Top Stories for Tuesday May 12, 2009

Car Crashes into Countryside Paint and Decorating Office in Middlebury
By Mike Cameron
    Police are continuing their investigation of a single automobile accident that occurred on Friday afternoon May 8th 2009.  Witnesses at the  scene said the vehicle involved was reportedly heading north on Route 7, crossed the center line in front of the Countryside Carpet and Paint store into and across the oncoming southbound lane. The vehicle then traveled over a curb, barely missing a highway sign, across the  front lawn, missing two outdoor light fixtures before crashing into the building.  The late model Cadillac crashed through the wall and came to a stop partially inside the building with its front bumper behind what used to be the desk of Countryside’s owner Eric Denu.  
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Coming Home After Seven Generations: Sharing Vermont Connections With Susan Griffin
By Cookie Steponaitis
    When Susan Griffin and her family crossed the border into Vermont in 1989 she had the odd feeling that they were returning home. “There was this strange sense,” she recalled, “like a homecoming, even though we had never come to the Champlain Valley before. While we were stunned by the green and natural beauty, there was more of a sense of coming full circle.” Little did the Griffins know that in fact they were coming home and completing a journey their ancestors began dating back seven generations.    Born and raised in Colorado and then living with her husband and family in such diverse climates as Colorado, Florida and California’s Mojave Desert, Susan was used to packing up a house like a professional mover. A new job resulted in Vermont becoming the destination of the family and she was really ready to put down some roots. “I told my husband that this was it,” she chuckled. “I simply wasn’t moving anymore. What ever house and land we put up this time was the family homestead and that I wasn’t leaving. At the time it was more about being in one place than anything else.”
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First Annual Festival Of Music At Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater

    Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater is getting a reputation as a great place to hear music.  This month, musicians and audiences alike will get the chance to experience its intimate scale and warm sound as the theater hosts its first annual Festival of Music. The jewel in the crown of the festival is  fully-staged production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, by the Opera Company of Middlebury, directed by Douglas Anderson.  Now in its sixth season, OCM has become one of the premier opera companies in New England, presenting major opera in the intimate confines of Town Hall Theater. 
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