Top Stories for Tuesday March 5, 2013

Local Woman In Search Of Kidney

 The Valley Voice has joined with dozens of people throughout the area who are helping one of our friends meet and overcome a serious medical challenge. Facing the reality of kidney failure is a very large hurdle in and of itself. The subsequent physical, emotional, and economic difficulties facing patients is overwhelming unless people who care step up and help the person address these issues on a personal basis. Finding a kidney donor is a process that most of us will probably never have to contemplate personally, but thinking about others involved in this search make us realize that, yes, it could be you or me.

Generations Strong: A Tribute To The First Responders And Their Commitment
By Cookie Steponaitis
   “Service is being ready to answer the call of someone in need at any point of time.” First Responder and Firefighter Ryan Donnelly put into perspective the ideology and reality of being involved with First Response in Vermont with these words.  Donnelly, like many of Vermont’s First Responders is not a first generation member and literally learned the lifestyle of service and commitment at the knee of older generations. “My great-grandfather Harris Yandow started the Ferrisburgh Fire Department,” shared Ryan Donnelly. “My great-uncle Richard Yandow was a firefighter, my Uncle Mike Donnelly was a Deputy Chief and my grandfather Chuck Donnelly was Assistant Chief of the Ferrisburgh Fire Department. You can literally say I grew up in it.”
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Celebrating Volunteers In The Valley
By Cookie Steponaitis
Volunteers fill not only a niche in the community but are a source of never ending hope and smiles. Each one gives more than just their time because they share themselves and their experiences with others. The Valley Voice is celebrating volunteers of the Champlain Valley and is showcasing some of them as a way to illustrate the diversity and depth of volunteerism that is a part of the tapestry of life in Vermont today.
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