onside kick recovery by Woodstock quickly gave them another possession, and Blackburn took a reverse handoff 20 yards to paydirt to increase the lead to 36-6. The Minutemen continued to struggle, as a bad snap by their center led to a fumble recovery by Woodstock’s Rowan Laramie. The Wasps made quick work on the next possession, which ended with a five-yard touchdown run by O’Neal to make it 43-6 going into halftime.

“It was a great first half,” said Worrell. Following the game, he was less impressed with the team’s performance in the second half. The Wasps’ offense stalled out for much of the third and fourth quarters, including losing a fumble to Mill River. With 7:50 remaining in the contest, the Minutemen’s Lambert tacked on a garbage-time touchdown to make the final score 43-13 Woodstock.

“We are a long way from a finished product with a lot of improving to do,” said the Woodstock head coach after his team improved to 4-1 on the year. “But, I’m pleased with how every week we get a little bit stronger in an area we weren’t before.” 

The Wasps will travel south to Springfield for a battle of 4-1 squads Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m.

Sophia Lihatsh and Quinn Jasinski faced uncertainty earlier this year when their hometown Springfield High School made the decision to cut field hockey. But hard work by both girls and open arms from a former rival saved their field hockey careers.

Earlier, Springfield athletic director Richard Saypack had to make the difficult decision. “It came after a lot of research, and looking at things real close,” he said. “You don’t like dropping any program.” Saypack outlined some of the issues facing the field hockey program in recent years, including the death of a once-strong feeder program. “We used to have a strong program from the Parks and Rec department, as well as the middle school,” he explained. “Interest had waned over the years. Numbers were not where they needed to be to field a team comfortably.” One reason for the dwindling numbers, in Saypack’s opinion, is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We could see seven years ago that we were in trouble, but we made steps to help it recover,” he said. “After COVID, the numbers really started to spiral.”

“I was really sad at the beginning,” said Jasinski. “Field hockey is my sport.” Lihtash said that she began looking at other sports like soccer, or the possibility of playing nothing at all this fall. Upon learning the news, the two girls and their families began looking for options. “Sophia’s dad had reached out in February or March when they had gotten word from their AD that field hockey was being cancelled, and he just said, ‘What can we do?’,” said Woodstock head field hockey coach Leanne Tapley. “I knew him from work, so I told him I don’t really know, but I can try to help in any way I can. So we just started communicating.”

Both students had schools that they were disinterested in approaching, but found Woodstock to be an ideal fit. “Woodstock seemed nice and we had heard so many good things about it,” said Jasinski. The only hurdle to getting them on the team was the Vermont Principals Association’s member-to-member policy. “It goes by need,” explained Saypack. “Some schools will say they won’t accept any member-to-member, some will, based on need. Woodstock called us and said we know you have kids that will need to go somewhere, and we are gonna need players.” The policy, according to Saypack, is a good protection from schools recruiting student-athletes from other schools. 

Thankfully, for the two student-athletes who have both been playing field hockey since third grade, their applications to the VPA were approved, and their transition from Cosmos to Wasps could begin. Tapley said that she and the team invited both girls to join them to compete in a spring league at Burr & Burton and a summer league. “We were accepted as soon as we first got here,” said Lihatsh. 

David Lester Adams, 70, died on Sept. 10, 2025 at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH peacefully, attended by his long time partner Wanda Reifenberger of Bridgewater, VT.

David was born Jan. 5, 1955 to Velma (Bell) Adams and Lester E Adams of Woodstock, VT. David was a graduate of Woodstock Union High School, class of 1973. David entered the culinary field in 1975 working for the Woodstock Inn. He traveled west to Omaha, NB in 1977 where he honed his skills for a private club. In 1979 he was married to Jan Olsen of Omaha, NB. They traveled to Phoenix, AZ in 1979 where he became the sous chef for the Camelback Inn in Scottsdale. In 1986 they moved to Tucson, AZ where David worked for a private golf club. There, he was written up in Bon Appetite Magazine for his culinary skills, making the front page of the magazine.

David liked cooking, auto racing, playing the saxophone, and the acoustic guitar.

Survivors include brothers Jeff Adams of Woodstock, VT, Greg Adams of Coco Beach, FL, and Richard Adams of Woodstock, VT. Sons Bradley, Brian, and Benjamin all of Minneapolis, MN. Also 5 granddaughters and 2 grandsons.

A memorial visitation will be held at the Cabot Funeral home in Woodstock, VT on Oct. 17, 2025 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. A private burial will be held at the Prosper Cemetery at a later date. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the Thompson Senior Center.

An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

Robert “Bobby” L. McCredie, Jr. passed away on Sept. 16, 2025, in Costambar, Dominican Republic, after a long illness. He was 65 years old.

Born in Red Bank, New Jersey, Bobby was the son of Elizabeth J. McCredie and Robert L. McCredie, Sr. He spent his early childhood in Rumson, N.J., before the family moved to Barnard, Vt., in 1969 — fulfilling his father’s dream of raising the family in the Green Mountain State.

Bobby thrived in Vermont, where he developed a passion for athletics and the outdoors. He ski raced for Mid-Vermont, played high school football, and became a top-ranked tennis player while attending the University of Vermont. His talent on the court led him to compete professionally in the French and U.S. Penn tennis circuits in the early 1980s.

After his time abroad, Bobby returned to New Jersey and pursued a successful career in financial services, working as a broker for several firms and specializing in financial planning, mutual funds, and tax-deferred annuities.

In 2004, Bobby made a bold life change to follow his true passion — surfing. He moved to Nicaragua, where he built a home and embraced the coastal lifestyle. In 2018, he relocated to the Dominican Republic, continuing to enjoy the ocean, surfing, and tennis in the vibrant community of Costambar. Bobby had many friends both in the U.S. and abroad, and was known for his sharp sense of humor, adventurous spirit, and deep love for his family. He stayed in regular touch by phone and was especially generous with gifts on his visits home.

Bobby is lovingly remembered by his sisters, Karen Zaretzky of Mendon, Vt., and New York City, and Sue McLaughry of Norwich, Vt.; his nieces, Emily and Paige McLaughry; and his brothers-in-law, Robert McLaughry and Ron Zaretzky.

A celebration of Bobby’s life will be held in the spring of 2026.

William A. Smith, 78, died at his home on Thursday, September 25, 2025. He was born on January 2, 1947, in Springfield, Vt., to Robert A. and Marion D. “Molly” (Chesley) Smith. His early education took place in the Amsden one-room schoolhouse; his later elementary years were at the new school in Perkinsville. He graduated from Springfield High School in 1965. He earned an associate degree from Albany Business College, which prepared him for his career in banking and credit finances. He also attended Paul Smith College for forestry.

He and his first wife, Sandra, started their family in Bennington, but soon moved to Charlestown, N.H., built a home, and Bill was a committed member of the community. He was a part of many of the local sports programs, coached hockey, soccer, basketball, and baseball, and scheduled most of the games for PVA hockey. He often gave rides to and from to ensure that transportation was never a limitation to participation. He and Sandra separated around 1985 but remained close friends, coworkers, and coparents to their sons, Mike and Pat. In 1990, Bill moved to Langdon, N.H. In 1995, he married Denise Bushway and welcomed her son Jeremy into the family. A few months later, Molly was born.

Bill adored his family, and they spent as much time together as possible. He attended every game or event that his children or grandchildren were involved in (or watched it on TV/online), helped to watch the grandchildren after school, and was overjoyed to spend almost every day with Ira. In the winters, he would ski with his parents and brothers at Mt. Ascutney and Tuckerman Ravine. Later, he would ski with Molly at Arrowhead. In the summers, they enjoyed camping between games and practices.

Bill was an excellent and detailed storyteller and family historian. One of his favorite stories was of his and Pat’s trip to Alaska. They drove the entire state, visited relatives along the way, and were immersed in the beauty and wonder of the place.

Bill is survived by his wife Denise M. Smith of Weathersfield; four children Mike Smith and wife Amy of Essex, Vt., Pat Smith and wife Ashley of Weathersfield, Molly Smith of Charlestown, N.H., and Jeremy Thompson and wife Casilyn of Charlestown; two brothers Mitchell Smith and wife Cindy of Saranac Lake, N.Y. and Vincent Smith of Zephyrhills, Fla.; his former wife Sandra Smith of Claremont, N.H.; five grandchildren Jason, Abbigale, Regan, Morgan, and Ira; other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

A graveside service will be held in Ascutneyville Cemetery at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 12. Memorial donations may be made to your local youth sports teams. Knight Funeral Home of Windsor, Vt., has been entrusted with arrangements, and online condolences may be expressed at knightfuneralhomes.com.

Andrea Brehmer de Trzaskos, 54, passed away at her home in Stockbridge, VT, on Tuesday evening, Sept. 30, 2025. Andrea was independent, fiercely intelligent, a sharp analyst and adept problem solver, curious, witty, creative, and kind with a radiant smile.



Andrea was born in Waimea, Kauai, Hawaii, on Feb. 2, 1971, to Margaret Enking and the late Gale Brehmer, who worked for NASA’s tracking station during the Apollo missions and then at the celestial observatory at Mauna Kea. In 1978, they moved to La Serena, Chile, for Gale’s work at the new observatory at Cerro Tololo. Andrea’s formidable intellect was apparent early on and grew quickly among some of the world’s foremost resident and visiting astronomers, as neighbors. She learned to ride horses in the Chilean desert and became a lifelong lover of all animals. With Hawaiian Pidgin as her first language and Spanish as her second, Andrea began her primarily English learning during her middle and high school years in Meridian, ID, supplementing her studies with university courses. She chose to attend Wellesley College, where she could also take classes at MIT, and graduated with a BA in Economics. She met her future husband, Todd Trzaskos, while training martial arts at Shobu Aikido of Boston.

Andrea moved to Vermont, where Todd resided, the week before Labor Day 1994. They were married a year later. Andrea’s first work in the area was in retail at the Woodstock Farmers Market, and she soon after became the international sales manager at Wild Apple Graphics. She then completed the Vermont Master Gardener program and returned to the WFM to build out their garden center while also running her own business tending fine gardens around Woodstock. She was one of the first women to join the Woodstock Volunteer Fire Department, where she served as Auxiliary treasurer. She devoured books of all kinds and completed a three-year Certified Financial Planner course in nine months with a 94-point average. Andrea worked for Bill Lewis’ law office, doing trust and estates for several years, and professionally offered private financial administrative support services. During the COVID pandemic, she answered the call at the Woodstock Farmers Market once again to take on a key bookkeeping role.



For over 15 years, Andrea also dedicated herself to discovering and developing her talents as a self-taught ceramic artist, creating pieces inspired by her appreciation of nature and bird observation. Recognized as FrogSongDesigns, she and her innovative work appeared at Woodstock’s markets on the green, the Norwich Farmers Market, Vermont craft shows in Weston and Burlington, as well as regionally around New England. She was a member of the Vermont Crafts Council and served on the Council’s board of directors, and she was also a managing member of The Collective gallery in Woodstock.

Diagnosed with metastatic ovarian cancer in the spring of 2022, Andrea endeavored not to battle the disease, but to focus on supporting her own health, which she did until she elected to end lines of treatment after an ischemic stroke in July. She is survived at home by those she held closest, her husband Todd, two dogs, two cats, and two donkeys. 


Her mother resides in Windsor, VT, and her adoptive sister, Polyana Brehmer, and stepmother Ana Maria Olivares Rodriquez reside in Chile. A memorial gathering and show of her art will be planned for the spring of 2026. Donations in her name are welcomed at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science https://vinsweb.org/donate/ and the Henri and Belinda Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies at Mass General Hospital https://www.massgeneral.org/cancer-center/clinical-trials-and-research/termeer-center

An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

Standish Hanks, of Leeds, Massachusetts, died on Sept. 28, 2025, a month shy of his 96th birthday. 

Known to family and friends as Stan, he was born in Wellesley, Mass., on Oct. 23, 1929, the son of Harold S. and L. Pearl (Frost) Hanks. He graduated from Wellesley High School in 1947, attended the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, graduating from the Stratford School of Business Administration in 1951. He married Nancy Ruthe Jewell of Wellesley in 1951. 

Mr. Hanks served in the US Army during the Korean War, entering the service in 1951. After graduating from Officers Candidate School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, he saw combat as an Artillery Forward Observer with the 40th Infantry Division in the Punchbowl and Heartbreak area of Korea. Among his service decorations, he received the United Nations Medal, the Korean Service Medal with two Battle Stars, and a Bronze Star Medal with Combat V. 

After leaving the Service, Mr. Hanks joined Dennison Mfg Co. of Framingham, Mass., in 1955 as a Time study/Methods engineer. Later, he became an Asst. Purchasing Agent and finally retired in 1987 as Manager-Corporate Raw Materials Purchases. While working at Dennison, the Hanks resided in Sudbury, Mass., and spent summers since 1968 at his vacation home in Reading, Vt., prior to making it his permanent residence in 1987. He was active in Reading, Vt. Town affairs, serving as Justice of the Peace, Woodstock Union High School Committee Member, and various town committees. He moved to Yarmouth, Maine, in 2005 and enjoyed most of his remaining years there, close to family, friends, and outdoor pursuits he so loved. 

Mr. Hanks was a lifelong outdoor enthusiast, fly fishing, skiing into his 80s. He was a member of the United States Field Artillery Assn., VFW, and the Korean War Veterans Association. 

He was predeceased by his wife Nancy J. Hanks in 1996. He is survived by a son, Mark S. Hanks of Telluride, CO; two daughters, Diana Hanks of Winooski, Vt., and Martha Hanks Nicoll of New Salem, Mass., three grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. A private service will be held at a later date at the family plot in Woodlawn Cemetery, Wellesley, Mass.. 

Friends wishing to make a memorial donation may send it to a charity of their choice. Drozdal Funeral Home of Northampton, Mass., has been entrusted with his services. For more information or to leave the family a personal condolence, please visit drozdalfuneralhome.com.

Glenn Landry Kelly, born Oct. 2, 1950, in Hartford, Conn., passed away on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, at the age of 74. 

Glenn grew up in Connecticut and always had a passion for family, friends, music, and food. In his early years, he was an accomplished traveling drummer. 

He married his long-time friend Cynthia Robtoy, and the couple moved to Vermont to raise a family in the late ’70s. It was Vermont that brought him closer to his passion of family, friends, and cooking. He learned to cook from master Chef Sepp at the Barnard Inn, then later opened up a successful pizza and grinder establishment, Cindy’s Pizza, located in Woodstock. He was a very talented chef and worked throughout the Woodstock area for many years. He was also the drummer for the great, late Hot Toast. 

Glenn was well-traveled and visited all states except Hawaii. He even spent time in Alaska during some summers cooking at fishing canaries. 

He spent the last 10 years with the love of his life, Jan Cleveland, and together they called Springfield, Mo., home. 

Glenn is survived by his two sons, James Kelly and his wife Kristen Kelly, and Garrett Kelly and his wife Tracy Kelly, and two grandsons, James Thomas Kelly and Luke Howard Kelly, and his nephews Eric and Kevin Naugler. He is also survived by his beloved cousins Linda and Larry and the legendary Auntie Rose. Family was the heart of everything he did. He cherished every trip to Vermont to see his children and grandchildren and went as often as he could. He was a wonderful man and will be remembered fondly by all who knew him.

Harriet Sullivan (nee Harriet Jackson Hilts) passed away peacefully on Sept. 25, 2025. She was born on Nov. 5, 1936 in New York City to Erwin Rumsey Hilts and Harriet Canfield Jackson Hilts. Harriet was the beloved mother to her daughter Anne Cloud of Loudon, Tenn., son James Cloud (Kim) of Reading, Vt., and daughter Michelle Cloud Whiting (Oliver) of Whitefish, Mont.  Her greatest joy were her grandchildren, Danielle Martin, Chelsea Cloud, and Brandon Christopher. 

In her early years, Harriet was an avid tennis player and loved sailing.  Harriet moved to Reading in 1975, where she quickly immersed herself into her small farm. She enjoyed gardening and raising Scottish Highland and Santa Getrudis cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, donkeys, chickens, her dogs, and cats. Her love of animals was shared with her children and grandchildren.

Harriet was very involved in her church, the First Congregational Church of Woodstock, and enjoyed the fellowship of her fellow parishioners. 

She loved travel adventures and thoroughly enjoyed taking long cruises and seeing different parts of the world. 

A memorial service will be held at the First Congregational Church of Woodstock, 36 Elm Street, Woodstock, Vt., on Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please send a donation in Harriet’s name, to your local Volunteer Fire Department or Fast Squad.

An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

You are invited to join a memorial gathering for John Lowell Putnam on Saturday, Oct. 11 at noon. It will be held at South Woodstock Community Church on Route 106 in South Woodstock. Reception to follow at 106 Kendall Road, South Woodstock. RSVP to srputnam@gmail.com or 802-457-8102.

Nancy Fogg Doten passed away peacefully on Sept. 27, 2025 surrounded by loved ones. Nancy lived a full life and will be remembered by her loving and generous heart, her support of her community, and kind and lively spirit.

Nancy was born on May 15, 1933 to Frank and Florence Fogg in Pomfret, and attended Pomfret schools and Hartford High School. In 1950, she went on a blind date with Fred Doten and a year and a half later they were married. Oct. 6, 2025 will be their 74th wedding anniversary. 

Nancy was a loving and supportive wife, mother, and friend. Among other jobs, Nancy worked at Guthrie’s Nursing Home, cooked and cleaned at MIT’s Talbot House in Pomfret, and was the Windsor County Clerk for many years. Nancy and Fred have lived and worked on Elm Grove Farm for the entirety of their marriage.

Nancy enjoyed square dancing and she and Fred were members of the Sugarhouse Swingers. She loved camping in Maine, and attended the Fryeburg Fair for over 30 years. She loved birds, especially owls, and enjoyed sitting on her lawn and watching the animals on the farm. She was also well-known for knitting wonderful socks, which she loved to give away, and sewing beautiful quilts, which hang on their porch.

Nancy was predeceased by her parents, brothers Lawrence, Donald, and sister Margaret, sister-in-law Joan Staples, and by great-granddaughter Isabela. She is survived by husband Fred; brothers Nelson, and Raymond; sisters Eleanor, Katherine, Barbara; brother-in-law John; children Fred (Sandy), Sherry Stubbins (Robert), Michael (Amy), Marie Robinson (James), James (Nancy); seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. 

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Oct. 18, at the Pomfret Town Hall 2-4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Nancy’s memory to the Thompson Senior Center or the Woodstock Food Shelf.

An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

On July 14, 2025, Elana Koren Gilbert (maiden name Read) took her last earthly breaths at her home in Tampa, Fla., surrounded by her husband Justin Gilbert, family, friends and beloved fur babies, after a long and heroic battle with metastatic breast cancer. She was 38 years old.

Born March 24, 1987, in Bennington, Vt. to parents Tom Read and Barbara Kiyuna (Glick), and big sister Meriel, Elana was a force of energy and light from her earliest days until — and beyond — her last. She loved deeply and without reservation, and her electric spirit was undeniably felt by all of those lucky enough to have spent time with her. Her genuine care for the wellbeing of others blanketed those closest to her in palpable love, but her care extended beyond those who were closest to her as she remained a fierce advocate for social justice and a generous empath for all creatures until her last moments on earth.

Elana was a remarkably talented singer and songwriter, discovering a true joy in music at an early age. She studied music at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass., and would go on to perform across the globe at venues small and large – from coffee shops to stadiums to backyard open mics. Her stunning and soulful voice can still be enjoyed on Spotify, YouTube, and Instagram where she posted many creative covers as well as her brilliant original music.

Elana met the love of her life, Justin Gilbert, in Okinawa, Japan in 2010 where he was stationed with the Air Force while she was staying with her mother who also works for the Department of Defense in Okinawa. Elana and Justin were married in Germany on Oct. 13, 2014 and lived in multiple locations together throughout Europe and the United States, ultimately moving to Tampa, Florida in 2019 following her initial cancer diagnosis. Elana and Justin lived with their beloved dogs Sasha (deceased 2023) and Fenrir, and cats Lady (deceased 2022), Triscuits and Cleo. They enjoyed traveling the world together, mountain biking, and off-roading in their Jeep.

Elana was incredibly close with her sister Meriel and her two beloved nieces Ellie (6) and Olivia (5 months), and was an integral part of the girls’ daily lives and upbringing.

Elana was a relentless advocate for social justice, access to quality healthcare, and cancer research and was active with multiple organizations that worked to better the lives of those living with metastatic breast cancer and fund advancements towards a cure. She donated countless hours of her talent and energy, even when she was struggling through brutal treatments herself, and was always ready and eager to be a support system for anyone who needed it.

Elana is survived by her husband Justin Gilbert, her parents Tom Read and Barbara Kiyuna, sister Meriel Lesseig, brother-in-law Ryan Lesseig, nieces Ellie and Olivia Lesseig, parents-in-law Gary and Gabby Gilbert and brother and sister-in-law Patrick and Taelor Gilbert, her beloved furbabies, and countless other dear family members and friends.

While she spent her final years of her life in Florida, Elana always considered herself a true Vermonter and was most at peace in the Green Mountains where she grew up hiking. As such, a memorial celebration of life will be held for Elana in Woodstock in addition to the Florida memorial which took place earlier in September.

Elana’s memorial celebration will take place Oct. 18, 2025, the Little Theater in Woodstock. All who loved Elana are welcome to attend. For more information on the upcoming celebration or share memories or condolences, please visit everloved.com.

Cynthia Cook, age 78, passed Sunday, June 22, 2025. 

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 11 a.m. at the North Parish Church, 190 Academy Road, North Adams, Mass. The Cabot Funeral Home in Woodstock, Vt. is assisting the family. 

Carol Elizabeth Whitney, 67, died on Sept. 19, 2025 at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester, Vt.

Carol was born July 23, 1958 to Mildred (Pulsifer) Whitney and George “Ike” Edgar Whitney in Windsor, Vt.

She graduated from Woodstock Union High School in 1976; from Gordon College with a BA in Mathematics in 1980; and from UVM with a MaEd in 1982.

Carol worked for the South Royalton School District as a math teacher from 1982-1997; Hartford Middle School from 1997-2007; and the Hartford High School from 2007-2017.

She also worked for several years at her second job at The Quechee Gorge Village in Quechee, Vt. She did a five year stint of teaching math at Vermont Adult Learning, and she finished up by working her retirement job at BG’s Marker/3 Corners Market in Hartland.

The Joy, Purpose, and meaning of her life resided in the hands and hearts of the many. Many people whom she got to know and love, and, whose love, in return, made the journey worth every step.

Jesus said: “In this was, everyone will know that you are my disciple: They will know it, if you really love each other” John 13:25

Carol is predeceased by her mother, father, and a sister Helen Anne Whitney. She is survived by a sister Joan (Earle) Mazyck, nieces Kathryn Augusta Byrd and Zoe Whitney Mazyck, and many cousins and close friends.

There will be no calling hours, just a simple graveside service on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 11 a.m. in the Taftsville Cemetery. If you wish to celebrate her life, do it without a party or balloons or fancy catered foods; please open your hearts and your eyes to the desperate people in the dark forgotten corners of this world and love them.

An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

Dennis B. Hackman, 84, of Souderton, Pa. and a former longtime resident of Hartland, died Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. He was the beloved husband of the late Marie (Histand) Hackman, who died May 14, 2023.

Born October 22, 1940 in Quakertown, Pa., he was a son of the late Wilmer and Alice (Borneman) Hackman.

Mr. Hackman was a longtime member of Taftsville Chapel Mennonite Fellowship in Taftsville.  He owned and operated his auto body shop, Indian Spring Auto, in Hartland for 47 years. His hobbies included singing, collecting stamps, and traveling internationally with his wife.

Survivors include his children, Jeffrey T. Hackman of Lansdale, Pa., Glenda Clough (Craig Montgomery) of Waterbury Center, Vt., and Chris S. Hackman (Jill) of Snow Shoe, Pa.; eight grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and his siblings, Steve Hackman (Lois) of Souderton, Pa., Kathryn “Kass” Eckman of Lancaster, Pa., and Ruth Ann Kulp of Atmore, Ala.

He was preceded in death by a brother, David Hackman and a sister, Marilyn Mast.

A Celebration of Life service will be held for Mr. Hackman on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 3 p.m. at Taftsville Chapel Mennonite Fellowship, 121 Happy Valley Rd Taftsville, VT 05073.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Mr. Hackman’s memory to Taftsville Chapel Mennonite Fellowship, P.O. Box 44,Taftsville, VT 05073.

Janice Josephine (Emery) Barron passed away at the age of 85, on Sept.10, 2025 at Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, N.H. 

Janice was born July 16, 1940 in Hanover, N.H., the daughter of Frank Maurice Emery and Genevieve (Koloski) Emery. She was a graduate of Woodstock Union High School class of 1958. 

Janice was born into hardship, and developed a diligent work ethic at an early age. She obtained her first job at age 12 as an elevator operator for the Woodstock Inn, adding to it a second job at age 13 working for the Town Hall Theatre. Following her high school graduation, Janice put herself through the Katharine Gibbs School, completing a two-year program in just one year by doubling up on her work load (and often going without anything to eat).

Shortly after her graduation from Katharine Gibbs, on Sept. 26, 1959, Janice married her high school sweetheart Reginald Barron. As he was enlisted in the navy at the time, Janice and Reg forewent a honeymoon and moved directly to Key West Florida to begin their life together. Janice started her administrative career by securing a job as secretary to the city manager of Key West. Not long after, in March of 1961, they welcomed a daughter Dawn Marie. 

In 1964, Reg was transferred for a shore duty tour, and the family moved to Virginia. Janice was hired to run the office for the city of Fairfax Va. It is here that she made a name for herself and gained the impeccable reputation she both earned, and carried, for herself throughout her life. 

The family had a brief tenure in Mystic, Conn. where the couple welcomed a second daughter, Elizabeth Ann, in 1966. Then in 1969, when Reg was honorably discharged from the navy, the couple moved back to Woodstock to raise their children in the safe spaces of the town they grew up in. 

Janice was the proud owner of the Green Beauty Shop on Central Street in Woodstock, as well as being a licensed real estate broker , operating out of the Green Mountain Opportunities office. Everything she set her mind on doing, she not only accomplished, but she excelled at. 

Eventually Janice felt the calling back to the administrative field, and accepted a position in the law office of Thomas M Debevoise, Debevoise and Lieberman. She became the administrative voice of the Woodstock Foundation, holding a paralegal role for Laurance Rockefeller. 

Janice worked until the age of 65, then retired to enjoy winters at their home in Lake Placid Florida with Reg, their family, and their friends. 

Janice will be remembered for loving fiercely, and having extreme devotion to her family. Being a mother and nana were her favorite things. The void left in the hearts of her loved ones can never be filled. 

Janice was predeceased by her parents, her brother Ralph Emery, sisters Regis Emery Kelly and Lyn Emery Bridge, her daughter Dawn Barron Davis, nieces Barbara Kelly Sundquist and Michelle Kelly Bradley, and nephew Jeffrey Kelly.

She is survived by her husband Reginald Barron of Charlestown, N.H.; daughter Elizabeth Barron Mills of Charlestown, N.H.; nephews Byron Kelly of Woodstock, and Jeremy Perkins of Lebanon, N.H.; nieces Jennifer Tessier of Raleigh, N.C. and Heather St Onge of Plant City, Fla.; grandchildren Richard Davis II (MA), Collin Davis (FL), Autumn Maguire (IL), Cassandra McGee (VT), Mallory King-Childs (VT), Lyndon Oakes (VT), and Arlon Oakes (VT/NH); and great-grandchildren Chayce Gallo, Royce King-Childs, Richard Davis III, Isabelle Davis, and Haven Davis. 

A celebration of life will be held at the White River Junction United Methodist Church (Gates Street, WRJ) on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. 

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made in Janice’s name to Golden Cross Ambulance (5 Lincoln Heights, Claremont NH 03743) or Valley Regional Hospital (Savannah Tyrrell 603-542-3495 or mail your donation to Valley Regional Hospital, Community Engagement, 243 Elm Street, Claremont NH 03743). Both organizations provided selfless care, love, and genuine compassion in Janice’s passing. 

An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

By Dan Cotter, Publisher 

Well, my friends, this is my fourth and final article of our 2025 annual appeal. 

Once again, this year, it’s been a privilege to talk directly with you about the mission we’re on at the Vermont Standard and the difficult challenges we face — to ask if you’ll please consider donating to the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation in support of our efforts to connect our community and keep you informed on issues of public importance.

Today, the main thing I want you to know is that we are proud to work for you.

We know you’re counting on us to be your eyes and ears — filling you in about local government actions that affect you, about local crime, about court cases playing out here, about notable news items and occurrences, the accomplishments of our neighbors and local youth, about developments at our schools, churches, businesses, and charitable or civic organizations, about the happenings and things to do in the local area, and lots more. 

We are the one and only news source that’s entirely focused on our area; reporting news that’s primarily of interest right here. Our work — week in and week out — is entirely dedicated to the welfare of this community. 

That’s the way it’s been here for 172 years. And Phil Camp and I and our small team are now trying to produce a 2025 version of the Vermont Standard that’s the best it has ever been in the paper’s long history.

The Standard is for you. It exists simply to benefit you and your neighbors. We regard this responsibility and the trust you place in us as a badge of honor. We pledge to give it our best. All we’ve got.

As I’ve explained before, the financial pressures we face are intense. And, tragically, various powers that be are trying to exert additional pressure in a sad attempt to undermine the press. By extension, their actions undermine you, the public. That’s nothing new, really, but it’s pretty acute right now. Shame on them.

However, with your donations to keep us afloat, we’re hanging in there, staying strong and getting stronger. We are continuing to work, not only on improving this week’s Vermont Standard, but next month’s and next year’s too, as we attempt to set things up so we can produce high-quality local journalism for the long term. 

We’ll make sure your gift is put to good use as a worthwhile investment in one of the key components of the critical infrastructure that underpins this community.

As a citizen, it’s essential for you to be well-informed. That’s the only way we can have a functioning local democracy and a lively, connected community. As your eyes and ears, we’ll continue to follow the news closely and report it to you in new, better, and more engaging ways as time goes on. 

We hope to make you proud as we strive to do the best community journalism in the country. We believe that’s a realistic goal. This weekend — for the ninth time in the last twelve years — the Standard will once again be a finalist for the honor of being named New England Weekly Newspaper of the Year.

When it comes to journalism, we believe you deserve the absolute best.

We are deeply appreciative of any financial help you can offer in this year’s 2025 annual appeal. In fact, if you’re interested, Phil Camp and I would be very grateful for an opportunity to meet with you in person to talk more about what’s needed and our plans. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at dcotter@thevermontstandard.com or 802-457-1313.

Also — very importantly — if you have a family foundation, please consider adding the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation (EIN: 93-3287932) to the worthwhile causes you regularly support. We’ll be deeply indebted to you.

The Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation is a public charity, so your gift will be fully tax-deductible. 

If you’re willing to make a tax-deductible donation to our 2025 Annual Appeal, please send a check to PO Box 88, Woodstock, VT 05091, or go to our Vermont Standard THIS WEEK website at thevermontstandard.com to make a contribution with your credit card. Be sure to make your check out to the “Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation.” 

By Dan Cotter, Publisher 

Lord knows, there are lots of fascinating people in our community.

At times, it seems as if every person you meet here in the course of a day is even more interesting than the last one. Sometimes, I marvel at how in the world all these wonderful and impressive folks are either from here or ended up here, in this little corner of Vermont.

Of course, I’m lucky. I get to participate in our story planning meetings at the Standard each week to decide who and what we’re going to write about next. Beyond the breaking news, what feature stories should we write – about which people, which organizations, which businesses?

It’s a joy.

There are always plenty of nominations. And then, even though you think you pretty well know who someone is or what an organization does and stands for, our reporter does a deep dive and provides new insight about them or their work or their cause in an account that’s simply breathtaking. Who knew? Right here among us! 

I often refer to the Vermont Standard as a kind of “glue” for our community. It’s a paper everyone can turn to in order to stay informed about the local news — the goings-on, the things to do. Something to look forward to each week to catch up on the latest. A common experience shared by those who live here or care about this place.

But maybe the best part about the Standard is the way it enables us to connect as a community. The way it helps us get to know each other better by introducing us to that really interesting person who lives next door (sometimes literally). And I’ve found that typically the more impressive people are, the less likely they are to talk about themselves. They’re too modest. So, it takes a nosy reporter to get them to tell their full story.

And the same goes for some of the incredible organizations in the area, including charities, nonprofits, schools, churches, arts organizations, libraries, history centers, and many more. They aren’t always focused on touting or telling their story – about what they do, who they help, what they accomplish. Often, they toil away under the radar. But the Standard is eager to bring their story to the public’s attention. We want to shine a spotlight, applaud their work, and make the folks who might decide to join or support them aware of them.

Soon, we’ll be bringing you those kinds of stories on video too, as we roll out our Headliners and Inside Scoop programs this fall.

The bottom line is that living in a community is much more fulfilling for most of us when we get to know more about the ordinary people among us, who are doing some pretty extraordinary things. Reading about them and their aspirations and accomplishments in the Standard is fun, and, on occasion, when those stories also explain their struggles and failures, their resilience and ultimate triumphs, it can be touching to read, inspiring even. 

These stories help us all feel a deeper sense of kinship with the people and organizations in our midst. They connect us and make us feel that we all truly belong to this beautiful community.

As I said, being this glue that strengthens our connection? It’s a joy.

We are deeply appreciative of any financial help you can offer in this year’s 2025 annual appeal. Our effort to preserve quality journalism for our community is quite urgent, my friends. And Phil Camp and I would be very grateful for an opportunity to meet with you to talk more about what’s needed and our plans. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at dcotter@thevermontstandard.com or (802) 457-1313.

Also, if you have a family foundation, please consider adding the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation (EIN: 93-3287932) to the worthwhile causes you regularly support.

The Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation is a public charity so your gift will be fully tax-deductible. 

Your donation will be utilized in the form of project grants to support the Vermont Standard’s mission to inform, connect, and educate our community on issues of public importance. 

If you’re willing to make a tax-deductible donation to our 2025 Annual Appeal, please send a check to PO Box 88, Woodstock, VT 05091, or go to our Vermont Standard THIS WEEK website at www.thevermontstandard.com to make a contribution with your credit card. Be sure to make your check out to the “Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation.” 

By Dan Cotter, Publisher

For the past 15-20 years, most local newspapers have been trying to “do more with less” in an effort to survive. And, of course, since that’s not a good long-term strategy, it has put our industry into a slow death spiral.

America has lost 3,200 of its newspapers in that same period of time, and currently, an average of more than two per week go out of business. Hundreds more papers are on life support, as they try to hang on by cutting staff, cutting pages, cutting the frequency of their publishing days, and eliminating their print editions. In their resulting emaciated state, those papers certainly can’t serve the need for local news and information in their communities.

Those withered newspapers are called “ghost papers,” because they are hollowed out shells of their former selves. Technically, they still exist. They continue to survive. But the communities counting on them? Well, they can no longer really count on them.

The handful of hedge funds and corporate raiders that bought up so many of our nation’s newspapers and ruined them wrote the playbook. In their effort to “rightsize” (meaning to dramatically downsize…) their papers in the face of diminishing advertising revenue, they chopped the expenses. Severely.

For newspapers, the primary expense is paying the people who work there. After many rounds of staff cuts, those papers barely cover any news at all, because they no longer have enough people to do it.

And as many of the small independent papers – like the Standard – encountered those same advertising revenue headwinds, lacking a better plan, they began following the same playbook. Consequently, in their efforts to survive, they now f ind themselves in that same never-ending spiral of cost-cutting.

Also, newspapers in that ragged state aren’t able to do the type of development work required to create a sustainable path for the future. In order to survive beyond just this week or this year, news organizations must create new services and revenue streams that will support them long-term. To do that takes time, thought, experimentation, risk-taking, and perseverance.

The beleaguered staff that’s left at most newspapers today simply lacks the energy for that.

“Doing more with less” (and less, and less…) was originally supposed to be a stopgap measure to buy time for newspapers to get their feet under them so they could forge a path to sustainability. Sadly, though, for most, it’s simply become standard operating procedure.

Fortunately, for our community here, the Vermont Standard has not followed that all too popular “survivor” playbook. We’ve never wanted to preside over a slow death march, just to be able to say we’re still publishing, but, in fact, failing to serve the very real need for local news, information, and connection in this community.

Thanks to your financial support, we’ve been able to go another way. Instead of doing more with less, we realize that we – and all local news organizations, especially in today’s political climate – just need to do more. Much more. And while doing that, we also need to create a sustainable path forward so we can live on to serve this community in even better ways for many more years.

Our efforts to survive are actually just the first step towards our real intention, which is to thrive.

In fact, with your help, we’ve upgraded our staff and improved our publication in recent years. The team we have reporting local news is now stronger than ever. They have a good deal of talent and a whole lot of heart, working for ridiculously low wages at this frugal newspaper, yet fueled by such a worthy mission. At the Standard, we haven’t forgotten why we exist in the first place. We are striving to provide wall-to-wall coverage of a steady stream of complex stories that are of great interest and importance to this community we serve.

We’ve also enhanced the look, feel, and utility of our publications.

And we’ve expanded our digital news and information products – we are doing more and more online programming with them. This fall, we are introducing our new series of “Headliners” interviews with local newsmakers that you’ll be able to view on our Vermont Standard THIS WEEK website. Also, we’re introducing a new show called “Inside Scoop”, which will give you an in-depth, insider look at the goings-on at many of the businesses and organizations that make our community so special.

At the Standard, we are trying to save a real newspaper that offers the powerful local journalism our community needs to function properly. Not a ghost paper. The Standard has to be good enough to get the job done now and survive in the long run. “Right-sizing” here does not mean a diminished publication that’s essentially worthless, as it does in so many communities throughout our nation. Here, it means being just big enough to provide the essential local journalism that contributes mightily to the quality of life in our community, and break even.

That’s the kind of Vermont Standard we are trying so hard to preserve, while setting things up so we can provide the quality local journalism our community needs well into the future.

I sincerely hope you’ll join us on this very important mission.

As we begin this year’s 2025 annual appeal, we are deeply appreciative of any financial help you can give us. Our mission is quite urgent, of course, and Phil Camp and I would be very grateful for an opportunity to meet with you to talk more about what’s needed and our plans. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at dcotter@thevermontstandard.com or (802) 457-1313.

Also, if you have a family foundation, please consider adding the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation (EIN: 933287932) to the worthwhile causes you regularly support.

The Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation is a public charity so your gift will be fully tax-deductible.

Your donation will be utilized in the form of project grants to support the Vermont Standard’s mission to inform, connect, and educate our community on issues of public importance.

If you’re willing to make a tax-deductible donation to our 2025 Annual Appeal, please send a check to PO Box 88, Woodstock, VT 05091, or go to our Vermont Standard THIS WEEK website at thevermontstandard.com to make a contribution with your credit card. Be sure to make your check out to the “Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation.”

By Dan Cotter, publisher

It’s been said that there are very few things in life that you can always count on. But there are indeed a few, and I believe you’re holding one of them in your hands right now (or perhaps reading it on a screen).

For 172 years, the people of Woodstock, Hartland, Pomfret, Barnard, Bridgewater, Reading, West Windsor, Quechee, Plymouth, and the surrounding towns have counted on the Vermont Standard to keep watch on things in order to keep them informed, empowered, and connected. Our columnist, Dave Doubleday, replays some of the top stories of the day that took place 10, 20, 50, 75, or 100 years ago in each installment of his brilliant “Olde Woodstock” feature. It’s amazing and quite reassuring that people here were reading this same paper all those years ago simply to find out what’s happening.

Just as you are today.

All this time, citizens – informed by the Standard — were able to fully participate in their local democracy as our area progressed to the state it’s in today. What a huge responsibility it must have been, and still is today, to produce this newspaper each week. To prepare a quality news report to help readers experience and enjoy day-to-day life here and make good decisions for their community.

It’s the honor of a lifetime to be entrusted with this responsibility. The Standard has a small crew of talented, fair-minded, and underpaid journalists doggedly pursuing their mission week in and week out — trying to produce an interesting local news report that will inform, educate, and entertain the people who live here. It’s a “weekly miracle.” We start with a blank page each Wednesday afternoon, and we work tirelessly to pursue stories and produce the very best finished publication we can by the following Wednesday, so that it will be in your mailbox or at the store for you on Thursday.

In the century and a three-quarters that this paper has existed, this is our time, and our team is attempting to make a proud contribution to its legacy.

Ours certainly isn’t the easiest time to be a journalist in the Standard’s and our community’s history. This is a time of transition, when traditional forms of funding for local journalism have waned. Now, we have not only to strive to produce an excellent news report each week, but we also have to hold our breath that we’ll even be able to stay afloat.

An average of more than two newspapers fold in the U.S. each week (3,200 have vanished in the past twenty years!), leaving their communities without this kind of “glue” – without the common experience of reading in print or online about issues that affect them and their neighbors and a comprehensive set of facts for all to know about what’s happening in their local area each week.

Making matters worse, hundreds of other towns throughout the nation now only have a “ghost newspaper” that is so financially compromised it can barely cover any local news in its meager news product.

Some people – perhaps taking a page from the playbook being used at the national level – might prefer that ours was a weaker, sleepier paper and that they could exert some kind of pressure to compromise the Standard’s coverage.

But they’re mistaken. It hasn’t worked in 172 years, and we won’t let it happen now. Count on it.

We’ve had many complex (and interesting!) local stories to cover just in this past year — news that people here are counting on us to follow and explain. From the Woodstock Foundation lawsuit, to school policy, budget and reorganization issues, to Peace Field Farm, to the water company purchase, to short-term rental ordinances, to the police chief demotion, to the proposed cell phone tower and farm outlet store in Hartland, to the ECFiber case, to the ongoing housing and child care shortages, to the impact of federal funding cuts on local organizations. And we’ve had many milestones and achievements to celebrate, from our football state championship team, to our local priest’s 50^th anniversary of his ordination, to the resurgence of Bookstock, to local artists and authors who released their latest works, to this year’s graduates, to a pair of brothers who achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, to the dedication and resilience shown by those remarkable protesters in Woodstock. Even the announcement of plans for a new performing arts center, and the sighting of low-flying military planes over Woodstock. Those stories aren’t easy or inexpensive to cover, but like the journalists at the Standard who were our predecessors throughout those many, many years, it’s our solemn responsibility to inform the public about the public’s business, the very best we can.

Indeed, we can, primarily because we now have the support of hundreds of residents and readers who truly understand and value what quality local journalism does — and has always done — for our community here. They respond to our annual appeal each year. They keep us afloat. They keep us encouraged. They harden our resolve to try ever harder to serve this community and this local democracy. We count on all of you.

Oftentimes, I’ve asked individual donors, “What can we possibly do to thank you for your generosity?” And, to a person, they always say, “Just keep putting out a darn good newspaper.”

In appreciation for you, our friends, the Standard has only one single objective and guiding light going forward: to keep trying to put out a better and better paper each week in service to this community.

You can count on us.

As we begin this year’s annual appeal, we are deeply appreciative of any financial help you can give us. Our mission is quite urgent, of course, and Phil Camp and I would be very grateful for an opportunity to meet with you to talk more about what’s needed and our plans. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at dcotter@thevermontstandard.com or (802) 457-1313.

We sincerely hope you’ll join us in our mission by contributing to this year’s 2025 annual appeal.

Also, if you have a family foundation, please consider adding the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation (EIN: 93-3287932) to the worthwhile causes you regularly support.

The Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation is a public charity so your gift will be fully tax-deductible.

Your donation will be utilized in the form of project grants to support the Vermont Standard’s mission to inform, connect, and educate our community on issues of public importance.

If you’re willing to make a tax-deductible donation to our 2025 Annual Appeal, please send a check to PO Box 88, Woodstock, VT 05091, or go to our Vermont Standard THIS WEEK website at www.thevermontstandard.com to make a contribution with your credit card. Be sure to make your check out to the “Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation.”

By Dan Cotter, publisher

A huge sigh of relief and a fist pump were my first reactions, as well as a gaze skyward as I mouthed the words “thank you!” The tears welling up in my older friend’s eyes were his response when I told him.

Then we shared a long, hard hug.

After lots of research and preparation, and then six months of waiting for the application to be processed, Phil Camp and I recently learned that the IRS has approved the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation’s application for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) and deemed the Foundation to be a public charity.

The approval wasn’t in much doubt, really. But now it’s official.

The Foundation was established last August and it is primarily dedicated to preserving the Vermont Standard and its role in informing citizens and supporting democracy in our area well into the future. The Foundation has a board made up of local residents who care deeply about our community and the value local journalism provides. Phil and I are on the board too. Together, we’re working to keep the 171-year-old Vermont Standard going while taking steps to position the paper’s print and digital journalism for long-term sustainability.

Recognizing the critical role the Standard plays in informing and connecting our community, this Foundation wants to avoid letting our area become a “news desert,” as has happened in hundreds of other places throughout the US in recent years. Newspapers like the Standard are currently dying off at a pace of 2.5 per week. Nor do we want to end up like the hundreds of cities and towns where profit-seeking corporations that have no devotion to the public welfare have acquired their local paper and stripped it of its resources, to the point that it is only a pathetic shadow of its former self and incapable of doing its job.

Providing accurate, credible, reliable news and information to its audience is a local news organization’s primary role. A functioning democracy requires an informed, engaged public. The Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation’s board members, advisors and friends will help Phil and I in our mission to raise enough money to keep quality journalism flowing here.

So, I’m glad to report that any donation you’ve made to the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation to support the Standard’s mission to inform, connect, and educate our community on issues of public importance is indeed tax-deductible dating back to the inception of the Foundation in late August 2023, as all donations will be going forward.

At 88 years old, Phil feels a real sense of urgency about making sure that our community will always have local journalism – especially given the 40+ years he’s dedicated to leading the paper and his unrivaled love for Woodstock and its surrounding towns. We know we’re in a race against the clock. But now, with the Foundation’s charity status and your tax deduction confirmed, we hope there will be even more support from donors and family foundations that will help us accomplish this very important mission.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your encouragement and generosity. If you would like to contribute to our Annual Appeal, please send us a check at PO Box 88, Woodstock, VT 05091, or go to our Vermont Standard THIS WEEK website at https://thevermontstandard.com/annual-appeal/ to make a contribution with your credit card. Please be sure to make your check out to the “Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation.”

“View From Here”

By Sandy Gilmour, Woodstock resident

If you are reading this column right now, that’s good news for the community. It means you probably paid for this paper, hard copy or online, maybe even made a donation to it, and value its contribution to our lives in Woodstock and surrounding areas. We are so fortunate to have the Vermont Standard week in and week out. For years, small-town dailies and weeklies have been closing their doors, leaving communities without a soul. Papers like the Standard are dying off at the rate of two per week across America. 

Such towns are called “news deserts.” Imagine weeks, months and years going by with no professional reporting on selectboards, trustees, school boards, taxes and roads. Zero stories about public school events, sports, student accomplishments, obituaries, gardening tips, neighborly cooking advice, local history, and no reports from towns from Brownsville to Pomfret. 

We would know next to nothing about the interminable Peace Field Farm restaurant delay, the Ottauquechee Trail head fiasco, the high-stakes Woodstock Foundation controversy and the fatal shooting off Central Street, including the bravery of Woodstock Police Sgt. Joe Swanson. In my view, these stories have been really well reported. 

To not get these stories delivered to us every week would be a news desert right in verdant Woodstock, for sure, a gaping hole left to be filled by rumor and mis- and dis-information, the precursors of community dissolution. So we are blessed indeed to have had the Vermont Standard around — nonstop — since 1853, and owned by beloved Woodstocker Phil Camp, now 87, since 1981. 

But as Mr. Camp has pointed out many times over the years, the paper’s solvency hangs on a thread and now more than ever. In hundreds of towns across America, owners, beleaguered by losing subscribers and advertising to social media, simply folded or sold out to hedge funds and private equity firms, whose investors are bereft of community values. Not Phil Camp. He has always said, “I never sold out. I’m never giving up.” He made up for past deficits (difference between expenses, like staff, and income from subscriptions and ads) out of company savings from better times, week after week. He stayed with it after being flooded out by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 and being burned out by the Central Street fire of 2018 (taking out his camera and snapping photos of the flames and rubble).

The paper was in dire straits when COVID hit, saved by the forgiven federal PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loans through 2021, when the largesse ended. Then beginning in January 2022, the community stepped up, responding to a fundraising appeal. I was rather stunned to learn from the Standard’s publisher, Dan Cotter, that the paper’s annual shortfall of $150,000-$200,000 is being covered by donations from local Woodstock residents. There are many (and appreciated) donations in the $50-$100-$200 range, but really heavy lifting is being done by donors of means who, Mr. Cotter says, highly value the contribution local journalism makes to communities. Several of these more-than-generous and anonymous donors contribute $20-25,000 and more — each — and, Mr. Cotter says, without any hint of trying to influence coverage. Without them, surely there would be no Vermont Standard in the mailbox or online, just the unreliable grapevine. At the same time, the paper is moving to create other revenue streams, including an online advertising app for Woodstock happenings and a magazine, in addition to improving thevermontstandard.com website for go-to news. 

Still, the operation is bare bones. It seems to me a miracle the paper “hits the streets” without fail every Thursday with some pretty good and important stories that we need to know about, and many features that are good to know about. And there are just two, count them, two, full-time staffers who report stories: the seasoned and prolific Tom Ayres, and Tess Hunter, who is also the managing editor. Ms. Hunter says reporter staffing is the big issue; she has on hand freelance contract reporters that can be assigned to stories if they are available and if they want to spend the evening at yet another unexciting if important selectboard meeting. “It’s a constant juggling act,” Ms. Hunter told me, “between finding the right person for the story and just getting people to say ‘yes.’” Still, she is committed, saying, “Without us making the attempt, there would be no common base of understanding and little sense of the community spirit of the area or the hard news happening within it.”

Volunteer contributors are crucial; regular community writers like Jennifer Falvey (insightful musings on life) and Kurt Stauder (pointed political observations) are popular. Mary Lee Camp’s business column is relentlessly informative. 

Other key staff are listed in the box below — lean and spare!

Publisher and editorial content director Dan Cotter, 64, hired by Mr. Camp in 2018 after years of informal consulting for the Standard, is not a household name in Woodstock, though he is hands-on every issue. He owns a condo in the area and is here about half the month, returning to his home and wife in Chicago for the remainder. He has decades in the industry as an executive and consultant, was head of the New England Newspaper and Press Association, and takes a no-nonsense hard line on newspaper independence and objectivity. It’s an unusual situation but Mr. Camp, still the president of the company, has total confidence in Mr. Cotter and has turned over the Vermont Standard, its operation, assets and its future, to his close friend. Mr. Camp has indeed not “given up,” but hopes to ensure his dear newspaper’s future with this arrangement. 

So where does the Standard go now? Around the country, journalists are reinventing newspapers and online reporting. The most promising seems to be the non-profit model, where deductible contributions from community-minded supporters can be made even as the publication accepts subscription fees and what advertising there is left. There are indications that the Standard is moving in this direction, and the sooner the better, in my view. When I pressed Publisher Cotter on the issue, he responded with this very encouraging comment: 

“In the past couple of years, members of the community have literally kept the Standard alive with their donations — and a handful of them have given very substantial sums, even without the benefit of a tax break. That’s how much they value the role our local journalism plays in the quality of life in our area. We are working now to put the paper on a path to where donors could indeed have a tax benefit. For it is essential to our democracy and our own survival that we have the financial support we need from the community to maintain a news organization — modest as it is — that’s capable of producing good local journalism that adequately informs our citizens.”

I can’t imagine Woodstock without the Vermont Standard. The new business model provides great hope the paper will not only survive but as a Woodstock-based non-profit, continue to expand coverage to benefit all of us in this great community. 

Note: This (unpaid) column originated with me alone! 

Sandy Gilmour is a retired NBC News correspondent who lives in Woodstock.

Throughout the country newspapers are in a fight for their lives.          Here too.

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