This Week’s News
Brandon Library breaks ground as costs spike
The Brandon Free Public Library (BFPL) is one of the oldest extant buildings in town, dating back to the early decades of the 1800s.
Names lost in Vermont, Part 1: Edward Bird
Edward Bird and his wife Mary are buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Brandon. As immigrants from French-speaking Canada in the 1840s, they were both hard to trace because they lost their original names and, as their story will reveal, they remained outside the Catholic Church for most of their lives.
The joy of golfing needs no defense
I have reached an age where it is becoming ever more common for me to take stock of my life, and lately I keep hearing this one eerie message echo across my landscape: “You’ve wasted too much of your life playing golf.”
Our Creative Kids: Camden Buzzell
“What I really enjoy about these drawings are the creative ‘twists’ that Camden adds,” writes Neshobe teacher John Brodowski.
Baker LaRock of Leicester wins Golden Wrench at Stafford
At just 17, Baker LaRock is making his mark. He was given the Vermont Auto Enthusiasts’ Golden Wrench Award last week at Stafford Tech Center in Rutland, where he’s going into his senior year in the automotive technology program.
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.