This Week’s News
Brandon Fire District seeks voter approval for new water tank
Back in 1878, Brandon hired an engineering firm from Pennsylvania to dig a trench, by hand, from Fern Lake to the village, at a cost of $40,000 (approximately $1.1m today).
Brandon firefighters continue their rescue training
More than forty firefighters and backcountry rescue volunteers met at the Rochester office of the U.S. Forest Service last Saturday.
Hard Tellin’: How to reinvigorate unpopular family holiday traditions
This Christmas will mark the 18th year that I have been forcing my kids to make homemade gifts for each other.
Names lost in Vermont, Part 14: Preedom and Rabtoy/Robeston
My recent research on the McGee family pulled me into the perplexing story of Angeline, wife of Lewis McGee of Chittenden, Vermont.
I worked for a crook (and lent money to another)
In the fall of 1945, I worked for a crook. I was a high-school junior that year (Middlebury High School, Class of ‘47) who was always looking to make some extra money.
Photos of the Week
Sports
Otter golfers win back-to-back Division II state titles
Sparked by a medalist performance by sophomore Lucas Politano, the Otter Valley Union High School boys’ golf team claimed its second consecutive Division II championship on Thursday, Oct. 13.
OV field hockey snags 3-0 victory over Middlebury
The host Otter Valley field hockey team struck for two first-quarter goals against visiting Middlebury on Thursday, Oct. 6, and did enough the rest of the way to earn a 3-0 victory.
OV golfers qualify for 2022 Division II state tournament
The 2021 Division II champion Otter Valley boys’ golf team qualified to defend its title on Thursday, Oct. 6, by finishing second in the qualifying tournament on the Otters’ home course, Neshobe Golf Club.
OV girls’ soccer extends winning streak to four games
One of the hallmarks of great teamwork is communication. This is true in business and relationships, as well as in sports, and it has been a big part of the OV girls’ soccer team’s three-game win streak coming into Friday’s showdown with Springfield—including a 7-0 lambasting of Mill River on September 28.
Otters smother Mount Abe 46-25 for bigtime Homecoming victory
The Otter Valley football team broke open Saturday’s Division III game against Mount Abraham-Vergennes with a three-touchdown second quarter on the way to a big homecoming win.

