A Killington home was broken into Monday at 3 p.m.

Police are looking for someone who stole copper piping, a Nintendo Wii, a DVD player, a blender, a remote control car and some toiletries from a home on River Road.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Vermont State Police at Rutland, 802-773-9101. Information can also be submitted anonymously online at www.vtips.info or text “CRIMES” (274637) to Keyword:  VTIPS.

Vermont State Police responded to a report of a burglary Monday at Thundering Brook Road in Killington. An investigation determined that a break-in took place at a private residence sometime between April 12 and April 14.
Anyone with information regarding the incidence is asked to call the Vermont State Police at (802) 773-9101 or to submit an anonymous tip text “CRIMES” to keyword “VTIPS.”

Authorities are now reporting at least 134 injured and two dead in this afternoon’s two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. One of those dead was an eight-year-old child, according to CNN.
Race organizers issued the following statement this evening:
“The Boston Athletic Association extends its deepest sympathies to all those who were affected in any way by todays events.
Today is a sad day for the City of Boston, for the running community, and for all those who were here to enjoy the 117th running of the Boston Marathon. What was intended to be a day of joy …and celebration quickly became a day in which running a marathon was of little importance.
We can confirm that all of the remaining runners who were out on the course when the tragic events unfolded have been returned to a community meeting area….we would like to thank the countless people from around the world who have reached out to support us today.”

Vermont State Police from Rutland responded to a report of a burglary East Mountain Road Wednesday. Police spoke with the resident and determined that entry was made into the home and jewelry, money and safe were missing.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Vermont State Police at Rutland Barracks at (802) 773-9101. Information can also be submitted anonymously online at www.vtips.info or text “CRIMES” (274637) to Keyword: VTIPS.

By Tony Marquis, Standard Staff 

On Sunday April 7, a benefit for Elles will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. at The Foundry at Summit Pond. There will be hors d’oeurves, music, a silent auction and prizes, all to help raise money for Elles’ medical bills.

KILLINGTON — When Max Elles came to, he was stuck — half-buried in the snow. He could feel his hands, but not his legs. His mind was fuzzy.

It wasn’t an avalanche, but he had read somewhere that when people get stuck in an avalanche — when they’ve gone tumbling down the slopes — they get so disoriented they can’t tell which way is up. So to reorient themselves, he read, a person can drool to find out. So Max drooled. He knew he was upside down.

For the next 30 minutes, Elles lay there, tangled up. The first thoughts entered his mind.

I will never be able to snowboard again. Then: I can still use my hands. I can still make stickers. 

The 20-year-old Killington native started a hobby prior to his snowboarding accident in December, making extra money by selling die cut stickers. A future of sticker-making was enough motivation for him. He dug a space around his face so he could breathe short breaths, staying calm until one of his friends or someone from Killington Resort’s Ski Patrol could dig him out of the snow and carry him away on a backboard.

“I never thought about not getting better,” Elles said.

‘Back Into The Nightmare’

Elles, a Woodstock Union High School graduate, remembers most of the crash which busted one of the lower vertebrae in his back. He was on one of Killington Resort’s steepest runs, Ovation, when he landed on a water bar on a flat portion of the run and tumbled several times in the snow. What’s a blur is the month that followed in the hospital.

In between surgeries, not knowing whether he’d walk again, Elles was woken up every hour, to have his IV changed or to have five nurses stabilize his back as they moved him. His legs felt numb.

“It’s not like a regular sensation,” Elles said. “You kind of feel the energy there and it’s just like tingling. But if you grabbed my toe with vise grips, I wouldn’t have felt it.”

He barely slept and when he did, he was haunted by a recurring nightmare, triggered by his compression boots, which sent jets of air every 15 seconds from his toe to his calf to encourage blood flow.

“They were really hot, as that cycle would go through, that would kind of like, set off the seizure in my dream,” Elles said. “I would actually wake up and be able to look around the hospital room and see who was there, my girlfriend, my brother or mom and dad, and it would click back on and I would instantly fall asleep.”

Eventually Elles trained himself to deal with the dreams.

“It got to the point where I could say, ‘OK, I know I’m going to go back into this thing’ and I could kind of prepare myself to go back into the nightmare,” Elles said.

Eventually, the boots came off and Elles got some sleep. The surgeries to rebuild his vertebrae were successful and slowly he regained feeling in his toes.

‘He’s Already Progressing Really Fast’

At Wayne’s World Elite Fitness Training, a gym in the Upper Valley, Elles describes the lack of feeling in his right leg, but he’s just finished an hour-long strength-training session with the gym’s owner, Wayne Burwell.

Though it happened just three months ago, Elles has made a remarkable recovery. He has no trouble walking. He is doing assisted deep lunges and squats, trying to strengthen his muscles enough to get back to his sport before the season ends.

“I’d like to go snowboarding in May — my mom isn’t too thrilled about that,” Elles said.

His trainer has set some stipulations. Burwell wants Elles to be able to jump and land without help. Elles isn’t there yet.

“He’s already progressing really fast,” Burwell said. “I know how hard he wants to work, I’m just trying to get him back into his sport. Max lost what he loves and he wants to get it back so bad.”

Elles works out almost every day. When he’s not at the Pico Sports Center, he’s at a physical therapist at Mt. Ascutney Hospital or at Wayne’s World, where he started working with Burwell three weeks ago.

But he just started driving himself to the gym two weeks ago.

Elles’ parents, Bill and Coral Elles, own the First Stop Ski Shop and The Board Barn in Killington. It’s a family of skiers and snowboarders.

“I’m not apprehensive about him snowboarding — it’s just how soon he snowboards,” Coral said.

Coral said she wasn’t surprised how committed her son has been to get back to his sport.

“He’s always pushed himself,” Coral said. “When his focus has been on a certain project or goal, he generally accomplishes it.”

Coral also credits the surgeons, nurses and physical therapists with helping her son recover. Elles also had support from High Fives, a nonprofit organization which helps injured winter sports athletes. High Fives is paying for Elles’ sessions with Burwell along with acupuncture and massage therapy.

On Sunday April 7, a benefit for Elles will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. at The Foundry at Summit Pond. There will be hors d’oeurves, music, a silent auction and prizes, all to help raise money for Elles’ medical bills.

“It’s been helpful to have the support,” Elles said. “At Dartmouth, you could see that a lot of the other patients didn’t have that — they didn’t have as much support, as many people looking after them, so they weren’t getting that positive energy from so many people.”

Max Elles works out with trainer Wayne Burwell. (Rick Russell Photos)

Registration has begun for the annual Killington Stage Race, which runs the weekend of May 25-27.The race, which attracts more than 600 cyclists a year, is actually a series of three races.
Killington Town Manager Seth Webb said in a release that “The Stage Race is a spectacular cycling event that brings great crowds and a competitive spirit to town during a holiday weekend that used to be considered the off-season. It is a fantastic way to kick off the summer tourism season and showcase our region.”
To register for the race, go to www.killingtonstagerace.com.

Thursday at just after 4 p.m. a Brooklyn, NY man was guided into Mendon by the Killington Ski Patrol after intentionally skiing out-of-bounds at the Killington Ski Resort.
Timothy J. Brodhagen, 36, did not have any injuries.

The town of Killington’s Golf Course Advisory Committee, formed in August of last year, has announced its first capital improvement plan.
The committee, made up for residents Leo Davin, Mary Furlong, Ken Lee and Peter Metzler, along with town manager Seth Webb, is meant to advise Killington’s Town Manager, the Green Mountain National Golf Course general manager, and the town’s Board of Selectmen, and meets once a month.
The five-year plan can be obtained at the town’s web site at killingtontown.com as well as in the town report.

Free Family Snowshoe Along Ottauquechee
Sun, March 3, 1pm – 3pm
Meet behind the Church of our Savior, Killington – 802-672-3179
Free Family Snowshoe Along Ottauquechee March 3, Sunday 1-3 – Church of our Savior, Killington Free family snowshoe; all ages welcome. Equipment provided if needed. A guided snowshoe on the mountainside trails behind the church or on flatter terrain along the Ottauquechee River. Learn about the winter environment. Healthy snacks and refreshments will be served following the outing. Alternate date if inclement weather: March 4th, 1-3 PM. Contact: Betsy Tonkin for further information 802-672-3179.

Vermont Adaptive Partners and US Association of Blind Athletes hosting their winter ski festival at Pico, Saturday and Sunday.
Gwen Stanley Photos

Pick up a copy of the February 14, 2013 to read the story.

A portion of these photo first appeared in the February 14, 2013 print edition of the Vermont Standard.

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Killington has signed a contract to sponsor the Killington Stage race for three more years.
The race will be held on Memorial Day weekend — May 25-27. The cost to sponsor the race this year is $25,000. To register for the race, visit www.killingtonstagerace.com.

It’s a busy day for local ski areas as people enjoy the foot of snow Nemo dumped on our region yesterday.

Gondola riders traverse the mountain at the Skyeship Lodge at Bear Mountain.

Skiers take a break and warm up around the fire at Pico in Killington.

A Pico Employee rides a snowmobile near the bottom of the mountain.
Gwen Stanley Photos

An Essex Junction woman was arrested Sunday morning in Killington for violating conditions of her release, according to state police.
Logan Lafferty, 21, was arrested for consuming alcohol and violating curfew stemming from an October arrest.
Police say Lafferty was knocking on doors, asking homeowners near Trail View Drive to let her in “because it was cold out.”
Lafferty, who was traveling in a taxi, violated her 6 p.m. curfew, according to police, and was taken to Marble Valley Correctional Center.
According to reports, Lafferty was arrested in October of 2012 for driving drunk and damaging 10 vehicles in a parking lot.

A one-vehicle crash in Killngton sent Vermont State Police to the scene Sunday where a commercial tractor-trailer unit went off the road when traveling in the westbound lane. Police say the vehicle traveled about 300 feet before hitting an embankment. Lewis Bullock, 43, of Slippery Rock, Penn. was issued a Vermont Civil Violation Complaint for failing to maintain proper lane position.

Killington Selectboard members are expected to discuss the possibility of a move away from a constable-based police force to an official Police Department at their meeting tonight at 7:30. Killington Constable Whit Montgomery last week presented a proposal to the board in which suggests the town Police Department, in part because of the swelling population in town during ski season. See a story in this week’s Standard for more.

Woodstock Police are investigating a case of vandalism that they say took place sometime before Saturday morning. Two school buses leased to Woodstock Union Middle and High School were found to have been marked with graffiti that included profanities and the words “Keep Danner,” which may refer to math teacher Erin Danner, whose job was one of several positions recently eliminated at the high school.
Police Chief Robbie Blish said Monday morning that the graffiti was removed after police took photographs and that an investigation is ongoing.
The school leases the buses from Butler’s Bus Service.

Vermont State Police reported a single vehicle rollover early Saturday morning near Pico Pond Road in Killington. Stephen Chicarello of Mass. was determined to be driving too fast for road conditions, after his car rolled over to its side in the westbound lane of Route 4. Chicarello was not injured. The roads were snowy at the time.

A meeting of the Killington Planning Commission will be hosted Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the town office on River Road.
A presentation will be given by by Lucy Gibson project manager with Dubois and King, who will discuss design alternatives for improvements to Killington Road. The public is encouraged to join the discussion. For more information, call Seth Webb at (802) 422-3241.

KILLINGTON — A memorial internment will be announced and held at a later date in the Riverside Cemetery in Killington for Betty C. Merrill, 89, who died Jan. 13 at the Rutland Regional Medical Center following a brief illness. At her request, there will be no calling hours or funeral service.
She was born Nov. 1, 1923, the daughter of William and Viola Cady.
She attended schools in Rutland, Cleveland, Ohio, and New London, Conn.
She married Harold D. Merrill on Aug. 29, 1943 in Sherburne.
She was an employee of the Killington Ski area for more than 40 years, most of which was on the switchboard, where she became known as the “Voice of Killington.”
Survivors include two daughters, Melanie J. Merrill and Patricia Barnes; a son, Michael D. Merrill; a brother Wilfred L. Cady; several grandchildren; great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her husband; her parents; two daughters, Nancy M. Kallahan and Kathleen A. Hubbard; and two brothers, William S. Cady Jr. and Robert G. Cady.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be bade to a charity of one’s choice.
Arrangements are by the Aldous Funeral Home.
This obituary first appeared in the January 17, 2013 print edition of the Vermont Standard.

To see more obituaries click here.

State Police reported yesterday at about 4:05 p.m. James Rapitzky, 18 of Saratoga, New York skied out of bounds and was lost for about 40 minutes. Rapitzky said he was on the Summit Glades and became lost, but that he did see some out of bounds signs.

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