This Week’s News
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.
After 36 years of service, Steve Cijka retires as Brandon’s wastewater chief
Brandon has 22 miles of sewer pipes and Steve Cijka has been responsible for every last inch of them since July 5, 1988. Whenever a Brandonite takes a shower, washes their dishes, or uses the restroom, Mr. Cijka has made sure that the wastewater thus generated is collected and treated before being released back into the wild.
Brandon Budget meeting focuses on process
After last budget season’s conflicts and disappointments, the Brandon Budget Committee and the Brandon Selectboard are taking a different approach to their task this year.
Names lost in Vermont, Part 36: Wideawake, Morris, Brooks, and Smart
Over twenty-five years ago, after reading one of Christian Wideawake’s by-lines from the Rutland Herald, I commented to George Valley, “I wonder if Wideawake is a Native American surname?” George, raised in a Francophone family, did not speak English until he went to school. He said, “I bet it was Leveillé.”
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.