Vermont

Vt. funeral home first in the state to use water cremation

Published

11 months ago

May 28, 2025

Vt. funeral home first in the state to use water cremation

MILTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont offers a variety of burial methods and alternatives, now including a greener way to honor your loved ones.

The vast majority of Vermonters opt for flame cremation – the traditional form we’ve all heard of.

A funeral home out of Milton is the first in Vermont to cremate using water.

Jonathan Daponte of Minor Funeral Home cracks open Vermont’s very first water cremation machine.

“I wanted to be the forerunner of innovation,” he said.

Other funeral homes send bodies out of state for water cremation, but Minor Funeral Home will do it on-site.

“There’s an intrinsic value to families where knowing their loved one doesn’t get transported to another facility. Everything is done here in-house,” said Daponte.

Crews are hooking everything up and finalizing the space, and Daponte says he’s already got families asking about the new option.

Water cremation – or alkaline hydrolysis – uses water, an alkaline solution, heat, and pressure to dissolve the soft tissue of the body.

“After that, the remaining material is going to be dehydrated, and then after that, it’s going to be pulverized to the same consistency so that everyone can see what you would see in the typical cremains,” said Daponte.

Water cremation takes longer than flame cremation and costs several hundred dollars more, but has a much smaller carbon footprint.

Flame cremation can release over 500 pounds of CO2, or the equivalent of driving 600 miles. On the other hand, water cremation releases at least 90% less emissions.

Local experts point out that natural burial and human composting have even smaller carbon footprints, but water cremation is a step in the right direction.

“Alkaline hydrolysis is an improvement over flame cremation. We’ll see what happens as the technology improves. And we’ll see, you know, where that fits in the spectrum,” said Lee Webster of Vermont Funeral.

Daponte says the expensive machine, over $300,000, and the higher customer price tag keep other homes from investing in water cremation.

As the state searches for ways to curb emissions, he believes water cremation is the way of the future.

“I can foresee this in 50 years being the only choice you have,” said Daponte.

Daponte says he’s done one water cremation so far and is receiving calls for others.

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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.