Top Stories for Tuesday December 22, 2009

Red Knights Share A Brotherhood And A Bond With Motorcycles And Community Work
By Cookie Steponaitis
The Red Knights Motorcycle Club has clubs in ten countries including the United States, Canada, Okinawa, New Zealand, Austria, Iceland, Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, Ireland, and Australia and is growing with five chapters in Vermont. It was founded in 1982 with a, “…mission statement to promote motorcycle safety; to project a positive image of motorcycling, to enjoy the fraternity of Fire Fighters, and to engage in social, charitable and educational activities directed at increasing the understanding of, enjoyment of, competency, sportsmanship and participation in the sport of Motorcycling.” The Red Knights meet together to ride motorcycles, share a passion for community work and celebrate the fellowship shared by firefighters.  [ more ]

Sharing Memories With Earl Spaulding That Include The Champlain Bridge And Both Sides Of Lake Champlain
By Cookie Steponaitis
Earl Spaulding was born in Cheever, New York but was nine years old, and living in Crown Point when the Champlain Bridge opened on August 26, 1929. He remembers all the “hubbub” and “…that you couldn’t get real close on that first day cause all the important folks were down there.”  While Earl was not impressed by the host of visiting dignitaries including FD Roosevelt, he was awed by the construction of the bridge linking two states at a point twelve miles from Crown Point on the New York side to Chimney Point on the Vermont side. “We used to go down to watch the construction,” Earl recalled. “It was sure something to see them build, even the road out to the bridge itself. They used horses and old dump carts. We would drive out an old Ford car at night out to where construction ended that day. We didn’t care about the ruts and the mud. We just wanted to see how the bridge was coming. That bridge was a jewel to both states.”
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Champlain Bridge Demolition Set For Wednesday December 23rd 2009 Shoreham Ferry Closed Indefinitely Due To Ice... Bus Schedules
By Mike Cameron
For over 65 days hundreds of people have had their lives thrown into chaos by the closing of the Lake Champlain Bridge between Crown Point New York and Addison Vermont.  Thousands more have been indirectly affected in one way or another. Those that are directly affected by the closure feel that the words chaos and abandonment  are too moderate to describe their current feeling of isolation.    Construction for a ferry service to help them is well underway.   [ more ]