This Week’s News
Brandon passes budget on first try
In a marked contrast to last year’s drawn-out budget woes, Brandon voters approved the proposed 2025-2026 budget on the first attempt by almost a 2-to-1 margin.
Ethier, Haylon, and Reniche-Smith prevail in Brandon race
After a particularly crowded race, with six candidates vying for three available seats, Ralph Ethier, Jeff Haylon and Cecil Reniche-Smith will join the Brandon Selectboard this month.
5th officer to leave Brandon PD since December
Another Brandon PD officer, Corporal Michael VonSchleusingen, has tendered his resignation, bringing to 5 the number of officers that have left Brandon PD since December.
Names lost in Vermont, Part 44: Poro, Shoro, Gallipo, and Sharrow
The first three surnames, all ending with “o,” represent modified spellings from their original Québec names. Remarkably, all three families hail with the throng of émigrés from St. Hyacinthe who settled in our area.
An evening of short plays comes to Otter Valley this weekend
This coming weekend, Otter Valley Union High School welcomes Walking Stick Theatre Company’s annual production of short plays (also known as “The One-Acts”).
Photos of the Week
Sports
The new Nesh, founded on old farmland, still thriving
After the Brandon Country Club closed in 1944, the town went without a golf course for thirteen years until, in 1957, a group of Brandon golfers started investigating places in town to build a new one.
VT Wrestling Championship at Otter Valley; Cole named Coach of the Year
Vermont’s top wrestlers competed in the “House of Noise” at OV last Friday and Saturday. One hundred and fifty-one competitors on 25 teams vied for the individual and team state championships.
Otter Valley Wrestling Alumni Association presents the first Ray Miro scholarship to Cassy Sue Thompson
A $1,000 check was presented to OV senior Cassy Sue Thompson by Wrestling Alumni Association President Richard Kepner last week.
Brandon Country Club created to fill the gap
After the first Neshobe Golf Club folded in 1903, the town of Brandon went without a golf course for the next 24 years.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway gears up for 58th season
New England’s fastest dirt track is back for another year of jam-packed racing action this May. The 2024 season will be the historic half-mile’s 58th, the 13th under the supervision of Mike & Alayne Bruno and this season’s schedule is a blend of returning classics, new ideas and new renditions of the Bruno era events fans have come to love.