Top Stories for Tuesday August 13, 2013

Tightening The Belt Was Never So Much Fun: Meet Artist Holly Weber
By Cookie Steponaitis
When old timers spoke of lean times and tightening their belts it is doubtful they ever realized how much fun tightening a belt that was a work of art could be. Local artist Holly Weber has to admit that art was her window on the world from an early age. “I had an artistic brain even in grade school,” shared Holly. “My written reports always had better illustrations than grammar or spelling. As a ten or twelve year old I would design shoes with straps of leather and pieces of wood.  In high school I was a marginal student until I found a sewing class where I made skirts out of jeans, a bathing suit, vests and a few belts.  I created a wrap belt that would tie back over itself in the front and also D-Ring style belts. My interest in belts stems from the fact that I was a very skinny kid and I had a need for a fun and functional belt. After high school I designed sweatshirts with appliqué's and stitching, back when that was the thing to wear.”
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Scissors, Perms And Wisdom Celebrating Business with Carol Boise
By Cookie Steponaitis
You know someone has reached icon status in Addison County when their workplace is not listed in the phone book, does not have a sign and is still a destination for three generations of locals. In the case of Carol Boise people have been coming to her New Haven home for forty one years to get their hair done, have a great conversation and share stories of their lives and heart with her. Carol advertises the way she always has by word of mouth and reputation and now in the forty sixth year of her career Carol needs no introduction. She is a local institution and one that defies time with her down home rates and caring personality.
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The Man, The Myth, The Legend
By Sean Harrison
Middlebury, Vermont was and still is the perfect community. William Harris, at the time of his arrival here in Middlebury, was a young African-American man from the inner city of Chester, PA who was seeking the opportunity to start fresh. The year was 1999, just shortly after his mother passed from Hepatitis C infection. His mission was to work for a job corps as a recreational supervisor. Enduring with self-struggle and unhappiness for an entire year, Harris moved down to Grafton, MA for a very brief time before coming back to Vermont in 2000 and found his way to Middlebury where he has lived for the last thirteen years.

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Meet Abby the Therapy Horse

People are used to therapy dogs and even cats of all shapes and sizes, but often stop in their tracks when they hear about therapy horses. While they are not as portable as their canine companions, equines are gaining popularity amongst therapy groups as a high interest and wonderful partner in bringing joy and increasing individual progress in physical therapy.
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