Barton, VT

by Joseph Gresser NEWPORT — North Country Union High School’s Falcons played four quarters of essentially flawless football on October 29.  The team had no turnovers, and only one penalty called against it as it soundly defeated the Green Knights of Rice Memorial High School by a score of 35-6. The win, in a Division 2 quarterfinal match-up, sends North Country to the semifinals, where they will face Colchester High School Friday night.  The Lakers sit atop division rankings with […]

by Gabrielle Gervais WESTMORE — At the select board meeting here Monday evening, the board continued discussing whether to move forward with installing a new electric pole at North Beach, and Treasurer John Zimmer provided updates on potential grants to cover scoping and engineering studies for speed control and safety improvements there.  Resident Kelly Anderson was also present to encourage select board members to participate in future Act 250 hearings, using excerpts from the town plan to

Joyce Ellen Poginy   Joyce Ellen Poginy, 85, of Newport, died on October 27, 2026, in Newport.  She was born on December 15, 1940, in Newport Center to Adelor and Ila (Moore) Poginy. During her early years, she worked at Selbar Weaving in Newport and at a factory in Connecticut. In later years she became a caregiver, first in Jacksonville, Florida, where she found her way to client’s homes without GPS. She moved back to the area and continued working […]

by Gabrielle Gervais  DERBY LINE — Ah, coincidences.  Some feel serendipitous; others feel like a cruel joke from the universe.  In Two Tents, Stanstead-based writer and director Ross Murray leans into the latter.  At a campsite, aptly named Painted Scenery Campground, Mel (Sarah Hardin) and her husband, Jim (Mic Hallinan), just so happen to set up their tent next to her long-ago ex, Dale (Benj Tabah), and his much younger girlfriend, Nancy (Holly Lillis).  As the weekend progresses, secr

by Gabrielle Gervais In conjunction with an art show and spaghetti dinner, the Lake Region Union High School Music Department put on its annual Modern Band concert on Friday evening. As usual, the talented cohort truly rocked — with musical tributes to late legends Dolly Parton and Ozzy Osbourne, and impressive original songs that Lake Region’s first audio engineering students performed. Lake Region Music Director Sara Doncaster supervised the show alongside her nephew, Modern Band instructo

by Joseph Gresser NEWPORT — Ezra Foss, 28, of Morgan pled innocent to felony charges of first-degree aggravated domestic assault and first-degree aggravated domestic assault with a weapon, as well as three charges of reckless endangerment.  Judge Justin Jiron, one of several judges who presided in the Criminal Division of Orleans County Superior Court while Judge Bonnie Badgewick was overseeing a jury trial, ordered Mr. Foss to be held without bail. According to the affidavit filed by Newport

by Joseph Gresser Ethan Allen Interiors shareholders meet on November 4 for the company’s annual meeting and shareholders are being asked by activist investor Doug G. Bergeron to oust the current board and replace all five members with his nominees.  While the meeting will be held in Danbury, Connecticut, most of the votes, known as proxies, will be cast ahead of time by what amounts to absentee balloting. Mr. Bergeron launched his campaign to take over the furniture company, which […]

William “Bill” Charles Riegel    William “Bill” Charles Riegel died on October 15, 2026, at 85 years old.  Bill passed peacefully, surrounded by family in Greenville, South Carolina. Born in Newport, Bill was one of nine children in a close-knit family. A lifelong educator, he rose from a Windsor math teacher to a highly decorated principal of Waterbury Elementary School and superintendent of the Washington West Supervisory Union. He was a visionary leader who help

by Joseph Gresser NEWPORT — Despite concerns expressed by Northeast Kingdom residents at hearings held to discuss it, the board of the Northeast Vermont Development Association (NVDA) approved the organization’s regional plan.  The board met at Le Belvedere on October 15 for the organization’s annual meeting, not long after the third hearing on the plan. While the NVDA has created numerous regional plans over the years, this year’s version drew special attention because it was drafted t

by Joseph Gresser BARTON—What is the job of lieutenant governor?  According to Vermont’s Constitution, the person who holds the office acts as the head of the executive branch when the Governor is out of the state, or that office is vacant.  The lieutenant governor also is the president of the state Senate. Other than when fulfilling those obligations, the lieutenant governor has a sizeable amount of free time.  When Lieutenant Governor John Rodgers visited the Chronicle on October 16, we