Brandon voters replaced 3-term Democratic incumbent Stephanie Jerome with Republican newcomer Todd Nielsen after a bruising campaign season in which taxes and affordability remained at the fore of many Vermonters’ minds.

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. 

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. 

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.

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.”