This Week’s News
The Deeper Dig: To go big, or go bigger, on child care
Despite Vermont parents’ overwhelming demand for spots in child care and preschools, the supply remains limited. Parents all over the state sit on waitlists for months or even years.
Castleton rallies behind Gilmore Home Center after devastating fire
A staple of the Castleton community, the Gilmore Home Center building supplies and hardware store burned down Jan. 15.
New numbers highlight Covid-19’s impact on inpatient mental health care and emergency departments
New numbers reported this week suggest that inpatient psychiatric care capacity in Vermont slowly started to rebound last year, but still remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels.
Brandon Town Manager resigns
After the public portion of its meeting on Monday evening, the Brandon selectboard went into executive session to discuss a “personnel matter.” By Tuesday morning, that matter was no longer a secret: Dave Atherton, Brandon’s town manager since 2015, had announced his intention to resign, effective February 21.
Brandon SB talks shade trees, class 4 roads, and solar funding
In its regular meeting on Monday, the Brandon selectboard addressed several issues, including the Tree Warden’s shade-tree preservation plan, the designation of Briggs Lane as a Class IV highway, and the Brandon Energy Committee’s request for ARPA funding for a community solar array.
Photos of the Week
Sports
Field hockey love
A couple of weeks ago, an out-of-town sports team came to Brandon to donate a day of free labor. Brandon’s economic development and recreation director Bill Moore welcomed the help and put the Castleton University field hockey team to work moving a big pile of woodchips at the Seminary Hill Park playground and painting picnic tables at Estabrook Park.
Cosmos, Otters embody sportsmanship
This past Saturday, the Otter Valley field hockey team met visiting Springfield in which both teams came out as winners by seeing close-up what good sportsmanship means.
OV wins State Championship!
The Otter Valley boys’ golf team dominated the field at the Manchester Country Club on Thursday, Oct. 10 to win the Division II championship by a 22-stroke margin.
Eagles pull away to topple OV in high scoring battle, 44-20
The Mount Abraham-Vergennes cooperative football team converted seven Otter Valley turnovers into 30 points on Saturday as the Division II Eagles won for the time this season, 44-20, at the visiting Otters’ expense.
OV field hockey starts fast, blanks host Tigers 5-0
When the Middlebury and Otter Valley union high school field hockey teams met in the 2020 Division II playoffs the Otters prevailed in double overtime.