Top Stories for Tuesday December 23, 2008

Honoring 40 years of Service to the Community: Vergennes Area Rescue Squad
By Cookie Steponaitis
    We all know the feeling that we experience in the pit of our stomach when we hear the sirens tone out and the rescue squad passes our window or car. We say a prayer for those inside and hope that they are all right. Often, we pause and reflect on the volunteers behind the wheel and inside the ambulance who are providing medical attention and support. Some of us even remember a time when we needed their services and they came, no matter the time, day or weather. What none of us can imagine is a time without Vergennes Area Rescue Squad (VARS) and thankfully we can celebrate their fortieth year of service to the community.
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From Where I Lie: Memories of Christmas Trees Past
By Larry Johnson
    Once again it’s the Christmas Season, also referred to by some as the Prozac Season. It is the beginning of deep winter and, at this point, most people can be divided into three distinct camps. The first group spend hours thumbing through catalogs and sales flyers looking for the perfect Christmas gift for their loved ones. The second group of people spend most of their time thumbing through the summer months of their calendars, peering wistfully at the photographs of flowers, trees and babbling brooks. The third group is the “bring it on” group, and these folks tend to take the season head-on. They don their ski boots and Gore-Tex and make a frontal attack on winter, believing, with some justification perhaps, that total immersion is the best way to deal with the wilder elements of nature.
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Kayak Excursion For Helen Porter Fundraiser

   During the spring and summer of 2009,  Mike Cameron and Neil Gruber will paddle the entire length of Lake Champlain in kayaks as a fund-raiser on behalf of Helen Porter Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center.  Their goal is to raise at least $15,000 to fund a cruise on the lake for the 100 elderly residents of Helen Porter--a similar excursion to one taken in the summer of 1999.  This event has been submitted to the Vermont Department of Tourism for inclusion as an official "Quadricentennial Event".  [ more ]

Santa Letters

To Santa From Heather
Dear Santa, I like Rudolph, and you Santa? are you magic?
Please bring my mom a wand to turn my brother into a frog. Please bring my brother some toy flies. Please bring me a toy puppies.  [ more ]

Letter To The Editor

    Recently, driving into Middlebury on a cool Saturday morning, I noticed a group standing around the fountain waving peace signs. As I proceeded by I thought, “is that all there is to peace-waving a sign on saturday morning?” then going home to a warm house with a hearty lunch on the table? And that’s that until next Saturday!
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