This Week’s News
Punkstock 2024 — Better Living Through Anarchy
Hardcore, steadfast, resolute, tough. Vermonters by any name are fiercely independent and self-reliant from living at the edges of society. There’s a necessary premium on the homemade, homespun, and homegrown.
Brandon residents to pay more for water
At a meeting on Thursday, July 11, the Prudential Committee that oversees Brandon Fire District No. 1 (which encompasses the Brandon Water Department and the Brandon Fire Department) unanimously voted to raise usage rates on Brandon’s water from the current $5.05 per 1,000 gallons to $5.50 per 1,000 gallons.
Covered Bridge Exhibit now showing at the Brandon Museum
During the month of July, The Brandon Museum, in conjunction with the Vermont Covered Bridge Society, is showcasing a Covered Bridge exhibit.
Names Lost in Vermont, Part 28: Gearwar
Thirty-five years ago, when Barry Gearwar appeared on my student rolls at Otter Valley Union High School, I encountered a surname I had never seen before. With good reason: the index for the 1900 census shows only one family group, for the entire country, with the Gearwar name living in Lamoille County.
Photos of the Week
Sports
Otter Valley puts up a fight, but loses in Championship game to powerhouse Woodstock
The Otter Valley football team made an unanticipated trip to the Vermont Division 3 championship game but lost 65–14 to a fast and dominating Woodstock team that featured 13 seniors.
OV football stuns BFA Fairfax; will play division championship
Last Saturday, in a show of outstanding football, the Otter Valley Otters defeated the BFA Fairfax Bullets in a show of stellar offense and gutsy defense. On a raw day with occasional sleet, a crowd of 300 showed up in Fairfax to witness the semifinal game which looked to be a sure thing for the Bullets, who were undefeated at 10-0 versus the Otters at 5-4.
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.
Local group proposes multi-town community rec center
On a rainy Sunday afternoon, a bunch of middle-aged friends in Pittsford want to play some pick-up basketball. Or some older folks want to continue their daily exercise walks when the snow is knee deep outside in winter. Or some kids want to play volleyball but the school gyms are all closed. Where can they go?
‘Game Seekers’: local hunters use online platforms to reach an audience
Fall in Vermont means foliage, cider, pumpkins, and, for a good number of our neighbors, hunting. Every year, people across the state pick up their bows and rifles and head out into the woods, hoping to bag a big-antlered buck or a fat, feathered turkey.
