Alden Graves The state of Maine seems to have a fondness for naming towns after mills, at least in Stephen King’s vivid imagination. Chester’s Mill, the site of his new book, "Under the Dome"(Scribner, 1,088 pages), isn’t very far from Tarker’s Mill. Some of you may recall the trouble in Tarker’s Mill a while back.   Full Story

Joe Bushika It’s deer season again in Vermont, and every year from three to six of us gather at my camp in Stamford to participate in the annual ritual of pursuing the elusive whitetail. For 16 days every year it is an enjoyable experience, out in the woods each day and then enjoying a hearty meal at night with friends and relatives.   Full Story

Mike Bethel Commissioner of Education Armando Vilaseca has spoken, and of course, hardly anyone on the Mount Anthony Union District Board is listening -- except Ken Swierad and Fran Kinney. These two board members believe the commissioner and his legal staff must know what they are doing. Mr.   Full Story

Telly Halkias Perhaps more than anything, science and technologyhave made the world a smaller place. Today, we’re closer to each other in terms of communicating and exchanging information, ideas, and emotions than ever. These changes have been inextricably tied to how we view the world. The seeds of this explosion were planted during the Industrial Revolution, where the West saw   Full Story

Charles Putney Monday evening's economic forum pointed to many good indicators of Bennington's economic future. Weaknesses, however, are abundant and the issue is complicated. The forum was as interesting for the comments of its audience as for the reports of the panelists, who represented town government, Bennington County Industrial Corp.   Full Story

Tom Pinsonneault TheSteak Houseon upperEast Main Street was owned and operated by my cousin Eddy Pinsonneault Jr. and his wife, Pat, for many years. I always thought, as a youngster, that it was a lucky coincidence that he owned a restaurant, because he and Pat had 12 children to feed, and as they grew into maturity would need some way to earn spending money, and perhaps make a living.   Full Story

The politicization of American History may be a natural outcome of our highly partisan society, but it is not an acceptable one. Many of the stories historians choose not to share have relevance to current situations and deserve to be told in their entirety. Partisan historians may not like the conclusions people draw from these stories, but still it is the people's right to receive   Full Story

When we bought our old farmhouse 40 years ago, its source of water was a spring that gushed from a hillside. The water seemed clean thanks in part to gravel that had been placed on the muddy bottom and to a loose wooden lid that covered the spring itself. The water was so hard it caked teapots and made it almost impossible to lather in the shower, but it was cold and delicious.   Full Story

Bob Stannard Tony Manero no longer fits in the skin tight, white disco suit he wore in "Saturday Night Fever." Time flies. It takes a lot of time to pass before one realizes just how fast time does pass. When you’re a tiny child nothing matters. The same could be said for teenagers although they are a group unto themselves.   Full Story

Someone stopped me a while ago and said very pleasantly, "The only thing that I enjoy more than your columns in the Banner are the letters from people who hate you." I can't say that the fact that I inspire some amount of animosity in the community has not occurred to me before. I remember an irrational moment of panic at a large gathering recently when I frantically grabbed my   Full Story

Tonight at 7 p.m., I will be moderating a forum on economic development at the Bennington Fire Facility. The panel will have representatives from the town, Bennington County Industrial Corp., Bennington County Regional Commission, the Better Bennington Corp., and the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce.   Full Story

Sen. Bernie Sanders This country faces the most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. From 2000 to 2008, over 8 million Americans slipped out of the middle class and into poverty, more than 7 million Americans lost their health insurance, over 3 million lost their pensions, millions more lost their homes and savings, and median household income declined by over   Full Story

David Sirota Let’s say you’re a congressperson or tea party leader looking to champion deficit reduction -- a cause 38 percent of Americans tell pollsters they support. And let’s say you’re deciding whether to back two pieces of imminent legislation. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the first bill’s spending provisions cost $100   Full Story

Michael Reagan This past week I have been in Europe to help commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I went into this trip with a great deal of enthusiasm and an expectation that the heroes responsible for that momentous event be justly recognized. Sadly, I was instead reminded of how much we have willingly forgotten.   Full Story

Michael McKenna It’s hard to believe that we’re only two weeks away from Thanksgiving. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the arrival of summer. Sure, summer didn’t get here until late August, but still, to think we’re already into the middle of November is quite disconcerting.   Full Story