Top Stories for Tuesday April 8, 2008

Former Chief Weapons Inspector In Iraq Says White House Seeking To Start War With Iran
By Ed Barna
    Scott Ritter, former head of weapons inspection in Iraq who protested that there were no weapons of mass destruction to justify an invasion, believes the same is true for Iran.
   But there is an 80 percent chance of war with Iran, he told about 200 people at Middlebury College Wednesday, as part of a series of talks facilitated by the Vermont Peace and Justice Center. The pattern of preparations for such a conflict has been steadily developing, and involves Congress as well as the Bush-Cheney administration, he said.
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Brandon Barn Blaze

   Fire crews from Brandon, Pittsford, Proctor, and Rutland are credited with keeping a roaring blaze from completely destroying the Ken Torrey Farm on McConnell road in Brandon on Wednesday morning, April 2nd, 2008.
   The fast moving fire destroyed a milking parlor and was quickly moving to engulf the attached barn fanned by strong winds in the area.  Firefighters were able to cut the fire off and contain the blaze that could be seen from miles away.
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From Where I Lie: Olive My Philosopher Friend
By Larry Johnson
   Of all my friends, all three of them, Olive is the shortest, has the longest ears, saddest eyes and is by far the most philosophical. To Olive, who is actually an eight-year-old Basset Hound, life is a banquet of potential opportunities and failure of any sort is “Ultimately Irrelevant.”
   An existential Basset Hound may not be all that unusual in New York City or Paris, but in Vermont Olive has cornered the market on detachment, sanguine opportunism and last, but not least, a sense that the world is either a very large Milk Bone or a saucy cat perpetually up a tree.
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The Sweet Science Continues
By Mike Cameron
   Maple steam rises in large plumes of white sweet smelling vapor as finished syrup (fancy grade) fills a bucket at the Williams Farmstead just north of Rutland along Rt. 7.  Visitors enjoyed the process and had a chance to sample warm 2008 syrup fresh from the evaporator during the Annual Vermont Maple Weekend on March 29th and 30th.  It is a signature event for folks who love maple and the hard working independent producers who tap and boil the sap every year.  [ more ]