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Editor’s Picks

The editor’s pick of some of the best stories of the week from the Barton Chronicle, a highly read weekly newspaper based in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom region.

1871 posts

Judicial emergency declared

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by Joseph Gresser NEWPORT — The Orleans County Superior Court schedule called for a jury draw on March 12.  Ordinarily that would mean dozens of people climbing the stairs to the third-floor courtroom and jamming in together for hours while lawyers tried to se... More »

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From yips to shrieks, fox talk runs the gamut

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The Outside Story by Susie Spikol Sometimes it pays to be an insomniac.  One frigid winter night, I climbed out of my restless bed and slipped outside to stand under a sky littered with stars and take in the complete silence of darkness.  Suddenly, a ruckus br... More »

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Uncertainty as COVID-19 spreads

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by Meghan Wayland Protecting the elderly, the young, and the ill is the primary concern as closures and cancellations sweep the region in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.  Deep concern for workers and small businesses in the new, uncertain economy ha... More »

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Inconsiderate driver sends 75-year-old walker to ER

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by Tena Starr GLOVER — The Orleans County Sheriff’s Department is looking for the driver of a light gray pickup who may have deliberately splashed a 75-year-old Glover woman while she was out walking last week.  The incident caused Carol Borland to fall and su... More »

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Chief Deputy Brooks resigns

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by Meghan Wayland BARTON — Longtime Chief Deputy Phil Brooks resigned from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department in February.  “I didn’t think a year ago that I’d be sitting in this position now,” he said in a phone interview on Sunday. “On a personal note,”... More »

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Voters’ views on Bernie, Biden, Trump

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by Meghan Wayland Judging from random interviews with voters, largely conducted at stores in Barton, Orleans, Newport, and Derby, Orleans County voters want an end to politics as usual.  As they went to the polls on Town Meeting Day, they were looking to shake... More »

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Troy Sugarhouse destroyed

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by Tena Starr WESTFIELD — Fire destroyed Tom and Cheryl Wright’s state-of-the-art sugarhouse in Troy early Sunday morning, right in the middle of prime sugaring weather.  Mr. Wright said he woke up about 2 a.m. and checked his monitors, which show him what’s g... More »

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Snow spiders: Rule-breakers

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by Susie Spikol I have always admired nature’s mutineers:  animals and plants that thwart the recognized system and do their own thing.  As a child I was the sole member of my own duck-billed platypus club, endeared to this creature with the bird-like bill, be... More »

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NEK Winter Swim Festival

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The first event of the Northeast Kingdom Winter Swim Festival Saturday combines swift swimming with aesthetic millenary. Amy Craigen of Salem, Massachusetts, tried to get in good with the judges by wearing a photo of Kingdom Swim founder Phil White as a chapea... More »

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Croteau recognized for 30 years of service

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by Leanne Harple BARTON — The annual Barton Town Meeting on Tuesday evening marked the end of an era, when select board member Robert Croteau presided over his last Town Meeting after 30 years of service.  His retirement was recognized with a round of applause... More »

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Newport students push for peace

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by Joseph Gresser NEWPORT — Some things never change, or at least that’s what people say.  A group of sixth graders at Newport City Elementary School believe in change and have proved themselves willing to work hard to make it happen. “A lot of people felt peo... More »