Vermont

Not a snow day – it’s a solar day. VT schools give students day off for solar eclipse

Published

2 years ago

March 15, 2024

Not a snow day – it’s a solar day. VT schools give students day off for solar eclipse

CORRECTION: Mount Mansfield Unified Union school district is maintaining a partial day off, not a full day as was reported in an earlier version of this story. The numbers at the bottom were also adjusted to reflect removing MMUUSD.

Many northern Vermont students will now have the day off for the eclipse.

The Champlain Valley Superintendents Association decided that public schools in the counties of Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle will be getting a full day off instead of a partial day, which was previously planned.

Many school districts were planning for an early dismissal due to the timing of the eclipse, which lasts from 2:14 to 4:37 p.m., with totality between 3:26 and 3:29 for the Burlington area.

However, new information from Vermont Emergency Management has prompted districts to give the entire day off.

“As the day of the eclipse approaches, more businesses in the area have announced special viewing events, and state agencies are preparing for an anticipated influx of 150K visitors,” a March 13 note from Superintendent Rene Sanchez to Champlain Valley School District families reads. “Recognizing the potential challenges associated with the sudden surge in travelers, Vermont Emergency Management advised municipalities in their recent newsletter to prepare for possible stress on their emergency services and, in some cases, extreme traffic issues.”

The Maple Run Unified School District affirmed that school districts in Franklin and Grand Isle counties would be closed and that the day would be made up at the end of the school year, similar to a snow day.

These school districts plan to be closed on April 8:

Burlington School District
Champlain Valley School District
Colchester School District
Essex Westford School District
Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union
Franklin West Supervisory Union
Grand Isle Supervisory Union
Maple Run Unified School District
Milton Town School District
Missisquoi Valley School District
South Burlington School District
Winooski School District

Together, this means around 28,400 students will have the day off from school. These districts account for about 34% of the population of Vermont’s public school students from pre-K to 12th grade. It remains to be seen if businesses will follow suit and close for the day as well.

Contact reporter April Barton at abarton@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1854. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter @aprildbarton.

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Vermont

Wrong-way driver stopped on I-89, charged with DUI

Published

6 hours ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

Wrong-way driver stopped on I-89, charged with DUI

BOLTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A wrong-way driver was safely stopped on Interstate 89 overnight Sunday.

Vermont State Police say just before 12:30 a.m., they stopped the car near marker 77, near Bolton.

The driver, Denise Lear, 60, of Revere, was charged with driving under the influence and gross negligent operation.

Lear is expected in court Monday.

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Vermont

Women’s Lacrosse Bested in Burlington by Vermont – University at Albany Great Danes

Published

18 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Women’s Lacrosse Bested in Burlington by Vermont – University at Albany Great Danes

Score: UAlbany 4, Vermont 14

Location: Virtue Field | Burlington, Vt.

Records: UAlbany (10-5, 5-1 America East) | Vermont (8-6, 4-1 America East)

Short Story: UAlbany women’s lacrosse fell to the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday afternoon.

Key Stats

Grace Cincebox recorded a total of 14 saves with 13 goals allowed for a .565 save percentage.

Ravan Marsell led the Great Danes with two points on one goal and one assist.

Four different UAlbany players scored in the contest.

Reggie Williams was the team’s leader with three ground balls.

Delilah Mile caused a team high three turnovers.

How It Happened

The Catamounts came out of the gates hard and heavy, scoring all three goals between both sides in the first quarter.

Vermont would take an 8-0 lead in the second quarter before Amanda Williamson found the back of the net on a women-down goal to put the Great Danes on the board and make it 8-1.

The Great Danes would allow one more goal in the first half to trail 9-1 after 30-minutes of play.

Grace Cincebox would enter the half with 10 saves.

Riley Forthofer started the Great Danes off in the second half to make it a 9-2 game, before Vermont put up three more goals to take a 12-2 lead entering the final quarter of play.

Mya Carroll and Ravan Marsell both scored on back-to-back free-position goals to make it a 12-4 game.

The Catamounts finished the game with two more goals to take the win 14-4.

Up Next
The Great Danes will next have a bye week and wait to see the outcome of next week’s Vermont vs UMass Lowell game to see who will host the America East Tournament.

Social Central: Stay up to date with UAlbany women’s lacrosse by following the team on Instagram (@UAlbanyWLax), Facebook (UAlbany Women’s Lacrosse), and X (@UAlbanyWLax) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.

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Vermont

Vermont lands two cities in America’s top 15 happiest list

Published

1 day ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Vermont lands two cities in America’s top 15 happiest list

Is creativity the missing key to better health?

Research suggests creative activities like art, music and crafts may benefit mental health as much as other key health habits.

Here’s another reason Vermont is the best New England state: It’s home to one of the top 5 happiest cities in the United States.

Plus, it has another within the top 15.

Massachusetts, on the other hand, doesn’t even break the top 50. Nor, does Connecticut or Rhode Island.

The personal finance website analyzed 182 of the largest cities in the country, and ranked Boston 63rd overall. Although the city is home to some of the nation’s top universities, high-ranking hospitals, and well-regarded companies, it didn’t break the top 50.

To get the rankings, WalletHub compared the cities using 29 metrics, including life-satisfaction index, depression rate, poverty rate, job security, and acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, and cities were assigned an overall happiness score.

Here’s a look at how the cities ranked.

South Burlington is No. 4 happiest city, Burlington is No. 11

South Burlington came on top for Vermont in WalletHub’s list of the happiest cities in the United States, ranking at No. 4. In scored very high for emotional and physical well-being coming in at the No. 4 spot, which made up for coming in No. 48 for community and environment. It was No. 9 for income and employment ranking. That gave it a total happiness of score of 70.15

Burlington wasn’t far behind at all, taking the No. 11 spot on the list and a happiness score of 67.54. It’s highest score was for income and employment ranking where it came second. It ranked No. 13 for community and environment and No. 21 for emotional and physical well-being.