By Mike Donoghue, Senior Correspondent

Embattled Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer checked himself into the Veterans Administration Medical Center in White River Junction this week, according to people following his legal and work issues.

The move came as Palmer is under fire on several fronts recently, including in Vermont Superior Court, where he denied seven criminal charges last week.

The reason for the hospitalization was unclear, according to those who had been told about it, but asked for confidentiality when speaking to the Vermont Standard.  Palmer has publicly mentioned back problems in the past.

Veteran defense lawyer Dan Sedon of Chelsea, who represents Palmer, declined to comment on the hospitalization report.

Palmer has been under considerable pressure in recent weeks, and the Vermont Criminal Justice Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to temporarily strip the first-term county sheriff of his law enforcement certification.

The motion by the council came one day after the Windsor County legislative delegation sent a letter to Palmer, a Democrat, asking him to let others take control of his department until his case is resolved.

The letter, which was shared with the Vermont Standard, stopped short of asking for Palmer’s resignation. Governor Scott, however, during his weekly press conference, said the Sheriff should step down.

Palmer and Sedon, before the council meeting, said they did not object to the proposed action, according to Chris Perkett, the legal counsel for the council.

Sedon confirmed Palmer was willing to step back from his police work, but not resign.

Further impacting Palmer’s ability to do police work was a judge ordering the sheriff, during his arraignment, to refrain from possessing any firearms while his criminal charges are pending.

Palmer has said in writing, in media interviews, and during a department meeting last week that he has designated former longtime Chief Deputy Sheriff Claude Weyant to oversee the department while he focuses on his legal issues.

Palmer said his two lieutenants, Andy Leonard and Rick King, also would help Weyant.

Weyant told the Vermont Standard on Wednesday the sheriff’s department continues to do its regular duties “each and every day.”

He said prisoners are being transported, court papers are being served, security is being maintained at the courthouses, and the patrol contracts with local towns are being fulfilled by qualified deputy sheriffs.

The civilian staff at the sheriff’s office in Woodstock also continues to complete its work each day, said Weyant, who was chief deputy for 20 years and has 40 years of police experience.

He said the sheriff’s department operated properly when Palmer was gone for three months last year to a police management school in Kentucky.

“It’s busy as usual,” said Weyant, a former high school wrestling coach.

Sedon said Thursday it was his understanding that the sheriff’s department is “meeting all its duties.”

Sedon urged anybody with questions to call the sheriff’s office.

Palmer also has found himself attracting national media attention, including a story in People Magazine with a sensational, but questionable headline.  The heading said in part, “Vt. Sheriff Allegedly Stalked Sex Workers After They Stopped Seeing Him.”

Officials tell the Vermont Standard there is no evidence that any of the four women in the criminal cases were or are sex workers. “We have no information that the women were involved in anything like this with anybody else,” said Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. David Robillard, the lead investigator in the case.

Sedon concurred.

The investigation into Palmer began as an inquiry into possible financial questions about his office, but soon began to focus on his relationships with four women, some of which were sexual, state police have said.

Palmer is free on court conditions, including that he have no contact and stay away from the four women.

The $5 million civil lawsuit filed against the Village of Woodstock and some local officials, including municipal manager Eric Duffy, trustee chair Seton McIlroy and Interim Police Chief Chris O’Keeffe has been given the green light by a judge to resume.

Vermont Superior Court Judge Kerry Ann McDonald-Cady agreed this week to lift a stay imposed Aug. 27, 2025 in the civil lawsuit initially filed by Woodstock Police Chief Joe Swanson.

Swanson filed the $5 million lawsuit after he claimed he was improperly demoted by Duffy — a move supported by the five village trustees following a 14 1/2 hour marathon hearing in April.

Judge H. Dickson Corbett had agreed to put the civil lawsuit on hold while the Vermont Superior Court resolved a separate legal action over whether the demotion down to patrol officer — the lowest rank in the department — was proper. It wasn’t, Corbett ruled.

The demotion appeal, known as a Rule 75 hearing, was decided by Corbett in Swanson’s favor.

“Since the stay was issued, the Court issued a decision in the companion case. On December 2, 2025, the Court held that the Village of Woodstock’s decision to demote Plaintiff from police chief to a lower rank within the police department was incorrect as it did not apply the correct legal standard of finding cause before removing a police chief from office,” McDonald-Cady said in her ruling this week.

“The Court reversed the Village’s decision and remanded the case back for the Village to hold a new hearing,” she wrote.

It is unclear when the Village of Woodstock will have the new demotion hearing. 

Chief Swanson, who is on paid administrative leave, had major back surgery in December and is still in rehabilitation.

His lawyer, Linda Fraas, has said Swanson would be unable to go through another marathon session and that multiple days would likely be needed. 

Duffy did not respond to the Vermont Standard this week seeking comment on the latest court ruling. 

Burlington attorney John Klesh, who had represented Duffy during the initial demotion hearing, also did not respond. 

Since the court issued its decision in the rule 75 hearing, Duffy has said he now wants to consider dismissing Swanson from the department.

Fraas told the Vermont Standard this week that she would like to start discovery immediately.

She said she hopes that some deposition — question and answer sessions under oath- can begin the week of Feb. 23.

Barnard’s 2026 annual Town Meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 3, at 10 a.m., at the Barnard Town Hall. All of the articles up for decision will be determined by floor vote.

The meeting will open with a vote for a new town moderator. After 38 years, current moderator Paul Doton will be stepping down. 

Doton said that while no one has announced their intention to run for town moderator, one person has unofficially expressed interest. Since there is no Australian ballot in Barnard’s local government, Doton said there may be other people who are nominated on the floor of the meeting.

Article 3 asks voters to elect the following officers at the meeting: town clerk (3-year term), one selectboard member  to complete Bob Edmunds’s term (1 year), one selectboard member (3 years), treasurer (3 years), delinquent tax collector (1 year), auditor (3 years), auditor  to finish Tom Morse’s term (2 years), first constable (1 year), second constable (1 year), trustee of public funds (3 years), library trustee  to finish Susan McNulty’s term (2 years), library trustee (5 years), cemetery commissioner (5 years), and “all officers as made necessary by law,” according to the town meeting warning.

According to Barnard Selectboard assistant, town administrator, and zoning administrator Kassie Hull, current Selectboard member Kurt Lessard intends to run, “to be elected to fill the remainder of the term” that he filled upon Edmund’s death last year. 

For the other selectboard seat, incumbent Webster will run for reelection. 

Article 7 asks voters to approve a FY27 highway budget of $1,781,820.54, of which the amount of $1,633, 693.13 would be raised by taxes; as well as a general budget of $1,068,640.47, of which the amount of $763,725.47 would be raised by taxes. The budgets represent a 1.19% increase and a 4.17% decrease over last year, respectively.

For more on this, please see our Feb. 5 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Hartland voters will weigh the fate of a general and highway fund budget totaling $4,267,693 in a floor vote at Town Meeting on Tuesday, March 3. The fiscal year 2027 budget proposed by the Hartland Selectboard calls for $3,238,683 to be raised from taxes. That represents a 6.5% increase in taxes over the budget for FY2026 okayed by voters at the 2025 Town Meeting last March.

Voters will also be asked to consider authorizing the expenditure of up to $50,000 from the town’s capital reserve fund for the demolition of the former North Hartland School building on Mill Street.

The budget and demolition votes will be the most significant of the seven articles to be voted upon from the floor at the annual Town Meeting, which will get underway at 9 a.m. on March 3 at Damon Hall at 1 Quechee Road in Hartland.

An eighth article, entailing the election of five town officers for terms ranging from one to three years, will be decided by Australian ballot, with polling at Damon Hall commencing at 7 a.m. on Town Meeting Day and concluding at 7 p.m.

There are no contested races for the five municipal offices up for election, with incumbents seeking to return to all of the posts. Hobbie is running unopposed for another two-year seat on the selectboard, while selectperson Jim Reilly is seeking reelection to a three-year term on the board. Veteran incumbent Matt Dunne is seeking to retain the concurrent offices of town and school moderator, while current Hartland Public Library trustees Harriet Dumas and Alison Marchione are each running to return to three-year slots on the library’s governing board.

For more on this, please see our Feb. 5 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

The Vermont Senate approved Michael P. Drescher and Christina E. Nolan on Tuesday to serve as associate justices for the Vermont Supreme Court.

Lt. Gov. John Rodgers ended up breaking a 15-15 senate vote for Drescher, 60, of Hinesburg to win his seat.

The Drescher vote was along party lines except two senators from Bennington County, both Democrats, who joined the 13 Republicans in the senate to help cause the tie.

Sens. Rob Plunkett and Seth Bongartz are two of the three lawyers in the Vermont senate and both said they had wanted to vote no initially, but after a full and fair review, reading court records and interviewing Drescher, they each realized he was the proper pick.

Plunkett and Bongartz had been under pressure in recent days to vote with their party, some senators said. The arm-twisting continued into Tuesday morning as the senate convened.

Sens. Plunkett and Bongartz, who have both been lawyers for about 20 years or more, explained during floor debate that they believed Drescher did the job expected of him when, as Acting U.S. Attorney for Vermont, he was thrown into defending two unrelated immigration cases last spring. They involved Mohsen Mahdawi of Windsor County and Rumeysa Ozturk.

Bongartz offered what he said was apparently an untold example of Drescher’s ability to do the right thing in one of the immigration cases. After a federal judge in Vermont ordered Ozturk freed from a Louisiana prison, officials there tried to attach an electronic ankle monitoring bracelet on her. An ACLU lawyer called Drescher to complain and instead of ignoring the situation, he told him to stay on the line while he got the federal judge on the phone, Bongartz said. Drescher asked the judge to issue a written order making it clear the federal officials in Louisiana needed to release Ozturk with no monitoring. She was immediately freed.

“He is exactly what we need,” Bongartz said about Drescher.

After the senate vote, Drescher, a former longtime assistant U.S. Attorney for Vermont, said he appreciated the support he received and will work hard to prove his nomination was worthy.

“I am deeply grateful for the trust both the Governor and the Senate have placed in me, and I am honored to join the men and women of Vermont’s judiciary,” he told the Standard.

Nolan, who was approved 23-7, is a former assistant U.S. Attorney and was later named by President Donald Trump in his first term to head the office (2017-2021).

The seven votes against Nolan were all from Democrats and included the full Windsor County delegation of Sens. Alison Clarkson, Joe Major, and Becca White. Also rejecting Nolan were Sens. Martine Larocque Gulick and Ginny Lyons from Chittenden County. Democrat/Progressive Sens. Andrew Perchlik and Ann Watson of Washington County rounded out the opposition.

Sens. Clarkson and White said they were very disappointed with the outcome of the votes.

“I’m profoundly disappointed,” Clarkson told the Vermont Standard.

Clarkson said she believes Nolan is overwhelmingly conservative based on her record. The senator said she fears the court will move to the right with the two new justices.

While not mentioned on the Senate floor, White told the Vermont Standard she also was not satisfied with the answers from Drescher and Nolan about using the death penalty.

White said the votes are disappointing to her district.

White called it a “shocking twist” that the vote ended in a tie for Drescher and that Rodgers had to break the stalemate. She said the vote by Rodgers was “distasteful.”

Clarkson said she believes Drescher “lacks the moral courage” to make the right decisions. She said dozens have resigned instead of defending the Trump administration.

Rodgers said after the vote that he also respects the hard work and research by the Vermont Judicial Nominating Board. After his own research, Rodgers told the Standard he knew he should vote for Drescher. 

Drescher and Nolan will replace retiring Associate Justices Karen Carroll, 62, of Vernon and William Cohen, 68, of Rutland.

Gov. Phil Scott was pleased that both his nominations were approved.

“I want to commend each senator who had the courage to put Vermonters before politics today. And, I believe the newly appointed Supreme Court Justices will act with that same courage to uphold those Vermont values. Michael Drescher and Christina Nolan are exemplary public servants and will continue to serve our state well,” Scott said.

For more on this, please see our Feb. 5 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Woodstock area clergy members, alarmed by ICE agents’ tactics in cities across the nation, including the killing of two American citizens in Minneapolis, are planning a community-wide event on Saturday.

Members of the Woodstock Area Interfaith Community met on Monday and agreed to issue an invitation to “all people of good conscience and goodwill to join us, regardless of religious or irreligious background” for a “collective response” called United We Stand: Committed to Love, Justice, and Hope.

The gathering will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7, at Shir Shalom synagogue, 1680 West Woodstock Road.

“Each of us comes from our own tradition, from our own part of the fabric of the Upper Valley,” Rabbi Ilene Harkavy Haigh said, “but I believe that we all welcome everyone in the community with open arms and open hearts to join us on Saturday.”

According to the Interfaith group’s invitation to those who might attend the event on Saturday evening, “We wish for a collective raising of consciousnesses to the authoritarianism in our time and how this concentration of power in the Federal Government undermines the very principles upon which the United States of America was founded as a Republic — with government deriving its authority from the consent of the people, rather than lethally imposing itself and targeting people who have peacefully demonstrated against the excessive uses of force.”

For more on this, please see our Feb. 5 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

From the moment he arrived in West Windsor with his wife, the former Lynne Trageser, in 1976 to join a law practice in Ludlow, Matthew “Matt” Birmingham, III was a pillar of the community, stalwart husband, father, neighbor, and devoted mentor, coach, and teacher to two generations of our area’s young people.

Birmingham passed away at Dartmouth Health in Lebanon, N.H., on Jan. 15 following complications from a serious illness. He was 77. Longtime friends, colleagues, and mentees from the many walks of Matt Birmingham’s exemplary life spoke about him in a series of interviews with the Standard over the course of the past week.

Birmingham was remembered for his deep-seated humanity, loyalty and commitment to his family and friends, longstanding civic engagement in West Windsor, and for the lifelong impact he had on his own children and on the young people he mentored, taught, coached, and counseled at Woodstock Union High School (WUHS), the Albert Bridge School in Brownsville, in the Twin Valley Hockey League and, in his later years, at the former College of St. Joseph in Rutland, where he taught criminal justice classes. Birmingham was also remembered as a seasoned outdoorsman who cherished many hikes in the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont throughout his active life.

For our full sory, please see our Feb 5 edition of the Vermont Standard.

The 22nd Annual Youth Ice Fishing Derby took place at Dewey’s Pond in Quechee last Saturday morning, starting a few hours later than planned due to the extreme cold weather. In spite of the temperatures, a number of youth anglers and their families gathered to try their hand at the sport.

Pamela R. White Photos

By Tyler Maheu, Staff Sportswriter

Nineteen-year-old James Underwood has just returned to Colby College for the second semester of his freshman year with an impressive accolade under his belt — a selection to the Stifel United States Cross Country Ski Team for the 2026 Junior World Championships.

The event, which will take place from March 2 through March 8, will be held in Lillehammer, Norway. For Underwood, the selection is the result of years of hard work and a love for the sport.

“I started a really long time ago, probably at the age of five or six,” he told the Standard on Monday. According to the Woodstock Class of 2025 alum, he began as an alpine skier as soon as he could walk, before switching to snowboard racing.

He began Nordic skiing as a way to cross-train for cross country running in the fall and track in the spring, but quickly discovered he was skilled on skis. Proximity to Woodstock’s public trails was a boon to the young Wasp. “I grew up less than a quarter mile from the ski trails in Woodstock,” he recalled. “In high school, almost every day after dinner, I would put on my skis, head to the trails, and spend an hour with my headlamp cruising.” He continued, “I love the feeling of skiing through the woods. It’s a really good way to escape, and gives me a lot of freedom.”

James Underwood skis in the 1.2K Sprint event at Nationals at Lake Placid in early January, en route to a first-place finish out of all skiers under age 20. Daryn Slover Photos

Underwood credits the Woodstock Ski Runners program, as well as the high school Nordic team for setting him up for success. “I think we have an awesome high school team with so many super experienced, super accomplished skiers,” he said. “The team culture at Woodstock is really awesome. We were always able to perform at a really high level while having a lot of fun doing that.”

His success in high school led him to Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where he is currently undecided on a major. “I’m leaning towards Environmental Policy,” he said. There, he has had the chance to broaden his horizons as a skier, which came in handy at this year’s US Nationals at Lake Placid. “Traditionally, I haven’t thought of myself as a sprinter, but at Colby, we’ve been doing a lot more strength and speed-focused workouts,” he said. “Which has built me as a sprinter, as well as a distance skier, which is awesome.”

To qualify for the U-20 Junior Worlds team, Underwood competed in a series of three races against the country’s best: a classic 10K race, a skate sprint, and a skate 10K. After completing the races, officials took the two best scores and decided the team of 12, consisting of six men and six women. Underwood’s second-place finish in the sprint and sixth place in the classic 10K propelled him to the high honor.

Underwood joins two more Vermonters, both men, on the team: Tabor Greenberg, of Burlington, and Micah Bruner South, from Londonbury. The other nine athletes are Neve Gerard from Oregon, Britta Johnson from California, Maeve Ingelfinger from Montana, Lena Poduska and Ally Wheeler from Wyoming, Grey Barbier from Colorado, and Vebjorn Flagstad, Murphy Kimball, and Jack Leveque from Alaska.

“I’m probably most excited to prove myself and see how I stack up against the highest caliber of athletes in the world,” Underwood said.

Junior Worlds may just be the beginning for Underwood. “I think I have Olympic hopes,” he said. “I’m going to see how far skiing can take me, and I think that qualifying for the junior world championships is really special because you put in so much work as an athlete, and seeing that pay off is so validating and important to stay motivated.”

He concluded the conversation, stating, “I love skiing, regardless of competitions and races. I just want to keep doing this as long as I can.”

Lucille Carpenter Tancreti passed away peacefully at HHR, Stoughton House in Windsor, Vt, January 26, 2026. She was 96 years and 320 days old.

Lucille was born in East Barnard, Vt to Hazel Leao Carpenter and John Carl Carpenter. She loved and lived in her little town until she was 13, when her beloved father Carl died and they were forced to sell the farm and move to Woodstock, Vt. She attended Woodstock High School and made many lifelong friends during that time; she graduated in the class of 1947.

As fate would have it, she and friends attended a dance in West Woodstock where she met a young man just back from the war, William Tancreti. They married on August 1, 1947 and spent the next 61 years together.

After owning and working at a small general store with her husband in Hartland 3 Corners, they moved to the Tancreti family farm where they raised 6 children. Lucille was a proud and loving grandmother to 15 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren.

She loved crocheting, sewing, crafting, gardening, bird watching, and researching her family ancestry. She was an avid reader and enjoyed introducing books to children; she did story hours at HES library as the assistant librarian where she worked for 18 years.

She is survived by her children: MaryLee Biathrow (Philip) Hartland, Vt; Carl Tancreti (Heidi) Claremont, Nh; Dixie Paradis, Hartland, Vt; Stacey Kegelman, Hartland, Vt; Trace Tancreti (Andrea) Hartland, Vt; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by her husband, William Tancreti, and daughter, Marcia Fallon, of Rochester, Ny.

Visiting hours will be from 1-2 p.m. and a servive will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 21 at Cabot’s Funeral Home in Woodstock, Vt.

In lieu of flowers, a donation in Lucille’s memory can be made to: Aging in Hartland, the HES Library, or Historic Homes of Runnemede, Windsor, Vt.

Doris Archer Baker, 93, died surrounded by her family at the Gifford Medical Center in Randolph, Vt. on Jan. 29, 2026. She was born on December 28, 1932 in Bridgewater, the daughter of Willie and Nettie (Baker) Archer.

Doris went to the Bridgewater Center School. She worked at the Woodstock Inn, the Guthrie Nursing Home, and at Alice Peck Day Hospital before going to work at the Bridgewater Woolen Mill.

Doris was a member of the Bridgewater Grange, the Bridgewater Legion Auxiliary, The VFW Ladies Auxiliary in Ludlow, Vt., and the Ludlow Rod & Gun Club. Doris could be found helping many families in the area and very often with her close friend Myrtle Biathrow whom she met at Mill Village and remained best friends for the rest of their lives.

In addition to her parents Doris is predeceased by her six sisters and one brother, two daughters Rachel Archer and Beverly Jennings. She is survived by her son Walter Baker of Colorado Spring, Colo.; two daughters Janet Webb of Royalton, Vt. and Jean Johnson of Barnard; many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

A service was held on Sunday, Feb. 1 at the Cabot Funeral Home. Burial will be held at a later date in the Methodist Cemetery in Barnard.

Brett left us unexpectedly, leaving us with very heavy hearts. We will all miss that smile of his and will carry it in our hearts!

Brett is survived by his dad and stepmom, Bob and Pam Novak of Bridgewater Corners; a sister Kirsten (Keith) Anoe of Lisbon, Maine; a nephew Kaleb Anoe, niece Chelsea (Cody) Bouvier of Lisbon, Maine; a great nephew Jaxson; and great niece Indica of Lisbon, Maine. 

He was predeceased by his Mom Leslie Novak.

There will be no formal funeral services but the family invites all to join us at Ramunto’s in Bridgewater on Feb. 7 from 1-4 p.m. for memories, tears, photos and stories. We will also have food. May Brett rest in peace taking all our love with him!

The Cabot Funeral Home in Woodstock is assisting the family.

Jeffrey D. Zayas of Woodstock, passed away on Jan. 28, 2026 at the age of 50 years old. Born April 12, 1975 in Bellows Falls, Vt., to Richard and Linda (Karkut) Zayas he is survived by his wife Amy, and children Keira, Ethan, and Zachary as well as brother Kevin Zayas of Concord, NH and partner Beth, and brother David Zayas and wife Stephanie of Boise, Idaho, along with  several nieces and nephews and extended family members. Jeff was preceded in death by his parents, Richard and Linda. 

He was a graduate of Bellows Falls Union High School and The Gemological Institute of America and a certified Jeweler Gemologist. He began working in the jewelry industry at Harty Jewelers in Bellows Falls, Vt. and then at Stephen L. Singer in New York, N.Y. He had a specialty with estate jewelry at Pearce Jewelers in West Lebanon, N.H. Jeff owned Zayas Jewelers for several years in Woodstock, and was a partner in Beneficial Estate Buyers in Philadelphia, Pa. for many years. 

 Jeff was an avid skier and was a ski patroller for many winters at Okemo Mountain. He also enjoyed hiking, biking, the outdoors, eating out, and trying  new recipes at home. Jeff loved to have fires in the backyard while  listening to his favorite music.  Taking family vacations, especially to Block Island, R.I. and Vieques, Puerto Rico, was one of his favorite things. 

A celebration of life will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Woodstock Foodshelf on his behalf. 

An online guestbook can be found at https://www.cabotfh.com/.

Eileen B. Turgeon, 100, died Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, at Stoughton House in Windsor, with her family at her side.

Eileen was born January 4, 1926, in Windsor, Vt., a daughter of Eli and Mary (Villenue) Robideau. She attended Windsor schools and was married to John J. Turgeon on July 21, 1948, in Windsor. Together they made their home in Windsor, where they raised their family.

Eileen found joy in life’s simple pleasures, including thrifting and scratching lottery tickets. She also enjoyed watching old movies. Her greatest joy, however, came from spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. 

She was predeceased by her husband, John Turgeon; four brothers, Royal, James, George, and Harold Robideau; and four sisters, Jeanette Alexander, Louise Thomas, Bernadette Young, and Theresa Messier.

She is survived by two daughters, Sandra Anderson (Thomas) of Windsor and Patricia Davis of Springfield, Vt.; five grandchildren, Creed Anderson of Windsor, Vt., Lance Anderson of E. Thetford, Vt., Shannon (Shawn) Larkin of Windsor, Vt., and Kirk (Sara) Anderson from Mt. Martha, Australia, Cochena Davis of Windsor, Vt.; and eight great-grandchildren, William, Noah, Rhys, and Rhett Anderson, Cole Anderson, Kalem Larkin, and Henry and Lucy Anderson.

We would like to express our appreciation to all the staff at Stoughton House that took such good care of our Mother and Bayada Hospice for caring for her.  

A graveside service will be held Wednesday, May 20 at 11 a.m. in Ascutney Cemetery in Windsor. Knight Funeral Home of White River Junction has been entrusted with arrangements. Condolences may be expressed in an online guestbook at knightfuneralhomes.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Stoughton House in Windsor, Vt.

Barbara, lovingly known as Barbara Jean, was adamant that she would live to be over 90 with the fiery willpower that one would need to be successful at this goal. It comes at no surprise to her loved ones that only a sudden heart attack on Jan. 26, 2026 would have the ultimate force to hinder her from her playful objective, giving her no opportunity to put up a valiant fight. You see, Barbara has had a tenacious and adventurous spirit since she could walk. 

She was born the fourth child on Sept. 23, 1954 to beloved Gladys E. (Randall) and Frederick S. Mayhew. Throughout childhood, Barbara independently explored nearby lush forests that enriched her curious imagination or escaped to a sanctuary of stories at Norman Williams Public Library. This sparked her delight for immersing herself in nature and books throughout her life. Growing up she did not let societal expectations restrict her, a trait you find in all of the most marvelous people. She often came home in dirt-stained clothes from riding horses, quests in the forests, and nurturing stray animals. 

She attended Woodstock Union High School, where her creativity blossomed through music and theater, until graduating in 1973. Even as a young teen, Barbara’s warmth, kindness, and compassion left an indelible imprint on her classmates. She had an exceptional ability to empathize and understand the complexities of the lived experience. This led Barbara to her passion in the healthcare field. Her comforting nature did not go unnoticed. As a unit secretary at the pediatric department at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, she treasured the opportunity to help soothe the babies to sleep. 

Once she put her mind to something, she was an unstoppable force. At this point in life, Barbara decided to further her education and attended Trinity College, graduating magna cum laude in 1983. She earned her bachelor’s degree in social work. She went on to complete the masters program through Adelphi University School of Social Work in 1984. Barbara’s commitment for community mental health care led her to devoting her life as a licensed clinical social worker at Howard Center for approximately 38 years. Her gentle, accepting, thoughtful, and supportive disposition not only created peaceful moments for her clients and colleagues but to all who had the lovely privilege to know her. 

She often saw herself as a contrast from birth. She held a quiet introspective presence but she could also command the room. She contributed significantly in her union. She was a steadfast leader at Howard Center, devotedly advocating, mentoring, and serving her community until the very end. It was her life’s purpose. She had this remarkable peaceful presence, yet she’d race you in a snowmobile on an ice track. This fascinating dual nature about her, in addition to her offbeat sense of humor, truly made her one of a kind.

Above all this, her proudest accomplishment in life was becoming a mother. Her daughter, Eva, was her greatest joy. 

Barbara’s selfless unconditional love for her family and friends was immensely felt. Even in the absence of Barbara’s physical presence, the power of her infinite love will transcend time. Her adoration for the Nubble Lighthouse and the icy dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean seems only fitting as she was a guiding light for so many. May we lead by Barbara’s example in the undervalued strength of choosing kindness, listening, and connecting with one another in more meaningful ways. 

Barbara wholeheartedly agreed that “All of life’s riddles are answered in the movies.” Through film we can reflect upon life’s monumental questions and perhaps learn through our human experience that we are intrinsically united together. We are all living stories and Barbara’s one was spectacular.

She is survived by her daughter Eva Belatski, her siblings Doreen A. Patterson (Michael), Randall F. Mayhew (Mary), Kenneth C. Mayhew, and Harold W. Mayhew (Marjorie), as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, colleagues, and lifelong friends. She was predeceased by her parents Frederick S. Mayhew and Gladys E. Mayhew and her sister Marguerite Popple. 

Please join us on Feb. 7 in honoring Barbara. There will be a Memorial Service at Cabot Funeral Home from 2:30-3:30 p.m., followed by a gathering at Norman Williams Public Library from 4-6 p.m. An online viewing of the service will be made available through cabotfh.com. 

Donations in her memory can be made to Toys for Tots, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, or the CVOEO Warmth Support Program.

Letitia Dick Ellis, PhD, psychologist, author, humanitarian passed away peacefully on Thursday, Jan. 22 at the age of 91. She was a beloved wife, awesome mother of three, and treasured ‘Babu’ to 11 grandchildren. Born May 9, 1934, in New York City, she was adopted and raised in Lake Forest, Ill. by Jane Warner and Edison Dick with two siblings, Marnie Last and brother Edison Warner Dick. She attended Garrison Forest School and graduated from Smith College in 1956. During this time, she met the love of her life, William Corson Ellis (1932-2018). They married in Chicago in June 1957 and enjoyed sixty-one years together before Bill’s passing in 2018. Together they enjoyed music (Titia on the piano, Bill singing) and art (Titia writing, Bill painting) and they traveled the world together. Their marriage was a model of growth, resilience and joy. They worked to become true partners in life, acknowledging their flaws with humor and grace, as they focused on how they might serve others. In 1976, Titia and Bill enrolled together in the doctorate program in counseling Psychology at Northwestern University, where they received their PhDs in 1982. For the next fourteen years, they each had their own private clinical practice as well as a joint family practice in the Chicago area. 

On the path toward her doctorate, Titia simultaneously set out on a quest to find her birth family. In 1990, she and Bill decided to leave their practice and move to Santa Fe, N.M., allowing Titia to fully concentrate on her research and writing. This journey was a central part of her life for nearly twenty years, leading her to her true passion for helping children in need. Titia would go on to found the All One Family Fund in 2008. The fund assisted local communities and national organizations who carefully integrated at-risk children into healthy homes, particularly where HIV/AIDS, genocide, or war have decimated the adult population. 

In 2001, Titia and Bill moved to Woodstock to be closer to their daughter Robin and her family. They quickly fell in love with Woodstock, becoming members of the Universalist Unitarian church and singing in the choir. 

Titia published her book “The Search: A Memoir of an Adopted Woman” in 2010, receiving praise from many, including her classmate and friend from Smith College, Gloria Steinem, who wrote, “‘The Search’ is a real life novel, detective story, and deep lesson that the reward for searching out a personal truth is the discovery of a universal one.”

In 2012, Titia and Judith Bush of Lebanon, N.H., co-founded the “Adoption Conversations Triad Peer Group,” an evolving ‘three-legged stool’ group of people who all have some connection to one of the three facets of adoption: birth parent, adoptive parent, or adoptee. 

Titia was loved and adored by many. Her family and friends admired her tenacity, her intelligence, her quiet strength, her adventurous spirit and most importantly her huge heart. Titia loved to laugh and she believed in ‘holding things lightly’ so as to go in peace and with love. In her own words: “My deepest wish is that people will choose to react with love and hope instead of becoming overwhelmed by all the bad news in the world. The power for good that can be unleashed when we come together, committed to cherishing the children is a mighty force. The best part is everyone benefits. I know from my own experience that once we become involved with these young ones, the joy that flows back into our hearts and lives will be more than we can imagine.”

 Titia is survived by her half-sister Susan and her three children David Ellis (Myra Platt) of Seattle, Wash., Robin Ellis Driscoll (Mark Driscoll) of Los Angeles, Bill Ellis Jr. (Tess Weir) of Portland, Ore.; and eleven grandchildren Bailey Ellis, Ruby Ellis, Wilson Platt, Rosie Driscoll, Phoebe Driscoll, Ian Driscoll, Adam Driscoll, Tsehay Driscoll, Mike Driscoll, Jack Driscoll, Georgia Ellis and Camille Ellis Hughton.  

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to UNICEF-USA.

With love and gratitude for her life, the family of Nancy Gifford Roach announces her passing on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026.

Nancy divided her life between two places she dearly loved: Rhode Island, where she was born and raised, and Woodstock, which became a treasured second home for her and her family. Born in Providence, R.I., on Jan. 19, 1932, she grew up in Barrington. Through her father’s lineage, Nancy was a Colonial Dame, descended from John Alden, who arrived in New England on the Mayflower.

Nancy attended Lincoln School in Providence, graduating in 1949. Her lifelong loyalty and generosity to Lincoln School were later recognized with an Alumnae Citation Award for her service and commitment to excellence in all areas of education for young women. Nancy attended Marjorie Webster College, after which she worked as an administrative assistant.

Soon thereafter, Nancy met and fell in love with a young Naval officer, Donald A. Roach, who was stationed in Newport, R.I. They married in 1955 and devoted their lives to raising four well-loved children, while also traveling extensively together as a family. Don’s work initially took them to Ann Arbor, Mich., where they lived for 15 years. In 1971, a work-related relocation and good fortune brought them back to Rhode Island, first to Providence and then to Barrington.

Alongside their Rhode Island home, Nancy and Don found deep joy at High Pastures Farm in Woodstock, a place that became central to their family life. It was where generations gathered and holidays were celebrated, and where Nancy and her family enjoyed hiking, skiing, fishing at the Lakota Club, and taking in the beauty of the Vermont landscape.

Predeceased by her husband Don in 2013 and her grandson Colin Antonovics in 2021, Nancy is survived by her sons, daughters, grandchildren, and (great-grandchildren): Deborah, her husband Dennis Proffitt, and son Christopher Antonovics; Cindy, her husband Jeffrey Barger, and their children James (Riley and Quinn Barger), Michael, Scott, and Maggie; Donald, his wife Stacey, and their daughters Katie (Olivia and Margo Plauché) and Mallory (Micah and Brooks Goff); and Douglas, his wife Susan, and their children Daniel and Elizabeth. She is also survived by her sister, Jane Gifford Barrows, and her extended family.

Nancy devoted her life to her family, friends, and community. She was a compassionate woman who was always looking out for others. Through example and attentive nurturing, her children grew to become strong, independent, and caring adults. Small and slight of build, Nancy was athletic and bright in intellect and spirit. To her friends, Nancy was someone who truly listened and cared deeply about what you had to say. She laughed easily and often. She shared her life with a remarkable circle of women friends and enjoyed activities including yoga, her Investment Club, the Providence Handicraft Club, golf, and tennis. Nancy was active in many community and philanthropic efforts, always working quietly in the background, never seeking recognition.

A memorial service for Nancy will be held at Central Congregational Church in Providence on Friday, Feb. 6, at 11 a.m., followed by a reception at the Hope Club.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in Nancy’s memory be made to Lincoln School (℅ Office of Advancement, 301 Butler Ave., Providence, RI 02906) or to the Barrington Preservation Society (P.O. Box 178, Barrington, RI 02806).

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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