This Week’s News
Names lost in Vermont, Part 36: Wideawake, Morris, Brooks, and Smart
Over twenty-five years ago, after reading one of Christian Wideawake’s by-lines from the Rutland Herald, I commented to George Valley, “I wonder if Wideawake is a Native American surname?” George, raised in a Francophone family, did not speak English until he went to school. He said, “I bet it was Leveillé.”
Brandon SB discusses housing, grants, and historic trees
The Brandon Selectboard convened for its regular meeting on Monday evening.
OV Football wins big in playoffs, moves to state semis
Isaac Whitney had a huge game, gaining 180 yards and scoring 4 touchdowns to lead the Otter Valley football team to a 46–14 playoff win over rival Mill River Saturday night under the new lights at Markowski Field.
Labor of love (and horseshoes): Brandon resident restores historic blacksmith shop
Back in the days of the horse & buggy, the blacksmith shop was central to daily life. Horses needed shoes. Buggies needed wheels and springs. And all sorts of other household goods were forged by hand at the local smithy.
Photos of the Week
Sports
Brandon’s Jim Leary finishes his 36th Burlington Marathon
When Jim Leary ran in the first-ever Vermont City Marathon in Burlington, Bernie Sanders had finished his fourth (and last) term as mayor.
Pittsford Rec honors Randy Adams and Joe Pomykala
A cold, gray day couldn’t keep the people of Pittsford from coming out on Saturday to honor two of the town’s most hardworking residents: Randy Adams and Joe Pomykala.
Meet young Vermont falconer, Kristen Lee
Suprisingly, I met Kristen Lee’s red-tailed hawk, Krueger, in the post office one day. He was there on a visit on Lee’s day off from her postal route.
OV wrestler Isaac Whitney earns title at big N.H. meet
Otter Valley Union High School wrestling made an outstanding showing at the 2025 Annual Minickiello Wrestling Tournament in Keene, N.H., on Saturday.
OV’s Lucas Politano signs deal to play Div I golf for Rutgers U.
The Politano family of Brandon extended its golf dynasty even further last Wednedsay when OV senior Lucas Politano signed a letter of intent to play golf for Division I Rutgers University in New Jersey.