With winter on the way, it's a good time to give and receive books - and maybe a Johnson Woolen Mills' blanket to wrap your favorite reader in.

Commuters who take the Ticonderoga Ferry to cross Lake Champlain every day say they see its operators so often, they've become like family.

The Addison County Republican Committee met last week at the home of Bill and Connie Houston in Vergennes for the election of officers for the next two years.

The pairing of drummer Russ Lawton and keyboard player Ray Paczkowski just sort of happened.

INCIDENT: Attempting to Elude/Negligent Operation/Suspended License/ Violation of Conditions of Release CASE #: 09C202711 STATION: New Haven Barracks Troop "C" CONTACT#: 388-4919 DATE/TIME: 10/12/09 1020hrs LOCATION : Route 7, Plains Road, Beaver Pond Road, Upper Plains Road all in the town of Salisbury, Upper Plains Road and Route 125 in the towns ...

Author and activist Bill McKibben has started a new group, 350.org, to raise awareness of global warming.

A view of Mount Abraham from Ripton on Tuesday. By Hannah Crowley * Free Press Staff Writer * Saturday, October 10, 2009 The Columbus Day weekend in Vermont is often the weekend for fall foliage in Vermont - the peak, the pinnacle, the window when the state's trees are ablaze.

Investigator Joe Gunther strikes again in the new book by Newfane mystery writer Archer Mayor, "The Price of Malice" . This time, a personal matter involving the family of Gunther's girlfriend takes Gunther away from a Vermont crime scene to Maine, where his girlfriend is doing some investigating of her own.

Andrea Chesman of Ripton may not be a household name, but in local foodie circles she's known for writing cookbooks that make excellent use of Vermont's seasonal ingredients, particularly veggies.

Anne Marie DeFreest, president of the Green Mountain Cultural Center, looks at art work that will be part of the 19th annual GMCC Art in the Round Barn show.

Bandit and Mark check out Burlington's microhouse. You can take an audio tour of the home by calling 922-9998. I've read about tiny houses this year, but until recently, I'd never seen one.

It's a full night of folk and bluegrass starting at 9 Sept. 3 at The Monkey House in Winooski with the North Carolina band Johnson's Crossroad along with Something with Strings, State Champion and Giving Up.

From England and Australia to Stockbridge and Ripton, bagpipe players from around the state and the world, united this past weekend to share their love for the sometimes-maligned and often-misunderstood instrument.

School merger talks have been ignited by a study committee in Salisbury and Leicester and according to one Vermont representative with knowledge of the idea, the state will support towns that want to merge their low-attendance, high-cost schools with others, but legislators will not mandate it anytime soon.

The Green Mountain National Forest has a whole lot of gravel coming its way. Vermont's Congressional Delegation announced last week that $5 million will come to the state for U.S. Forest Service projects, and roughly half of that will be spent on roads in Goshen, Ripton, Chittenden, Wallingford, Peru, Sunderland and Winhall.