Top Stories for Tuesday August 18, 2009

Sharing a Motto and a Way of Life with Ralph Jackman
By Cookie Steponaitis
Vergennes Fire Department Chief Ralph Jackman can not remember a time when he was not involved in the fire service. Born in Bristol in 1924, Ralph’s father was in the Bristol Fire Department for over thirty years and his brother Frederick also served in the Bristol department for over twenty years. Ralph joined the Vergennes Fire Department in 1947, after returning from World War II. When he joined there were twenty members of VFD and one doctor. “We had a 1937 Dodge 300 gallon pumper and an older 1925 500 gallon pumper back then and were located behind the town hall. The siren back then was on top of what is now the Opera House and we got water any place we could, because only Vergennes had hydrants.”  [ more ]

Middlebury's Got Talent! At Town Hall Theater

    Look out Simon!  The Middlebury area is loaded with talented performers who’ll be strutting their stuff at MIDDLEBURY’S GOT TALENT!    “A winner will be chosen from audience applause,” says THT’s Doug Anderson, “but in my view, all of these performers are winners.”
    The show includes singing, dancing, stand-up comedy and more.  A partial list of performers includes Chuck Miller and the THT House Band, Bailey Sherwin, Tony Cacciatore, Cindy Hill and Tom Hanley, Tony Bates, Kevin Brisson, Spotlight on Dance, Susan Baer, Anna Baker, Geoff Penar, Bill Walsh, Fred Barnes, and Carol Reed.
  [ more ]

This Week In Pictures

Selected photographs from this week's edition of The Valley Voice.   [ more ]