Top Stories for Tuesday December 18, 2012

Budget Cuts in Federal Funding Results in Program Changes for Local Boys & Girls Club
By Cookie Steponaitis
It was the summer of 1998 when long time Vergennes resident Sam Allo sat next to this reporter on a park bench at Button Bay State Park and started eloquently and passionately sharing a dream. Allo’s dream was to create a Boys & Girls Club for local youth to have a, “safe, caring and nurturing” environment that would be a stable and constant force in the lives of teens in the five towns. Allo, with pencil, forms and determination began his quest and did not stop until seeing its creation in the fall of 1999 when the Boys& Girls Club of Greater Vergennes opened its doors.
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True To Herself: One Vermont Writer’s Lifetime Of Making Good Things From Bad
By Larry Johnson
   In “True to Herself,” Alison Kirk chronicles her own life inside and outside Vermont over a period of decades. Her experiences, both literary and personal, have melded together into a creative quest. The result has produced a superb story teller as is indelibly reflected in this thick book of essays.
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VUHS Sophomore Wins Local Rotary Speech Contest
By April Ambrose
   After winning the local Rotary speech contest on December 4th, Vergennes Union High School sophomore, Arianna Duprey has a lot to look forward to. Ari’s moving speech about Peace Through Service, concerning poverty, won over the judges and earned her the winning title. Sponsored by Rotary International, this annual contest gives teens in grades 9-12 a chance to research, reflect and share their views and passions that relate to the theme of service. Rotary is a series of service clubs based around the world that continuously give back to the community and volunteer abroad to help make our world a better place. Arianna’s win came for the Vergennes Rotary group # 7850, when her speech won out over seven other competitors.
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