Washington County News

Local businesses across Vermont are hoping for a holly, jolly Christmas, feeling more optimistic this year than last, as they prepare this week for "Black Friday." "Overall, I really feel pretty optimistic about it," Bob Nelson, owner of Nelson's Ace Hardware in Barre, said of the upcoming season.

A Central Vermont man faces child sexual assault charges. Police say 49-year-old James Davison was involved in ongoing sexual contact with a male juvenile that began nearly four years ago.

Vermont State Police are investigating two burglaries at Washington County businesses.

A special commission on judicial operation voted Friday to recommend a sweeping reorganization of the state's court system to unify its management, eliminate duplicative staffing and produce more than $2 million in ongoing savings in state and local taxes.

Police have arrested three Washington County men in the last week for several violent attacks over the previous five months in Barre, including a vicious beating last summer that left a Barre man with what a doctor called a "severe brain injury." Sean Clark, 39, of Barre was arrested on Friday for his alleged role in the beating of 27-year-old Sean ...

Dennis Root, of Schroon Lake, talks to his wife, Debbie, in car on right, while waiting for the Fort Ti Ferry in Ticonderoga on Oct.

A massive and controversial restructuring of the state court system was approved by a commission studying the judicial system Friday and will be taken up by lawmakers in January.

The past two district attorneys in Washington County are in a tight battle for the seat that will be decided by voters on Tuesday.

Police arrested a 25-year-old Middlesex man on an arrest warrant Tuesday but had to call in a police dog to find the suspect who had fled the scene, according a news release from the Washington County Sheriff's Department.

A 50-year-old Mississippi man accused of drugging and raping a Plainfield woman on Halloween in 2007 was put on trial starting Tuesday in Vermont District Court in Barre.

Laura Hernandez, 54, of Williamstown was sentenced Tuesday to three to 15 years in prison by Vermont District Judge Brian Grearson, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Woodbury police responded to a call Friday night about a man jumping in and out of a freezing pond.

A Vermont man was arrested Wednesday night for allegedly stealing a car from an elderly couple while they were parked at a rest area on the Vermont border, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said.

A jury has found three former correctional officers not guilty in the beating of an inmate at the Roxbury Correctional Institution.

Though the state expanded its online sex offender registry just last week, there's a chance it will be bolstered with even more information in the years to come, a state senator said on Tuesday.

Carolyn Hutchinson went out on top. The Barre resident spent 25 years working at two different district court buildings in Barre - she was district court manager for the last 20 - and a total of 31 years working in the Vermont judiciary before retiring recently.

When Gwendolyn Hallsmith's mother suffered a debilitating stroke some years ago, the Montpelier director of planning came face-to-face with shortcomings in the region's elder-care system.

These are some of the calls received by the Barre police department between Sept.

A bus driver who police say caused a dramatic six-vehicle crash last spring on Interstate 89 will face a criminal charge for alleged negligence, the Vermont State Police announced on Monday.

More than two decades ago Liz Zundel of Barre was diagnosed with lupus, a treatable but incurable illness.