Windsor deputy named police chief in Weathersfield

The town of Weathersfield has a new chief for its new police department. Craig Watrous Jr., most recently a patrol corporal with the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department, took the oath of office Tuesday evening as the leader of the newly rebuilt town police department. He started on the road Wednesday. His father Craig Watrous Sr., a longtime Vermont police officer, …

Blake Hill Preserves clarifies its status

By Tom Ayres, Senior Staff Writer The co-founder, owner, and executive chef of Blake Hill Preserves last Friday dismissed social media speculation that the award-winning specialty food producer shuttered its doors in March.  The manufacturer of sweet, spicy, and savory jams and preserves, currently based in a recently enlarged facility at Artisans Park in Windsor, has been producing and distributing …

Vermont Principals’ Association and its executive director agree to pay Mid Vermont Christian School $566,000

By Mike Donoghue, Senior Correspondent The Vermont Principals’ Association and its executive director, Jay Nichols, have agreed to pay $566,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees to partially settle a religious discrimination civil lawsuit brought by the Mid Vermont Christian School. Mid Vermont Christian, located in Quechee, and one of its families filed the lawsuit against state education leaders in 2023 …

Peace Field on-farm restaurant clears final hurdle in permitting process

The nearly five-year-long regulatory and legal battle over a proposed restaurant at Peace Field Farm on Pomfret Road in Woodstock has come to an end with a whimper rather than a bang, with the opening date of the long-awaited “farm-to-fork” eatery still uncertain. Judge Thomas Walsh of the Vermont Superior Court, Environmental Division — commonly known as the Environmental Court …

Two administrators are departing MVSU

Two senior administrators in the central office of the Mountain Views Supervisory Union (MVSU) will leave their posts at the end of the current school year. MVSU director of finance and operations James Fenn is retiring from his full-time position with the school district effective July 3. Fenn told the Standard in a phone conversation last month that he expects …

Woodstock says Swanson resigned — moves to hire new officer

While embattled Woodstock Police Chief Joe Swanson and the Village of Woodstock continue the legal fight over his removal, the municipality is apparently moving forward with hiring a new officer for the police department. In a series of e-mail exchanges Burlington attorney John Klesch, on behalf of Woodstock and its Municipal Manager Eric Duffy, believes Swanson has abandoned his police …

Laura Powell resigns from Woodstock Selectboard

On Tuesday, May 5, Woodstock Selectboard vice chair Laura Powell tendered her resignation to the Woodstock municipal manager, effective May 11. In an email correspondence with the Standard, Powell said, “I am looking forward to engaging with our community in a different way around the causes I care about, like housing and voter education.” Following this announcement, the Standard spoke …