The Purple Pumpkin Project

Purple pumpkins are showing up in Springfield and all over the U.S. to raise Epilepsy Awareness.

Local celebrity Cole Rapini looks satisfied with his collection of purple pumpkins

Southern towns breathe easier

Southern Vermont breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday. The Frankenstorm is gone.

An Eloquent Plea for Bill and Lou

Will Green Mountain College turn down an offer of over $50,000 to purchase Bill and Lou? To not accept will sure make for some expensive cafeteria burgers.

Bill and Lou are a parable for saving our broken food system

An op-ed piece by Philip Ackermen-Leist, a professor at Green Mountain College.

Crazed chicken plucker Makk Oxenferry.

http://vtdigger.org/2012/10/30/ackerman-leist-bill-and-lou-are-a-parable-for-saving-our-broken-food-system/

Storm power outage in Springfield

Green Mountain Power reported 258 without power in Springfield early last evening. Trees were down by Rt 5, approximately 3 miles north of the Charlestown CT River bridge. Responders had power restored by 7 pm.

Sandy brings power outages, school closures to Southern Vermont

As expected, many in Southern Vermont lost power due to Hurricane Sandy on Monday. But those outages seemed to be primarily in the western part of the state, and most emergency responders continued to stand by early Monday evening.

Springfield’s Henderson retires

Harry Henderson has retired after 15 years as Springfield's public works director.

Wild, weird Sandy to arrive in Vermont today

Springfield could get up to three inches of rain.

State leaders discuss bullying prevention

The state’s top leaders in education, human rights and law gathered at the Howard Dean Center in Springfield last week with one common goal in mind — keeping all students free from bullying, harassment and hazing at school.

Oxen’s Fate Is Embattled as the Abattoir Awaits

Now The New York Times has published a story on the Bill and Lou controversy.

Video: Save Bill and Lou, an introduction; by Edward Huse, for VINE

Emerald Hardiman, a freshman, defending the college’s decision.

Students confront animal rights protesters outside the Green Mountain College campus.

Cosmos secure semis berth

Springfield advanced to the Division II girls soccer semifinal Saturday with a 2-0 win over the Stratton Mountain School, but it is not clear when that semifinal game can be played.

Bulldogs edge Cosmos in 2OT

Boys soccer game at Manchester.

Two accused of tool burglary

A Springfield man pleaded innocent on Thursday for allegedly stealing under $8,000 in expensive tools from a friend’s former employer.

Protesters, students clash on oxen’s fate

Protesters gathered in front of Green Mountain College on Friday in a last-ditch effort to save oxen Bill and Lou from slaughter.   How to save Bill and Lou

Video: Animal rights activists protest oxen slaughter

As Bill and Lou enjoy retirement and their last few days on the campus of Green Mountain College, protestors stood in front of the school, hoping to save their lives.

Video: Oxen slaughter: 'sustainable' or cruel?

The fates of two steers have been controversial on a small college campus.

Vermont college feels heat over oxen’s fate

This lengthy article in today's Boston Globe brings us up to date on what's happening on the Bill and Lou front.

Meeting Minutes - Town Plan Draft, Zoning ByLaws

Select Board Meeting Minutes - October 22, 2012

Toonerville to Spoonerville?

The Town of Springfield has been awarded grant money for a study to look into extending the Toonerville bike and pedestrian trail all the way to North Springfield.

Springfield advances

Girls soccer game at Springfield.

Bill and Lou: Who lives, who dies, and why

Animal ethologist Marc Bekoff gives his take on the Bill and Lou situation for Psychology Today magazine.

Green Mountain College Will Feed Its Students Their 'Mascot' Oxen, Bill And Lou

Is this retirement? Paradise? No, the yoke's on you. Your gimpy ankle betrayed you in a gopher hole and now you're bound for the college cafeteria, your fate sealed by this "environmental liberal arts" college's damn pledge not to destroy the whole planet.

Nunset Boulevard opens at Springfield Players Studio

Cindy Hughes, Pam Church, Kay Burge, Deb Robling, and Elizabeth Alexander

The Little Sisters of Hoboken have been invited to sing at the famous Hollywood Bowl. Thrilled at the prospect, they arrive, only to learn that they are booked into the Hollywood Bowl-A-Rama, a bowling alley.

Meals on Wheels thanks volunteers with banquet

On Thursday, October 18, Meals on Wheels of Greater Springfield held its annual volunteer recognition banquet at the VFW in Springfield with more than 100 attending.

Springfield to investigate rental code

Springfield is investigating whether a rental code could help the town get a handle on drug crime and violence.

Biomass language to be rewritten for town plan

The language of the proposed Springfield Town Plan dealing with biomass plants will be revised.

Springfield slips past U-32, 1-0

In a game of big plays, there were two that stood out as Springfield scored the game's only goal against a U-32 team that spent all afternoon knocking on the door, but couldn't get in.     Photo

The Homestretch of the "Great Indian Road"

A Massachusetts kayak paddler who brakes for trash checks out the Black River.

Bullying prevention meeting scheduled

Bullying prevention will be the subject of a public meeting in Springfield this Wednesday afternoon.

Police log

Recent service calls logged by the Springfield Police Department.

Thousands support soon-to-be slaughtered oxen

Supporters make last-ditch efforts in hopes that their letters, petitions and pleas on Facebook will save two 11-tear-old oxen from the slaughterhouse.

‘Little Red Schoolhouse’ celebrated

Roughly a month after receiving national recognition for the “Little Red Schoolhouse,” a volunteer led Springfield group held a day-long celebration to flaunt the history and the ongoing preservation efforts for the landmark brick building.     Another photo here

A look inside Spencer Hollow School

On Saturday, Don Whitney hosted an open house inside the oldest brick school house in Vermont. He and his group Friends of Spencer Hollow School are restoring it.

Spencer Hollow School open house

The Friends of the Spencer Hollow School are extending an invitation to the public to attend an Open House, Saturday, October 20, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. The recently restored Spencer Hollow schoolhouse has been granted national historic landmark status by the National Parks Service.

Audio: In Vermont, outcry over oxen

A Facebook petition asking Green Mountain College to spare the school's beloved oxen team from slaughter has racked up more than 30,000 signatures from all over the world. But school officials say they won't change their mind.

Bill & Lou

A statement from Sharon MacNair, President of Green Mountain Animal Defenders.

Cosmos end on a high

Boys soccer game at Springfield.

Wasps repeat win over Springfield

Field hockey at Woodstock.

Cosmos wrap up 11-2-1 regular season

Girls soccer game at Springfield.

Wasps blank Cosmos

Field hockey game at Woodstock.

Police log

Recent incidents, arrests and service calls logged by the Springfield Police Department.

Bill and Lou: A complex decision

A letter from Dr. Paul J. Fonteyn, president of Green Mountain College in Poultney.

Did you feel the earthquake?

A 4.0 magnitude earthquake in southwestern Maine was felt in many parts of New England Tuesday night. Did you feel any shaking around 7:15 pm?

Cosmos blank Patriots

Springfield, desperately needing a win to have any hope of getting a first-round home game in next week's playoffs, got two second-half goals to down Mount Anthony 2-0 at Brown Field Tuesday afternoon.

Police: Man tried to hide alleged gang member

A Springfield man spent the weekend in jail after he allegedly hid a fugitive being sought by federal agents in the attic of his Summer Street apartment building Friday morning.

Cox leads Cosmos past Minutemen

Girls soccer game at Springfield.

Colonels claw past Cosmos

Girls wet field hockey game at Brattleboro.

Sheriff collects 195 lbs of prescription drugs

The Windsor County Sheriff’s Department reports a record 195 pounds of unwanted or expired prescription drugs were collected on Sept. 29, National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

Reporting stations set for season

Hunters who take a bear, deer, turkey, or moose during the Vermont hunting seasons must, by law, bring the animal, within 48 hours, to the nearest game warden or to the nearest Vermont Fish & Wildlife reporting station.

Food and farm economic plan shows progress

More than a year and half after Vermont launched a plan to boost the state’s food and farm economy, organizers are celebrating its progress.

Downtown arrest on gun charges

A Springfield man who is a witness to an attempted murder in downtown Springfield this summer that galvanized the town to address drug and gang activity was arrested by federal agents Friday morning on gun charges.

Bri Condon scores game-winner for Springfield to defeat Colonels

Girls soccer game at Brattleboro.

Springfield falls to Colonels, 2-1

Boys soccer game at Springfield.

Opinion: Allow Bill and Lou to live

My name is Miriam Jones, and I am the co-founder of VINE Sanctuary in Springfield, Vt., a refuge for formerly farmed animals, formerly fought animals, and animals rescued from other dire situations.

October 8 Select Board meeting

The minutes from the October 8, 2012 Springfield Select Board meeting.

Assessing the 2012 apple crop

Like many growers, Roy Marks of Wellwood Orchard in Springfield will have apples through October at his country store despite having just 60 percent of a normal crop.

Springfield police station to get heating overhaul

Despite a million dollar renovation five years ago, the Springfield Select Board approved spending upwards of $37,000 Monday to overhaul the heating system at the Springfield Police Department.

Cosmos football game Saturday

Call them the Phoenix, because Springfield football will play again in 2012.

McAllister hat trick leads Cosmos past Wasps

Chelsea McAllister had a hat trick and the Cosmos got right back on the winning track against the team that snapped their winning streak on Monday.

Opinion: Personal attack inappropriate

It is unfortunate that Mr. Ingold of Weston Solutions resorted to personal attacks in his response to our science-based critique of the proposed North Springfield biomass energy plant. ("Wood chip developer answers criticism,” Sept. 25.)

Spencer Hollow School now on Register of Historic Places

The historic Spencer Hollow School, a one-room schoolhouse in Springfield, is now on the National Register for Historic Places.

Public support won’t save GMC’s oxen

The days seem to be numbered for oxen Bill and Lou who have worked the fields at the Green Mountain College farm for more than a decade.

Green Mountain College to turn long-serving campus oxen to hamburger

An effort has sprung up to save the animals, and a Springfield sanctuary has offered space, but the college says its decision is final.

Save Bill and Lou!

A few months ago, Lou became unable to be worked any longer. Bill won’t work with anyone else. Therefore, the college has concluded that both of them must be killed.

Wilbur Horton's 2012 big pumpkin diary

His largest pumpkin this year weighed in at 1,386 lbs. which he says is a bit light.

Cross country racing

Cross country competition over a 3.1 mile layout at North Springfield lake.

Terriers blank Cosmos

Field hockey game.

Photos: 2012 Apple Festival

Select images from Saturday's Vermont Apples Festival held at Riverside Middle School.

Police log

Recent incidents, arrests and service calls logged by the Springfield Police Department.

Man pleads innocent to sexual assault of teen girl

A Saxtons River man is facing the potential of up to life in prison if convicted after detectives in Springfield said he confessed late last week to the sexual assault of a teenage girl in their town.

Slaters talk it up in win over Cosmos

Poor communication and flat energy early on almost cost the Fair Haven field hockey team a victory that coach Tosh Stickney said the team needed.

Leavitt’s goals sink Cosmos

Girls soccer game.

Cosmos down Otters

Girls soccer game at Springfield.

Bellows Falls wins seventh straight

Field hockey game at Springfield.

It’s apple festival time in Springfield

You can eat apple pie, watch cider being pressed and kiss a long-eared donkey at the 30th annual Vermont Apple Festival Saturday in Springfield.

What to Wear on Saturday?

The Springfield Historical Society will have a booth at this Saturday's Apple Festival where its student interns and volunteers will be dressed in fashions from the 1940s.

Raiders back in win column

Boys soccer game at Springfield.

Missing woman found by family member

A female college student reported missing Sept. 29 has been found in good health.

Video: Apple picking at Wellwood Orchards

VTel Wireless wins $2 million

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski yesterday announced the winners of America’s first ‘Mobility Fund’ auction. Among the recipients was VTel Wireless which received $2,055,840.18.

Major drug raid in Chester

Concern over a child’s safety and frequent visitors at a Chester apartment netted several arrests and $30,000 in illegal drugs.

Video: Springfield Police embrace social media

Springfield Police decided it was time to try something new. They fired up a Facebook page and banked on the power of social media.

Springfield Hosts 30th Annual Apple Festival

For three decades, Springfield has made Columbus Day weekend a time of community celebration. The 2012 Apple Festival & Craft Show will be an all-day affair, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 6.

New biomass language in town plan raises concerns

A new provision in the proposed town plan has some residents who oppose the proposed biomass plant very concerned.

Slaters get moral victory

Girls soccer, scoreless game at Fair Haven.

SHS Hall of Fame induction

Roberta Jean Stokes Smith, a graduate of the Springfield High School Class of 1947, was inducted into the SHS Alumni Hall of Fame recently.

Librarian memorialized

A portrait of former children's librarian Rosemarie Ratti was unveiled Saturday.

Hartford blanks Cosmos

Boys soccer game in Springfield.

Police log

Recent incidents, arrests, and service calls logged by the Springfield Police Department.

Return McCormack, Nitka to Senate

So, the new Republican campaign theme is the evil of “one-party rule” ("New choices for senator"). This dodge avoids mentioning what their party stands for.