This Week’s News
Leicester’s Kris Francoeur overcame family tragedy to build a career as a writer
Though we’re now woefully familiar with the dangers of recreational fentanyl, there was a time when it was just another opioid painkiller, before it was discovered by heroin addicts looking for an even more intense high.
A new holiday is born in Brandon: ‘Halfoween’
As another long Vermont winter finally takes its leave, we emerge from our hibernation, squinting into the sun and looking for something fun to do. And Colleen Wright thinks she has just the ticket: a new holiday called “Halfoween.”
Brandon SB discusses police cars, housing, and SolarFest
The Brandon Selectboard convened for its regular meeting on Monday evening.
Names lost in Vermont, Part 48: Sird, Gordon, and Cline
A visit to Brandon’s old Catholic Cemetery on Maple Street last December seemed to underscore how much history had been lost in its empty spaces and broken stones.
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.