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Former Vermont Teddy Bear Clothing Companies Are Leaving Vermont

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Former Vermont Teddy Bear Clothing Companies Are Leaving Vermont


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  • Anne Wallace Allen ©️ Seven Days
  • Vermont Teddy Bear headquarters in Shelburne

The owner of the three clothing companies once owned by Vermont Teddy Bear is closing its Shelburne distribution center, putting 29 people out of work by June 5. But the stuffed-toy maker is staying put at its Shelburne location, officials emphasized Wednesday.

“We’re still here,” Katie Langrock, senior vice president of operations for Vermont Teddy Bear, said in an interview Wednesday. “You can continue to have the tours and make the bears.”  The complex, which is where most of the bears are manufactured, is a popular tourist destination and features a “hospital” where visitors can watch the bears being repaired.

Langrock said her job is to separate the companies after Vermont Teddy Bear’s stuffed animal operation was purchased by USA Brands of Indianapolis, Ind., the owner of Vermont Flannel.

Vermont Teddy Bear was created in 1981 when creator John Sortino started selling his hand-made bears from a cart on Church Street in Burlington. The pricey bears and other stuffed animals are still made mostly in Vermont and are guaranteed for life.

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Vermont Teddy Bear’s owner, the New York City-based Lionel Capital, sold the company April 4 to Ohio-based USA Brands. An affiliate of Lionel Capital , PJ Acquisitions, now owns the three clothing companies, called Pajamagram, Pajamajeans and The 1 For U.  Those clothes are made overseas and are distributed from a large warehouse next to Vermont Teddy Bear’s complex on Shelburne Road, Langrock said.

PJ Acquisitions said last week that it was unable to reach agreement on terms for a new lease at that warehouse, and announced the impending layoffs to the Vermont Department of Labor. It’s moving the distribution functions out of state, Langrock said.

Vermont Flannel Has a New Operator
A worker sewing clothing at Vermont Flannel

Vermont Flannel Has a New Operator

By Anne Wallace Allen

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Vermont Teddy Bear described the move in a letter last week to Matthew Lawless, the Shelburne town manager, saying the lease negotiations prevented PJ Acquisitions from giving employees more notice. The layoffs are scheduled to happen between Thursday and June 5, the company said.

Lawless said he had been working closely with the Vermont Department of Labor, which will provide job training and other services to the affected workers.

“Twenty-nine jobs is no small number for us here in this community,” Lawless said Wednesday. “I want to be the best neighbor I can in helping displaced workers. I made sure everyone was aware of the Shelburne food pantry, which has bus passes and lots of other good things.”

Lawless said he thinks the owner of the warehouse will find another tenant quickly.

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“There aren’t a lot of buildings like this in the Shelburne or the Burlington region,” he said.

Vermont Flannel and Vermont Teddy Bear employ 70 people in Vermont, CEO Joe Van Deman said in April. Deman’s company, USA Brands, bought Vermont Flannel from its Vermont owners in 2022. Van Deman said Vermont Flannel has six stores in Vermont and two in Maine, and plans to open another in Waterbury this month.

He and Matt Bigelow, the Ohio-based CEO of Vermont Teddy Bear, have been busy dispelling concerns about the future of the teddy bear maker. Bigelow noted Vermont Teddy Bear held a well-attended event on April 8, the day of the solar eclipse.

“With the success of the eclipse event, we’ll probably be looking at the possibility of doing more events and getting more people to campus,,” Bigelow said.



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Vermont

Vermont H.S. sports scores for Saturday, Dec. 28: See how your favorite team fared

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Vermont H.S. sports scores for Saturday, Dec. 28: See how your favorite team fared


Nylah Mitchell’s 20 points carry Burlington girls basketball to win

Nylah Mitchell talks about her dominant 20-point outing where she attacked in the paint and the outlook for Burlington this season.

The 2024-2025 Vermont high school winter season has begun. See below for scores, schedules and game details (statistical leaders, game notes) from basketball, hockey, gymnastics, wrestling, Nordic/Alpine skiing and other winter sports.

TO REPORT SCORES

Coaches or team representatives are asked to report results ASAP after games by emailing sports@burlingtonfreepress.com. Please submit with a name/contact number.

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►Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter:@aabrami5.

►Contact Judith Altneu at jaltneu@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.

SATURDAY, DEC. 28

Boys basketball

Games at 2:30 p.m. unless noted

Middlebury at Mill River, 1:30 p.m.

Oxbow at Arlington, 2:30 p.m.

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Girls basketball

Games at 2:30 p.m. unless noted

Winooski at Northfield, noon

U-32 at Lyndon, 1:30 p.m.

Blue Mountain at Woodsville, NH

Williamstown at Vergennes, 3:30 p.m.

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Boys hockey

Harwood at Rutland, 11 a.m. 

Rice at Saranac, NY, noon

Champlain Valley at Mount Mansfield, 3 p.m.

St. Johnsbury at Colchester, 5 p.m. 

South Burlington at Spaulding, 5:15 p.m. 

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Burlington at North Country, 7 p.m. 

Woodstock at Missisquoi, 8 p.m. 

Middlebury Tournament

Essex vs. Stowe, 3 p.m. 

U-32 at Middlebury, 7 p.m. 

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Philippe H. Bouthillier Holiday Classic

Consolation, 4 p.m.

Championship, 6 p.m. 

Girls hockey

Champlain Valley/Mount Mansfield at Rice, 1:15 p.m.

Rutland at Kingdom Blades, 3 p.m. 

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Spaulding at Missisquoi, 5:30 p.m. 

Stowe at Woodstock, 6:45 p.m. 

Middlebury Tournament

Harwood vs. U-32, 1 p.m. 

Burr & Burton at Middlebury, 5 p.m. 

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Hanover Tournament

BFA-St. Albans vs. TBD

Essex vs. TBD

Gymnastics 

Harwood at South Burlington, 11 a.m. 

St. Johnsbury at Essex, 1 p.m. 

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Burlington, Montpelier at Burr & Burton, 3:30 p.m. 

Wrestling 

Hubie Wagner tournament at Middlebury 

MONDAY, DEC. 30

Boys basketball

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

St. Johnsbury at Burlington, 7 p.m. (Sunday)

Richford at Northfield

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Essex at Rutland, 6:30 p.m.

Williamstown at Stowe

Lyndon at U-32

Lamoille at Harwood

North Country at Spaulding

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Lake Region at Enosburg

Winooski at Missisquoi

Vergennes at Twinfield/Cabot

Mount Mansfield at Champlain Valley

South Burlington at Rice

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Oxbow at Blue Mountain

Colchester at BFA-St. Albans, 7:30 p.m.

Girls basketball

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

Mount Abraham at Montpelier

South Burlington at Colchester

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Middlebury at Harwood

Boys hockey

Hartford at Rutland, 1 p.m. 

St. Johnsbury at Brattleboro, 3 p.m. 

Woodstock at Burr & Burton, 5 p.m. 

Spaulding at CVU, 5:25 p.m. 

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South Burlington at North Country, 6 p.m. 

Stowe at Mount Mansfield, 6:30 p.m. 

Girls hockey

U-32 at Rutland, 11 a.m. 

Harwood at Champlain Valley/Mount Mansfield, 3:15 p.m. 

Essex at Burlington/Colchester, 4:20 p.m. 

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Brattleboro at Stowe, 6:30 p.m. 

Kingdom Blades at Missisquoi, 7:15 p.m. 

Rice at Woodstock, 7:15 p.m. 

Gymnastics 

Montpelier, Middlebury at Harwood, 6:30 p.m. 

(Subject to change)

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Vt. ski resorts gear up for holiday weekend, expected rain

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Vt. ski resorts gear up for holiday weekend, expected rain


JEFFERSONVILLE, Vt. (WCAX) – Despite warm temperatures on the way, skiers and snowboarders are celebrating the snow this holiday weekend. Our Calvin Cutler has a look at the conditions and the future of Vermont’s independent resorts.

If you ask just about anyone why they visit the Smugglers’ Notch Resort, you’ll likely get two answers: the conditions on and off the trail, and the local vibe, being one of the last independent ski resorts in Vermont.

Skiers and riders were swinging into the holiday weekend on ski lifts Friday, taking advantage of an early winter bluebird day to get in a few turns with friends and family.

“A little icy in some spots, but the sun warmed it up and it’s nice now,” said Tosh Moser of Cambridge.

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Smuggs received about half a foot of fresh snow this week, allowing them to open 44 trails and their Madonna II lift in time for the crucial holiday weekend.

But temperatures are expected to rise this weekend which could melt away conditions.

“We’ve seen a great start to the season this year, better than last, especially this time last year, so we should be able to fare just fine,” said Caleb Kessler, the social media manager at the Smugglers’ Notch Resort.

As one of the last locally owned resorts in Vermont, Smuggs is an outlier in the ski industry which is undergoing consolidation, as big companies like Vail and Alterra buy up local resorts and pump in cash for new amenities and big infrastructure upgrades, like new snowguns that allow resorts to open earlier and close later. It’s sparking concern from many small American ski towns that their history and culture are fading away.

“You go to some of the bigger company-owned resorts, it’s different people, everything is different there,” said Wyatt McAdoo of Cambridge.

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Last year, news of Smuggs considering a first-of-its-kind gondola to the Stowe Mountain Resort reverberated through the ski and ride community. The plan has since been scrapped.

Despite the corporate headwinds, Smuggs is sending the message that its size, culture and vibe set it apart.

“Being small and independent allows us to make decisions more quickly, more easily, be more nimble and gives us our personality as a resort,” Kessler said.

Despite the rain and warmer temperatures in the forecast, skiers and riders at Smuggs are hoping for a long season ahead.

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Bird flu found in Vermont backyard flock; agency sees

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Bird flu found in Vermont backyard flock; agency sees


Latest on H5N1 bird flu outbreak

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California declares emergency after severe U.S. case of H5N1 bird flu

02:25

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The H5N1 bird flu was found in a backyard flock in Vermont, the state’s agricultural agency said Thursday.

The small flock of 24 non-commercial birds in Franklin County was quarantined and put down. The first bird death happened on Dec. 18 and the owner notified authorities on Dec. 19 as more birds died.

“Low risk to human health”

The agency said bird flu “is considered to be low risk to human health,” but the people who came in contact with the infected birds and their surroundings are being monitored by the Vermont Department of Health. There have not been any human cases reported in Vermont or New England from this current outbreak of bird flu in the United States.

The Vermont case of “highly pathogenic avian influenza” is not the same strain that’s currently affecting dairy cattle in other parts of the country, the agency said in a statement. This is Vermont’s fourth case of bird flu in a domestic flock since 2022. 

“Despite the low risk to the public, the virus remains deadly to many species of birds,” the agency said. “All bird owners, from those who own backyard pets to commercial farmers, are strongly encouraged to review biosecurity measures to help protect their flocks.”

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Bird flu cases in the U.S.

On Dec. 18, the Centers for Disease Control reported that a person in Louisiana had the first severe illness caused by bird flu in the U.S. That person was exposed to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks, the CDC said.

There have been 65 reported human cases of bird flu in the country, according to the CDC. Most have come from California and were linked to exposure to infected cattle.

Besides the Louisiana instance, all known human H5N1 cases in the U.S. have been mild, with patients reporting conjunctivitis and upper respiratory symptoms. 

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