Archive - 2010
January 18th
MIDDLEBURY — “His timing has always been impeccable,” laughed John Tenny, a Middlebury selectman.
It figured, Tenny joked, that in the first week of January — one of the coldest months of the year in Middlebury — John McCardell, president emeritus of Middlebury College, would have his eye on a warmer clime.
ADDISON — Vermont and New York transportation authorities are proceeding with the design of a “modified network tied arch” span that will replace the former Champlain Bridge at the same location.
That news was confirmed on Thursday by Vermont Gov. James Douglas and Gov. David Paterson of New York. The modified network tied arch scheme was the overwhelming public pick from among six possible replacement options for the Champlain Bridge, which was closed Oct. 16 and imploded on Dec. 28 after having been deemed by state officials to be unsafe and unsalvageable.
MIDDLEBURY — The Shard Villa residential care home continues to rebound from the brink, with board members announcing last week the historic facility has achieved full capacity with 14 residents.
“We’re hanging in there,” Shard Villa Director Deb Choma said on Thursday. “We’re doing alright.”
That’s a better prognosis than Shard Villa received last February, when a majority of its then-board of directors voted to at least temporarily close the facility in wake of financial problems besetting the elder care operation, established in 1919.
VERGENNES — Residents of the five Addison Northwest Supervisory Union towns who are interested in serving on the proposed new consolidated board to govern the four ANwSU schools have until Monday, Jan. 25, to take out petitions to put their names on Town Meeting Day ballots. Those petitions are available at town clerks’ offices.
All it takes to get America ginned up about terrorism and air travel security is to have another attempt to down a jetliner hit the press. Detroit has done just that. Suggestions for solutions to this problem cover the range from idiotic to inspired. One genius on CNN suggested we ban anyone with an Arabic name from flying at all. One rather thoughtful expert suggested that there are a number of devices available that are capable of sniffing out explosive compounds.
MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury Union High School girls’ basketball team took charge in the second quarter of Thursday’s game against visiting rival Mount Abraham on the way to a solid 44-32 win.
The 8-4 Tigers have won six of eight and stand in third place in Division II. Included in their wins have been several games where they have not clicked offensively, but have managed to prevail with tough defense and key plays.
Junior center and tri-captain Nicole Brown said the Tigers’ formula for success has been their focus and their faith in one another.
MIDDLEBURY — It’s been hard to make a buck on Wall Street during the past few years with a market that has been more bear than bull. It’s an environment that has chewed up and spit out many a seasoned broker.
Then there’s Forrest Wright-Lapin. At an age when most kids are collecting baseball cards and mastering X-box games, Wright-Lapin, 13, is proving himself to be quite the financial whiz kid. The Middlebury Union Middle School 8th-grader recently won first place in a statewide, scholastic stock market competition — and he did it without breaking much of a sweat.
January 15th
MIDDLEBURY — A state investigation concerning the financing of a full-length film by well-known Addison resident Malcolm “Mac” Parker has been misconstrued, says a spokesman for a group of lenders who support Parker’s project.
“First and foremost, we are strongly opposed to what the state is purporting … that he (Parker) is selling securities and that he is not licensed to sell securities. Both complaints are completely groundless,” said Vergennes resident Christopher White, a lender and spokesperson for a group of supporters who have established a legal defense fund on Parker’s behalf.
