It’s been a busy week for Rene Sanchez. On July 1, he took over as the new interim Superintendent at Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union, the district that includes Otter Valley Middle and High Schools, Lothrop Elementary in Pittsford, Neshobe Elementary in Brandon, Otter Creek Academy in Leicester, and the Barstow School in the town of Chittenden.

Joey Scarborough was driving racecars years before he even had a license to drive himself to school.

We all had at least one teacher who made a difference in our lives, who understood us when no one else seemed to, who guided us when others gave up, who provided encouragement when we most needed it, who got more from us than we thought we could give, or who gave us the tough love we needed to pull ourselves together.

Several years ago, Roberta (Wright) Mills of Florence asked me to explore the genealogy of her great-great-grandfather Eli Gilbar to see if we could find any evidence of Native American ancestry. While no traces of Native American forebears have yet surfaced in this family, Eli nonetheless emerged as opportunity to investigate another lost French-Canadian surname.