This Week’s News
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.”
Brandon SB discusses housing, grants, and historic trees
The Brandon Selectboard convened for its regular meeting on Monday evening.
Photos of the Week
Sports
Namaste! Yoga options increase in our area
Yoga is a set of ancient practices, with origins in the Indian subcontinent thousands of years ago. The word itself means “union” in Sanskrit and is related to the English word “yoke,” in the sense of “to join together.”
OV’s Brooke Kimball named Unified Basketball Coach of the Year by Southern VT League
What really matters about sports? 2025 Southern Vermont League Unified Basketball Coach of the Year Brooke Kimball of Otter Valley said, “I love how much joy it brings.”
Nesobe Golf Club is no longer a “Hidden Gem”
Neshobe Golf Club hosted the 96th New England Amateur Championship with the best golfers in New England competing over three days.
A new generation of duckies takes the podium
The last few racing seasons, and all their attendant scandals, have left the local duckie community feeling unsettled.
Nifty Thrifty sponsors swim lessons for July 4th Duckies
Every July, hundreds of rubber duckies from all over the world descend upon Brandon for the Independence Day Duckie Race on the Neshobe River.