Opinion
Column: Anticipating sweet release from rehabilitation
By WILLEM LANGE
The one crucial item for a stay in a nursing home is — and I’m sure this will surprise you — a back-scratcher. That may sound weird, but think about it. When you’re lying on your back for unaccustomed long periods of time, it itches. Seriously itches....
Valley News Forum for March 1, 2023: Transitions take time; Clean Heat Standard will too
Transitions take time; Clean Heat Standard will tooThe Clean Heat Standard is being touted as the most important piece of climate legislation at the Vermont Statehouse this year. It would transform the way Vermonters heat their homes and reduce our...
Valley News Forum for Feb. 28: Drop ‘Dilbert’
Drop ‘Dilbert’I am writing to urge you to drop the comic strip “Dilbert” from the Valley News comics section. The creator of the strip, Scott Adams, has crossed a line with his recent widely publicized racist rant, and I believe it is inappropriate to...
Valley News Forum for Feb. 27, 2023: Great Replacement Theory not so great
Great Replacement Theory not so greatOur Statue of Liberty as the “Mother of Exiles,” and the Great Replacement Theory represent stark contrasts to America’s view of outsiders. In her sonnet, “The New Colossus,” Emma Lazarus penned the iconic lines:...
Valley News Forum for Feb. 26, 2023: Save the Stowell library
Save the Stowell libraryI’m sure you’ve heard that there has been an offer to the town of the store in Cornish Flat to replace The Stowell Library. It is a generous offer; the store and its lot would be given to the town as a gift. The process by...
Valley News Forum for Feb. 25, 2023: Dresden School District budget by the numbers
Dresden School District budget by the numbersResidents of Hanover and Norwich come together March 7 to vote on our Dresden School District budget and related warrant articles. The Hanover Finance Committee voted unanimously to support the Dresden...
Editorial: Keep public tuition out of private hands
It is an unhappy irony that while the nation has traditionally looked to the U.S. Supreme Court for clarity and continuity, the court’s current majority is intent on sowing confusion and chaos by abolishing old standards while providing only the...
Column: Law school wrong to hide the uncomfortable
By STEVE NELSON
The complex issues of sensitivity, censorship, expression, art and history splashed down on the front page of The New York Times this week in a pair of articles.One piece examined the legal case brought by Quebec artist Sam Kerson, formerly of...
Column: What have you done since January 1st?
By MARY K. OTTO
What have you done since Jan. 1st? This question was recently asked of me by a friend on a morning walk. Post holidays, with changeable winter weather and fewer events on my calendar, I might easily have said, not much. Then another thought came to...
Valley News Forum for Feb. 24, 2023: The actions of a few men
The actions of a few men Fascinating how the entire world is potential collateral damage resulting from the actions of a few men. I mean, it’s chilling to sit here and watch Vlad Putin whip his followers up into a murderous frenzy. How many thousands...
Commentary: Vermont’s Affordable Heat Act offers lower costs while cutting pollution
By JARED DUVAL
Moving from apartment to apartment while growing up in a lower-income family, I developed a deep understanding of the challenges of the high costs of fossil fuels, especially for heating. This personal experience grounds the work I now do conducting...
Valley News Forum for Feb. 23, 2023: Community power adds renewable options
Community power adds renewable optionsIn 2017, a record number of Hanover residents showed up at Town Meeting and voted unanimously in support of using 100% renewable electricity by 2030 followed by 100% renewable heating, cooling and transportation...
Column: Recovering with Herschel, mobility sidekick
By WILLEM LANGE
I just bought a brand-new candy apple red four-wheel-drive sport model, big-wheeled walker. Its name is Herschel, and it will replace my old walker, which features two small wheels and two pierced tennis balls. In him I am currently terrorizing the...
Valley News Forum for Feb. 22, 2023: Biden managing Ukraine well
Idle thoughts on insurrectionWhile I wait patiently for baseball season to begin, I am wondering why Donald Trump, his wife and adult children, and all the white-collar conspirators both inside and outside the Congress as well as some federal...
Valley News Forum for Feb. 20, 2023: The George H. Stowell Library, this place matters
The George H. Stowell Library, this place mattersMy relationship with the Stowell library began in high school, when I visited the historical room to browse the rare books. I recall the sights and sounds of the place from the cracking of the screen...
Valley News Forum for Feb. 19, 2023: Eliminating libraries is crazy
Eliminating libraries is crazyWith the dogmatic, absurd, and just crazy decision of the new Vermont State University system administrators to eliminate libraries (the traditional ones with books, etc.), we are one “big giant leap” toward the 1984...
Editorial: Decision diminishes university
The powers-to-be at Vermont State University claim to have seen the future of libraries and have pronounced it “digital.” To which we join with students, faculty, staff and the Vermont Library Association in saying, “Not so fast” — the age of analog...
Commentary: Rural health care at a breaking point
By JOANNE M. CONROY
American health care was in crisis before the pandemic. However, based on what we are now seeing, especially in rural hospitals and health systems, the worst may be yet to come.Our rural hospitals and health care systems continue to lose money. Many...
Column: Rewilding under a plaster moon
By MICKI COLBECK
February has been an icy month, a challenge for those who count on skiing the powder and harder on those already unsteady on their feet. Perhaps this February’s full moon should be called the “plaster moon” for all those broken bones.This morning, as...
Valley News Forum for Feb. 18, 2023: The heat is rising
The heat is risingWhere is winter? Today’s high temperature was over 50 degrees and snow in the valleys is largely gone. According to Washington Post reporting, January saw record warmth in seven New England states and in 2022, as reported by the...
