This Week’s News
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.
New England Woodcraft takes woodworkers on a tour
To a certain kind of person—someone as fascinated with woodworking as kids are with candy—the machine shop at New England Woodcraft (NEW) must seem like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory: a place of endless bustle and wonder.
Erastus Laird: Vermont Civil War soldier
Erastus Laird re-enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War, after a 2-year stint and some time home.
School boards discuss student experience
On Wednesday, January 18, the RNESU School Board met at Lothrop Elementary School in Pittsford.
Photos of the Week
Sports
Otter Valley defeats Hartford, 36–34
The Otter Valley girls basketball team defeated the visiting Hartford Hurricanes, 36-34, on Friday, January 28 at the “House of Noise” in Brandon.
OV, Proctor, Westside winter sports teams kick-off the season
The COVD-shortened winter of the 2020-21 high school sports season is behind us, and the teams at Otter Valley are happy about that. The pandemic forced the school’s basketball programs, like those elsewhere, to play abbreviated seasons, and wrestling was sidelined for the entire season.
OV girl’s basketball drops opener
In a hard-fought season opening game in which the teams traded game-changing runs, the host Middlebury Union girls’ basketball team put together the decisive surge to outlast Otter Valley, 35-28.
Six Otters named to Second Team All-Stars
After a successful season this fall, 10 members of the Otter Valley football team received postseason recognition from the Division III coaches.
OV beats Mill River in quarterfinal, 12-6
The third-seeded Otter Valley football team outlasted visiting No. 6 Mill River, 12-6, on Saturday in a Division III quarterfinal and will play No. 2 Fairfax in a semifinal this coming Saturday.